On the basis of their accumulated experiences, siblings formulate certain beliefs about the nature of their brother's or sister's behavior and symptoms. Because siblings are often poorly informed about mental illness, they may have great difficulty distinguishing between behavior that is intentional and behavior that is the result of the mental illness. Greenley ( 20 ) has argued that in our society, individuals who are appraised as having control over their behavior or illness are viewed as not deserving of help.