Brothers and sisters have long been considered important for children’s development. But now a large study shows that teenagers can have worse mental health outcomes if they have siblings. Why is that?
A child needs siblings – that was the common opinion for a long time. Even though there are far fewer children in families in Germany than before, one or two siblings are still considered beneficial for the child’s well-being – if not always for the parents’ nerves. Now, a new study from Ohio State University disrupts that notion. According to the work, which was published in the Journal of Family Issues, siblings are not as good for mental health as thought. In fact, teenagers with two siblings have more depressive symptoms or anxiety than their peers with only one or no siblings.