In the first years of children’s lives, the emotional, social and cognitive skills that lay the foundation for their growth are developed. Their health and achievements will depend, to a large extent, on these abilities. However, there are stressful environmental factors that can have a negative impact on their development in the medium and long term. One of them is maternal stress that, already from pregnancy, can have a detrimental effect on the health and well-being of children.
A study by a Leipzig-based team of researchers used longitudinal data from the LINA cohort ((lifestyle and environmental factors and their influence on newborn allergy risk) to assess 373 mother-infant pairs, from the age of pregnancy until the children reached the age of 10. The mothers filled out three questionnaires that were used to assess their stress levels and their children’s behavioral problems.
First, the researchers assessed “what social and environmental factors were associated with increased maternal stress levels during pregnancy and the long-term consequences of maternal stress on the development of child behavior problems.”
Secondly, it was investigated whether “having siblings had a positive effect on child behavior problems, by reducing stress levels and increasing children’s psychological well-being or by indirectly cushioning the negative consequences of maternal stress.” ”.
The study results showed that mothers who had experienced high levels of stress during pregnancy were also more likely to report behavioral problems when their children were 7, 8 or 10 years old. Federica Amici, one of the project researchers explains that “these results confirm previous findings on the negative impact that even mild forms of prenatal stress can have on the child’s behaviour, even after several years, and highlight the importance of early intervention policies that increase maternal well-being and reduce the risks of maternal stress already during pregnancy”.
On the plus side, that same study found that there was a lower incidence of behavior problems in children with older siblings. “Children who have older brothers or sisters in their homes are less likely to develop problems, suggesting that siblings are crucial in promoting healthy child development,” explains Gunda Herberth, coordinator of the LINA study.
“By interacting with their older siblings, children can develop better emotional, perspective-taking, and problem-solving skills, which are linked to greater social competence and emotional understanding.”
How might older siblings reduce the occurrence of behavior problems in children? “By interacting with their older siblings, children can develop better emotional, perspective-taking, and problem-solving skills, which are linked to greater social competence and emotional understanding. Additionally, the presence of older siblings can provide learning opportunities for parents, who may develop different expectations and better parenting skills.”
“We were especially impressed by the important role that siblings seem to play for healthy child development,” concludes Anja Widdig. “We hope our findings draw attention to the importance of public health policies that directly target children and their siblings, and promote a healthy environment for their well-being and the development of high-quality sibling relationships,” she concludes.
