Having a sibling promotes sympathy and altruism in brothers

Washington: A new study has revealed that siblings uniquely promote sympathy and altruism in boys.

According to study, a hostile relationship with a sibling made boys more likely to have behavior problems and a quality relationship with a brother or sister also increased teens' levels of altruism, also known as prosocial behavior.

Laura Padilla-Walker said that in their study, most relationships were not as important for boys as they were for girls, but the sibling relationship was different - they seemed to report relying on sibling affection just as much as girls do. It's an area where parents and therapists could really help boys.

The researchers said that having a sibling you can count on seems to make a difference especially for prosocial behavior.

The study was published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence.