Parents are often curious to know how their infant will do behaviorally and emotionally as they grow up, and if there is any way we can help parents understand what may lie ahead from a developmental standpoint for these babies. Rodrigues et al. (10.1542/peds.2016-4279) share with us in a new study the data they gathered longitudinally on a cohort of 323 infants all of whom had older siblings. These infants were followed for four and a half years with parents providing ratings of their emotional and behavioral issues as they moved through toddlerhood into preschool. Information was also gathered at the start of the study and ongoing regarding sibling behavior.
The results are quite interesting and show that the strongest predictors of an index infant’s behavior when they reached 4 ½ years was the nature of the behavioral and emotional problems experienced by their older sibling. Maternal mental health and socioeconomic factors were less important than what could be learned from the older sibling. If you have an infant with an older sibling, this study suggests we learn from that sibling’s behavioral course and intervene or monitor for similar behaviors in that infant before that child manifests more worrisome behavioral or emotional traits that might be prevented with our knowledge of the sibling. Why the genetics and the environmental factors influencing that sibling may be just as critical to your newest infant patients makes for a great discussion section and warrants your linking to this study to learn more.
