◎鄭寺音

Sisters spread happiness while brothers breed distress, experts believe.

專家相信，姊妹會散播快樂，然而兄弟卻會引起悲傷。

Researchers quizzed 571 people aged 17 to 25 about their lives and found those who grew up with sisters were more likely to be happy and balanced.

研究人員詢問571名17到25歲的人生活的問題，發現與姊妹一同成長的人，似乎比較快樂也比較平衡。

The University of Ulster said having daughters made a family more open and willing to discuss feelings. They said the influence of girls was particularly important after distressing family events such as marital break-ups.

厄斯特大學表示，有女兒讓家庭更開放，更願意討論感覺。他們說，在讓人難過的家庭事件，例如婚姻破裂之後，女孩的影響特別重要。

During the study, participants filled in psychological questionnaires which researchers used to assess a range of issues, including whether they had a positive outlook and any mental health problems.

這份研究中，參與者填寫心理問卷，研究人員用問卷來評估一些議題，包括參與者是否對未來有正面的看法與精神健康問題。

Lead researcher Professor Tony Cassidy said： "Sisters appear to encourage more open communication and cohesion in families.

領導研究者卡西迪說：「姊妹似乎會鼓勵家庭更多開放的對話與凝聚力。」

"Emotional expression is fundamental to good psychological health and having sisters promotes this in families."

「表達情緒對好的心理健康很重要，有姊妹會促進情感表達。」

He said many of the participants had been brought up in families where parents had split and the impact of sisters was even more marked in these circumstances.

他說，許多參與者是在父母仳離的家中成長，姊妹的影響在這些環境中甚至更為明顯。

新聞辭典

breed：動詞，引起。例句：A swamp breeds mosquitoes.（沼澤孳生蚊蟲。）

distress：名詞，痛苦。例句：Many of the horses were showing signs of distress at the end of the race.（比賽到最後，許多馬都顯出一副痛苦的樣子。）

cohesion：名詞，凝聚力。例句：The lack of cohesion within the party lost them votes in the election.（黨內缺乏凝聚力導致他們流失選票。）

自由時報-980423

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