Poor Sibling Bond May Increase Depression Risk
Men who do not have a good relationship with their brothers and sisters may be at higher risk of depression, says a new study.
According to study author Dr. Robert Waldinger, director of the Study of Adult Development at Brigham and Women's Hospital, in Boston, men who didn't have a close relationship with even one sibling were at higher risk of developing depression by the age of fifty.
The study looked at data collected on 229 men who were followed from their teens until they were in their fifties. The study lasted altogether 68 years and is one of the longest of this nature ever done. The researchers studied the men's quality of life, sibling relationships, the quality of parenting they had and familial history of depression.
What they found in the study was that there were two predictors for depression at the age of 50: poor bonds with siblings at an early age and a familial history of depression.
While this study shows a strong link between sibling relationships and depression, it is not clear whether depression causes the poor relationship or the poor relationship causes the depression.
The study appears in the June 1 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Comments
I am a 55 y/0 male. I was adopted at 7 y/o and my parents adoped another boy about a year later. I have 2 biological sisters that were never adopted that I met when I was 18 y/o. I get along pretty good with one of them but the oldest has to many mental health issues for us to have much interaction. My brother married a very controlling person and moved out of state shortly after both of our parents died. I do not have any contact with him at all.