Having sisters—or a sister—isn't always easy, as anyone with a female sibling knows. But regardless of occasional bickering and hurt feelings caused by them, an article shared by the Huffington Post explains how having a female sibling can actually be very beneficial for your health.
In an article originally published on mother.ly.com, written by Annamarya Scaccia, the Huff Post shared research from Brigham Young University that shows sisters help protect against their siblings "feeling lonely, unloved, guilty, self-conscious and fearful.”
"What we know suggests that sisters play a role in promoting positive mental health,” says Alex Jensen, an assistant professor at BYU, in the article, “and later in life, they often do more to keep families in contact with one another after the parents pass.”
Besides promoting positive mental health, sisters also help make their siblings more compassionate, independent, ambitious, and balanced. Sisters also help sharpen communication and interpersonal skills among their siblings or sibling.
"Even if there is a little bit of fighting, as long as they have affection, the positive will win out,” BYU professor and lead study author Laura Padilla-Walker told ABC News.
But for those who don't have sisters, don't worry—research also supports that having siblings of the same gender can be beneficial in different ways.
For the full article shared by the Huffington Post, click here.
Lead image from Getty Images
