Study: More Siblings Linked to Worse Mental Health for Teens
The Facts
A study released in the Journal of Family Issues reports that its findings suggest teenagers with more siblings have slightly worse mental health compared to adolescents who had one or zero siblings.
Douglas Downey of Ohio State University and his colleagues studied 9.4K eighth-grade students from China and 9.1K Americans of the same age to examine the relationship between the number of siblings and mental health.
The Spin
Narrative A
There are many reasons that people across developed countries are having fewer children, and this inevitable decline in birth rates brings some positive effects, as this study shows. In addition to the health and economic benefits of smaller families, having fewer children can help the world in its fight against climate change. The fact is that people are starting families much later than they did in the past, and the focus should be on the health and happiness of families, not on their size.
Narrative B
People across the Western world, particularly in the US, have been misled into believing that having fewer children is a positive development. However, considerable research shows that large and robust families are most conducive to mental and physical health. Low birthrates present an existential crisis, and society must prioritize creating the next generation of happy and healthy children.