Only children and eldest siblings suffer more from anxiety and depression than others

In our collective imagination, the place we occupy among siblings is far from trivial. Being an only child or the last born is often synonymous, in the eyes of others, with being a pampered child, almost too spoiled. The younger one sometimes carries the image of the one we readily forget, a little invisible. As for the eldest child, he often bears the weight of parental expectations and responsibilities despite himself. A new study, published in Epic Researchcould validate some of these preconceived ideas.

According to HuffPostwhich brings together the main conclusions of the study, the team of scientists analyzed the medical records of more than 180,000 children. They found that firstborns were 48% more likely to suffer from anxiety and 35% more likely to experience depression, compared to other children in the family. This observation also applies to only children.

Biological and societal explanations

Unfortunately, the study does not examine why only children and those born first are more likely to receive these diagnoses, but it does identify birth order as a potential marker of risk for anxiety and depression. However, there are still some possible explanations.

First, only and oldest children experience their parents’ first attempt at education, «and this may differ considerably from the way in which they raise subsequent children.underlines the media. In the past, everyone was exposed to parenthood throughout their lives: we were parents young, and before that, we took care of our brothers and sisters. «On the other hand, without this experience, today’s new parents, often anxious, face a steep learning curve.explains Molly Fox, a biological anthropologist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Furthermore, it is well established that the uterine environment influences the health and development of the child. And each pregnancy presents unique conditions, with variations that can have long-term effects. For example, according to Molly Fox, mothers who are particularly depressed or stressed during their first pregnancy “emit biochemical signals that prepare the first daughter for accelerated maturation”. This child would therefore enter puberty earlier, which could explain the increased risk of anxiety and depression in first-borns and only children compared to others. So to speak, everything could already be played out before it is even born.