A study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, June 2007 issue addressed the effect of sibling relationships on a person later developing depression. We’ve known for years that troubles in childhood significantly impact one’s future risk of developing depression or other emotional disturbances. However, the childhood troubles mostly focused on our relationship with our parents and there has been little focus on our relationship with our brothers and sisters.
The study included 229 men and what is most interesting to me is that they initially recruited these men from 1939 -1942 as college sophomores ages 18-19 and followed them for 30+ years. They completed questionnaires every two years and many are continuing to be followed. Upon entering the study, their parents were also interviewed and they obtained extensive family, social and medical history on each participant.
All of the men began with no mental health problems and the study found that those who had poor or destructive relationships with their siblings were more likely to develop depression by age 50. These results held true when they controlled for hereditary factors such as a family history of depression. This further supports their findings that developing depression later in life was not simply due to having a genetic predisposition to depression. They also found that poor sibling relationships predicted a greater tendency to use mood-altering drugs.
There were many limitations to the study and many unanswered questions, but it does introduce a vulnerability in our development that can permanently alter our future relationships. If further research reinforces this link between poor sibling relationships and depression, we could have a focus of family intervention that could change the course of someone’s mental health future.
Let me know what you think