Having older brothers or sisters reduces the risk of developmental disabilities.
- Sadness, anxiety or tension during pregnancy increase the risk of behavioral problems in children between the ages of seven and ten.
- The benefits of the presence of siblings do not reduce the effects of maternal stress.
The first years of a child’s life are those of discoveries and learning. The acquired cognitive, social and emotional skills become the foundations of their future. Several factors can have an impact on this development, in particular the stress of the mother. In a recent study, a team of researchers from Leipzig analyzed data on 373 German mother-child pairs from pregnancy through age ten to observe the effects of maternal stress on development. They discovered that beyond the mother, siblings have a significant impact on children. Their findings were published in BMC Public Health.
Harmful maternal stress
In this study, mothers completed three questionnaires to assess their level of stress and their child’s behavioral problems. At the same time, the researchers observed the various environmental and social factors that can influence the development of children, and the impact of the presence of siblings in their environment.
Crossing these different data showed that socio-environmental stressors were clearly linked to increased levels of maternal stress during pregnancy, which itself has an impact on the offspring.”These results confirm previous findings on the negative impact that even mild forms of prenatal stress can have on child behavior even after several years, and underscore the importance of early intervention policies that increase the maternal well-being and already reduce the risks of maternal stress during pregnancy”explains Federica Amici of the University of Leipzig and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, one of the researchers involved in this study.
Interactions between siblings are beneficial for development
The study also revealed the low frequency of behavior problems in children with older siblings. “Children who have older siblings in the household are less likely to develop problems, suggesting siblings are key to promoting healthy child development“, says Gunda Herberth, coordinator of the study. According to the authors, interactions with older siblings help to develop better emotional and social skills. “We were particularly impressed with the important role siblings seem to play in healthy child development.“, concludes Anja Widdig, co-author.
