SIBS-MI_V1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
SIBS-MI: A Feasibility and Acceptability Study of the SIBS Intervention Programme for Siblings and Parents of Children with Mental Illness in the United Kingdom
IRAS ID
340429
Contact name
Louise Dalton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford / Research Governance, Ethics and Assurance
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
When a child is diagnosed with a mental illness, it can affect the entire family, including siblings. However, siblings are often overlooked in both clinical services and research, despite evidence suggesting they are at increased risk of developing emotional difficulties. This study will pilot the SIBS (short for siblings) intervention, a support programme developed to prevent negative mental health outcomes among siblings, in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in the UK.
The SIBS intervention is a group programme originally developed in Norway, where it showed positive results in improving sibling mental health and family communication. The programme takes place over two sessions (each lasting approximately 2.5 hours), one week apart. The intervention will either be online or in-person. Parents and siblings attend group sessions where they talk about (1) the diagnosis, (2) emotional experiences, and (3) family communication. An essential part of the programme involves sessions where parents and siblings come together and talk about the impact of mental illness within the family.
In this study, we will recruit siblings and parents through CAMHS; participants will be children aged 8 to 17 years and one of their parents. These families will complete questionnaires before and after the programme to help us find out whether the programme is acceptable and feasible in a UK CAMHS setting. Families will also take part in interviews to provide more detailed feedback on their experiences of the programme.
We will also recruit healthcare professionals (HCPs) for qualitative interviews about acceptability and feasibility of the SIBS intervention.
The study will provide important information on whether the SIBS programme is feasible and acceptable, and whether families find it helpful. If successful, this study will help design a future project involving more families to measure whether the programme can improve sibling mental health and family communication.
REC name
East Midlands - Derby Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/EM/0157
Date of REC Opinion
15 Jul 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion