We haven’t been counting. But as a family law firm, we have not noticed a connection between our divorce clients in Barrie, Collingwood, Orillia, Midland, Muskoka, or Newmarket compared to the number of siblings they have.
However, a new study is pointing to that very thing.
Research from Ohio State University claims that growing up with siblings may provide some protection against divorce as an adult. Their data shows that each additional sibling a person has (up to about seven) reduces the odds of divorce by 2 percent.
“One argument might be that it isn’t siblings that matter, but some other difference between large families and small families,” said Doug Downey, co-author of the study and professor of sociology at The Ohio State University.
“It could have been that small families are more likely to have a single parent, or have some other issue that may hurt children in their future marriage relationship.”
The study used data from the General Social Survey, which involved interviews with about 57,000 adults from across the United States at 28 points between 1972 and 2012.
“There are so many factors that are related to divorce, and the number of siblings you have is just one of them,” said Donna Bobbitt-Zeher, co-author of the study and assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State’s Marion campus.
“There is a relationship between the number of siblings and divorce, but it is not something that is going to doom your marriage if you don’t have a brother or sister.”
If you need a Newmarket divorce lawyer or a family lawyer in Orillia, please contact us at any time.
