Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Siblings Belonging to Two-child Families

The following study was conducted to assess the difference between the levels of stress, anxiety and depression in siblings coming from a two-child family. The sample consisted of 100 first-born and 100 second-born young adults whose age ranged from 18 to 30 years. The short form of Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to collect the data. It was hypothesized that first-borns would score higher on the three dimensions as compared to the second-born individuals. The results did not support the hypotheses. The mean score of stress was found to be 16.98 for first-borns and 16.14 for second-borns. The mean score for depression was 12.70 in first-borns and 14.92 in second-borns. Lastly, the mean score for anxiety was found to be 13.54 in first-borns and 14.52 in second-borns. Hence, anxiety and depression were greater in second-borns than first-borns while stress was close to equal, leaning slightly more towards the first-borns. None of the differences were found to be significant.