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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to understand the experience of growing up with a sibling who experienced a burn injury in childhood, with attention to how their identity was shaped. Innovations in medicine and technology increased the likelihood for individuals to live through and beyond burn traumas that once would have been fatal. The literature consistently supports the acute and lasting influence of a burn injury, both physically and emotionally. When considering children with burn injuries as part of a larger family system, it seems reasonable to expect their burn injurys impact to engulf everyone within their environment. Though research regarding the experience for the family is developing, less is known from the perspective of the uninjured siblings. Sibling relationshipslikely the most abidinghave a unique impact on development. Therefore, narrative inquiry was utilized to elucidate the narratives, or stories, of seven adults whose siblings experienced a burn injury in childhood. The three research questionsguided by social constructionism and narrative identitywere: 1) What are the experiences, or stories, of identified adults whose sibling experienced a burn injury? 2) What do the narratives of identified adults whose sibling experienced a burn injury reveal about how their identities were shaped? 3) What are the implications for program/service development and/or enhancement elucidated by identified adults whose sibling experienced a burn injury? Findings are reported as individual stories using pseudonyms for each participant, along with brief artifact descriptions and images (if provided), a metastory, and five overarching themes that included: 1) separation and alternative caregiving, 2) altered interactions and ambivalent roles, 3) (r)evolving emotional pain, 4) communication concerns, and 5) identity through autobiographical reasoning. The data suggest uninjured siblings have their own unique narratives that have failed to be acknowledged in both research and practice, though all articulated identity clarity and meaning-making in their reflections. Additionally, findings support consideration of many of their experiences as a primary trauma. These results argue the critical need to expand attentionspecifically as it relates to inclusion, identity, and resource acquisitionwithin the burn community. Recommendations for practice and future research are discussed.