SISTERS ARE good for you while brothers-only families can be stressful, a new psychological study has found.
People who grow up with at least one sister are, in general, more balanced and happier adults, the British Psychological Society’s annual conference in Brighton will hear today. Boys-only families, however, can be affected by problems as they suppress their emotions by adhering to the stereotype of the strong silent male.
Prof Tony Cassidy of the University of Ulster, Derry, and Dr Liz Wright of De Montford University, Leicester, have written a paper illustrating, as they say, that “sisters are doing it for your health” which Dr Wright is presenting to the conference today.
They conducted a survey involving 571 participants aged between 17 and 25.
Some were an only child, some had only sisters or brothers, and others had both brothers and sisters. The results showed having at least one sister was associated with higher scores on a range of measures important for psychological wellbeing. For example, they reported better social support, more optimism and more positive coping ability than people who only had brothers.
“Sisters appear to encourage more open communication and cohesion in families,” said Prof Cassidy, a native of Belleek, Co Fermanagh.
“However, brothers seemed to have the alternative effect. Emotional expression is fundamental to good psychological health and having sisters promotes this in families. This is important information for those working with families and children,” he added.
Prof Cassidy, who has four brothers and two sisters, explained that the findings from their study could have practical application. He explained that in divorce situations there was a scale where sisters-only families tended to emerge with the least emotional scars. Families of a brother or brothers and at least one sister also coped reasonably well but not to the same extent as sisters-only families.
The potential for the most difficulties was where it was brothers only, explained Prof Cassidy. “It is part of the male culture not to talk about problems,” he said.
Prof Cassidy said it was important that boys didn’t bottle up their emotions. “The message coming from this is that in particular situations parents need to be aware that it is important to get the boys to talk about their problems so that they can deal with them effectively.”
