NEW STUDY SUGGESTS KIDS WITH MULTIPLE SIBLINGS HAVE POORER MENTAL HEALTH

Parents, if you grew up with multiple siblings, you know that some of the time when things are “good,” with the sibling relationship, they are really good and when they are “bad,” they can be really bad. Although the effects of growing up with multiple siblings has long been debated on both sides of the coin, it hasn’t been until now that a new study has suggested that children growing up with multiple siblings have poorer mental health. Siblings smiling. ADOBE STOCK IMAGES The study, which was published in the Journal of Family Issues, looked at 9,400 eighth graders in China and 9,100 eighth graders in America. In both countries, the researchers asked the participants questions to assess their mental health. “The most important finding is that the number of siblings is inversely associated with mental health in both countries,” said Douglas B. Downey, PhD, a professor, and director of undergraduate studies in the sociology department at The Ohio State University, in an interview with Parents.com. Downey conducted the study with a doctoral student, Rui Cao, at Ohio State. Downey and his colleagues found that teens in China with no siblings were found to have the best mental health. Teens...