Sibship size relates to empathy and creativity in adolescents: the buffering effects of family resources and national wealth
Based on a 2022 PISA cross-national analysis, this study reveals that adolescents with one sibling exhibit peak creativity mediated by empathy, while larger sibships show diminished creativity due to resource competition, with both family resources and national wealth buffering these effects only up to two siblings.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
The family is the first workshop where a child learns to think, feel, and connect with the world. For decades, researchers have debated how the number of children in a household shapes these developing minds. One school of thought suggests that parents have a limited amount of time, money, and attention to give. As the number of children grows, these resources are split thinner, potentially leaving each child with less support for their growth. This idea, often called resource dilution, implies that having more siblings might mean less opportunity for individual development. On the other hand, some experts argue that siblings are not just competitors for parental attention but are also vital partners in learning. Through daily interactions, arguments, and play, children practice social skills, learn to understand others' feelings, and navigate complex relationships. These social experiences could actually fuel creativity and emotional intelligence. The question remains: does having a brother or sister help a child become more creative, or does it hold them back? The answer likely depends on exactly how many siblings are involved and the environment in which the family lives.
A new study published in August 2026 by researchers from Shandong University of Arts and Guangxi Normal University tackles this question by looking at a massive, global snapshot of teenage life. The team analyzed data from the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment, a major international survey that tests 15-year-olds in dozens of countries. This specific cycle of the survey included a special focus on creative thinking, allowing the researchers to measure how well students could generate original ideas and solve problems. The study looked at over 264,000 students from 35 different nations, examining the link between the number of siblings a student had and their scores in creativity and empathy. The researchers also investigated whether the family's financial and cultural standing, as well as the overall wealth of the country, changed how siblings influenced these outcomes.
The results revealed a surprising pattern that defies a simple "more is better" or "more is worse" rule. The students with the highest creativity scores were those who had exactly one sibling. These teenagers outperformed both only children and those with two or more siblings. Students with no siblings scored slightly lower than those with one sibling, while those with two siblings scored similarly to only children. However, the trend took a sharp turn for the worse once the family size grew larger. Students with three or more siblings had the lowest creativity scores of all. This suggests that having a single sibling acts as a unique boost, perhaps by providing a constant partner for social learning without overwhelming the family's resources. But once the number of siblings climbs to three or more, the benefits disappear, and the competition for parental time and energy appears to outweigh any social advantages.
To understand why this happens, the researchers looked at empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. They found that empathy acts as a bridge between family size and creativity. For students with one sibling, having a brother or sister was linked to higher levels of empathy, which in turn was linked to higher creativity. The daily practice of navigating a relationship with a single sibling seems to sharpen a child's ability to see the world from another's perspective, a skill that fuels creative thinking. However, in families with two or more siblings, this dynamic shifts. In larger families, the presence of multiple siblings was linked to lower empathy scores, which then corresponded with lower creativity. It appears that when there are too many children, the intense competition for parental attention may leave less room for the deep, one-on-one emotional exchanges needed to build strong empathetic skills.
The study also showed that the family's economic situation and the wealth of the country play a crucial role in buffering these effects. In families with higher economic and cultural resources, the advantage of having one sibling was even stronger. These families could provide enough books, educational tools, and support to ensure that even with two children, the resources were not stretched too thin. Similarly, in wealthier nations with strong public support systems, the negative impact of having two siblings was reduced. Public resources like schools and community programs seemed to step in where family resources might be stretched. However, this safety net had its limits. When a family had three or more children, neither family wealth nor national wealth could fully protect against the drop in creativity. The researchers suggest that some resources, like a parent's time and attention, cannot be replaced by money or public services. Once a family grows beyond a certain point, the sheer demand for these irreplaceable inputs becomes too great for even the most supportive environments to manage.
These findings offer a nuanced view of family life, suggesting that siblings are neither purely a burden nor a guaranteed benefit. Instead, they function as a powerful social resource when the family size is small, helping children develop the emotional and cognitive tools needed for creativity. But as the family grows, the nature of that relationship changes, and the competition for parental care can begin to hinder development. The study does not prove that having a specific number of siblings causes these outcomes, as it relies on a single snapshot in time, but it provides strong evidence that the relationship between family size and a child's potential is complex and deeply influenced by the resources available to the family. For parents and policymakers, the message is clear: while siblings can be a great asset, the support systems around the family must be robust enough to ensure that every child, regardless of how many brothers or sisters they have, receives the attention and resources they need to thrive.
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