Younger siblings teach their older siblings empathy, study states
| Updated: Mar 7, 2018, 11:09 IST
Well, we've grown up hearing that we should look up to our older siblings and big Indian families have many of them. Yes, cousins included! Now, reading this new study, us younger ones have found something to gloat about. Baby siblings teach their older brothers and sisters empathy, as stated in this study published in Child Development. The study confirms that it is the younger ones who ensure that their siblings don't grow into being total pains... in the you know where!
“Although it’s assumed that older siblings and parents are the primary socialising influences on younger siblings’ development, but not vice versa, we found that both younger and older siblings positively contributed to each other’s empathy over time,” study co-author Marc Jambon, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto, said in a statement. Prior sibling studies have disproportionately focused on the influence of older brothers and sisters, probably because their impact is most obvious. As one review of literature notes, studies have shown that older siblings influence everything from their younger siblings’ motor developments to their risk of even smoking in later life. And although a few studies have tried to pin down effects that younger siblings have on their older siblings, the influence of baby brothers and sisters remains elusive.
One odd exception the researchers came about whilst conducting their research was that older sisters did not appear to experience increased empathy after 18 months living with their little brothers, specifically. The researchers aren’t sure why older sisters and younger brothers buck the trend and recommend that future studies dive into the question of how complex sibling dynamics and different family structures may result in varying levels of empathy.
“Although it’s assumed that older siblings and parents are the primary socialising influences on younger siblings’ development, but not vice versa, we found that both younger and older siblings positively contributed to each other’s empathy over time,” study co-author Marc Jambon, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto, said in a statement. Prior sibling studies have disproportionately focused on the influence of older brothers and sisters, probably because their impact is most obvious. As one review of literature notes, studies have shown that older siblings influence everything from their younger siblings’ motor developments to their risk of even smoking in later life. And although a few studies have tried to pin down effects that younger siblings have on their older siblings, the influence of baby brothers and sisters remains elusive.
One odd exception the researchers came about whilst conducting their research was that older sisters did not appear to experience increased empathy after 18 months living with their little brothers, specifically. The researchers aren’t sure why older sisters and younger brothers buck the trend and recommend that future studies dive into the question of how complex sibling dynamics and different family structures may result in varying levels of empathy.