'Tell me your story' a qualitative analysis of written narratives from individuals affected by sibling sexual abuse and behaviour: The perspective of parents.

BACKGROUND

Sibling sexual behaviour and abuse (SSB/A) is common and has adverse effects not only to the child who is harmed and the child responsible, but the whole family unit is deeply impacted.

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed to understand how SSB/A is experienced by parents and what impact SSB/A has on parents.

METHOD: A secondary qualitative design was used to examine 22 narrative stories written by parents (primarily mothers) about their experience of SSB/A that were submitted to #SiblingsToo, a Canadian organisation dedicated to raising awareness of SSB/A. Thematic analysis was used to analyse all narratives.

RESULTS

SSB/A produces multifaceted disruption across the family system, with parents describing emotional, relational and practical consequences in the aftermath of disclosure or discovery. Parents framed SSB/A as an event that changed their understanding of their family, forcing them to renegotiate family roles, restructure daily routines and confront intense feelings of guilt, shame, fear and self-blame, exacerbated in some circumstances by gendered expectations. Parents also reported the burden of navigating divided loyalties, while trying to maintain safety, stability and emotional availability. The strain of these competing demands frequently intersected with challenges in accessing professional support, particularly where services were experienced as inadequate, retraumatising, or focused primarily on the harmed child.

CONCLUSIONS

This study contributes important new insights into the experiences of parents whose families have been affected by SSB/A. Through a collection of written narratives, the findings demonstrate that SSB/A constitutes a family-level negative impact that reshapes parents' emotional landscapes, daily routines, relationships and caregiving roles.