1. observations
  2. Kiwi, you should thank me.

Kiwi, you should thank me.

By cwilcox on April 1, 2009.

I have a brother. He's a great guy - way smarter than me. So when I saw this article headline I had to write about it:

"Having a sister makes you happier and more optimistic, say psychologists"

Yeah, I know: I'm awesome. But why this time?

Apparently growing up with at least one girl in the family gives people a better outlook on life because they're more able to cope with problems. Daughters encourage communication and keep a family tighter. The researchers said brothers, however, seem to have the opposite effect.

The study, done by scientists at De Montfort University in Leicester, questioned 571 people aged 17 to 25 about the make up of their families and their well being. The highest emotional scores were in girls who had sisters, and the lowest in boys who only had brothers. The effects were even stronger among children from broken homes.

So, Kian, you should be glad you have a sister. :)

The findings will be presented today at the British Psychological Society annual meeting in Brighton.

And yes, that is a brownie Go board in the picture. Is there any wonder I'm a total nerd?

Tags
Brother
Siblings
Sister

More like this

But I don't think I want to be this bigot's brother
The Republican governor of Alabama, Robert Bentley, has moved on a little bit from the 1950s — he made a speech on Martin Luther King Day in which he declared himself colorblind and the governor of all the people of Alabama. How nice! But then, unfortunately, he had to ruin it by making a few…
Ashley Likes Science! But Not Isabella
When I lived in North Carolina, I got to know a woman who worked in one of the Research Triangle labs. She had a baby girl, and I occasionally baby-sat for her. She had named her daughter Melina, which I thought was an incredibly beautiful name for a little girl. I remarked upon this one time,…
On Entering the Foster Parent World
I'm getting a lot of questions via email and comments about our experience entering into the foster parenting world, and I did want to talk about this. Some people are critical, and think we're nuts (quite possibly), some people want to watch because they want to try this too (cool), some people…
Semen: "It's better than cats."
I know I'm dating myself by referencing an SNL bit circa 1986, but I couldn't resist. Those of you who've read Microscopic Mind Control know that toxoplasma, the bacteria people pick up from house cats, is purported to make women more "outgoing and warmhearted." Well, according to New York State…