How siblings damage mental health
24.1.2024
Translation: machine translated
Adolescents with many siblings could suffer psychologically as a result. This is because they are competing for their parents' attention.
When it comes to a large family, many people first think: great luck. But a study now suggests that teenage children at least can suffer from having lots of siblings.
Doug Downey is a professor of sociology and lead author of the study from Ohio State University. The results surprised him: "Other studies have shown that having more siblings is associated with some positive effects, so our results were not self-evident."
For the study, 9417 Chinese teenagers and 9191 American teenagers were surveyed. As it turned out, the happiest teenagers were those who had no siblings or at most one brother or sister. Siblings with two or more siblings were more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms or anxiety. It did not matter whether they were full or half siblings.
The more siblings, the less parental attention
An earlier study led by the same professor had revealed positive consequences of siblings - including that siblings showed better social skills in nurseries. Further research is therefore needed to examine other factors on mental health.
What do you think about the study? Are you an only child or do you have brothers and sisters? Feel free to let me know in the comments.
Cover photo: Craig Adderley/Pexels
A true local journalist with a secret soft spot for German pop music. Mum of two boys, a dog and about 400 toy cars in all shapes and colours. I always enjoy travelling, reading and go to concerts, too.
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