Can you imagine life without your siblings? Unless you are an only child.

Well, no matter how annoying they can be, life minus them is totally wretched.

No matter what your differences are, it feels like they have superpowers that make them capable of making your life better.

It turns out that there is a scientific explanation as to why having siblings make you happier.

A study conducted by researchers at Brigham Young University (BYU) found that siblings have more impact on good behavior than parents.

In the aforementioned research headed by BYU Professor Laura Padilla-Walker, she talked about how siblings can influence one another when it comes to their attitude and behavior.

“Even after you account for parents’ influence, siblings do matter in unique ways,” she stated.

“They give kids something that parents don’t,” she added.

This study is part of the BYU’s Flourishing Families Project which began in 2007.

BYU News also reported that the study included 395 families with more than one child where at least one sibling was between the ages of 10 and 14 years old.

Padilla-Walker and her research team collected lots of information about each family’s dynamic then followed up one year later to confirm the results.

The result just fueled the fact that having sisters has a great impact on your life.

Based on the study, it says that,

“statistical analyses showed that having a sister protected adolescents from feeling lonely, unloved, guilty, self-conscious and fearful.”

It is nice to know that this applies regardless of age.

It means that whether you are younger or older than your sister, the findings are still the same – you’re still more likely to have protected mental health than those without one.

You might ask, what about having a brother?

Good question! The good news is brothers provide a positive impact on their siblings too.

The study claims that,

“…having a loving sibling of either gender promoted good deeds, such as helping a neighbor or watching out for other kids at school.”

It might be a bit shocking but did you know that siblings have more of an impact on kind behavior than parents?

You’ve read it right. The study explains that,

“loving siblings fostered charitable attitudes more than loving parents did. The relationship between sibling affection and good deeds was twice as strong as that between parenting and good deeds.”

These are also the reasons why the message of Padilla-Walker’s research is to encourage sibling affection especially for parents of younger kids.

“Once they get to adolescence, it’s going to be a big protective factor,” she added.

Upon knowing the good side of having siblings, we might be bothered by the other side.

Yes, siblings may argue or fight from time to time but don’t fret because based on the study, these issues are blessings in disguise. Padilla-Walker sees positive effects from siblings’ quarrels. In fact, it helps an individual to handle their emotions more sensibly.

The study added that,

“the fights give children a chance to learn how to make up and to regain control of their emotions, skills that come in handy down the road.”

She even emphasized the importance of having affection between siblings. So if having fights is inevitable, that is okay. Just never ever forget that respect and love that you have for your sisters or brothers.

“An absence of affection seems to be a bigger problem than high levels of conflict,” Padilla-Walker said.

So don’t hesitate to show how much you care for your siblings. I know you love them endlessly and surely they also feel the same. You’re indeed blessed to have them!

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Source: BYU