About Our Work

Why Study Siblings?

We all know that parents are an important influence in young people’s lives. But as surprising as it may sound, researchers don’t always include siblings in their studies, or even acknowledge the importance of sibling influence. Sibling relationships have been studied for decades by psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, and demographers across many cultures. Without a doubt, siblings play an important role in our lives.

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

Some siblings are best friends, while others are enemies. Our work covers all aspects of how siblings get along—their prosocial behavior (helping, comforting, sharing and teaching), their antisocial behavior (jealousy, competition, ignoring each other) and their harmful behavior (physical and verbal aggression) towards each other. We are especially interested in young people’s perspectives so we often listen to their voices.