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Association among number, order and type of siblings and adolescent mental health at age 12
Author(s) -
Liu Jufen,
Sekine Michikazu,
Tatsuse Takashi,
Fujimura Yuko,
Hamanishi Shimako,
Zheng Xiaoying
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
pediatrics international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.49
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1442-200X
pISSN - 1328-8067
DOI - 10.1111/ped.12629
Subject(s) - brother , sister , mental health , medicine , sibling , birth order , association (psychology) , demography , fertility , cohort , psychiatry , developmental psychology , psychology , environmental health , population , sociology , anthropology , psychotherapist
Background Although the sibling relationship is a unique one, the effects of the number and type of siblings on mental health among adolescents have not been reported. Methods Japanese children (total, 9276; boys, 4654; girls, 4622), all 12 years old, and from the Japanese Toyama Birth Cohort Study, were followed up until 2002. Subject self‐reported mental health was obtained from the Japanese version of the Dartmouth Primary Care Co‐operative Project (COOP) charts. The associations between number and type of siblings and self‐reported mental health were examined. Results There was a significant difference in mental health between different sibling pairs, with brother pairs and brother/sister pairs having a positive effect on adolescent mental health, compared with those in sister pairs. Girls with brothers had better self‐reported mental health than those without. The adjusted OR of good mental health was 1.44 (95%CI:1.00–2.08) for those with an older brother and 1.67 (95%CI: 1.17–2.38) for those with a younger brother compared with those without. Boys with a younger sister had a higher OR of good self‐reported health than those without (OR, 1.62; 95%CI: 1.08–2.43). Conclusions Children with siblings had better mental health status than those without, which has practical implications for Asian countries and worldwide considering the declining fertility.