IT'S WHO YOU ARE

SEVEN WAYS SIBLINGS SHAPE YOUR PERSONALITY

About 80% of Americans have at least one brother or sister. In fact, kids today are more likely to grow up with a SIBLING than a FATHER. And siblings have a big impact on WHO you are. Here are seven ways they shape your personality, for better or worse . . .

1.) SIBLINGS RELIEVE STRESS. Close siblings protect each other from stressful events. So, things like divorce are usually harder on ONLY CHILDREN than they are on brothers and sisters.

2.) THEY MAKE YOU A BETTER ARGUER. According to studies, siblings can have anywhere between six and ten fights per hour. And that gives them A LOT of practice for later in life.

3.) SIBLINGS RAISE YOUR CHANCES OF HAVING MENTAL-HEALTH ISSUES. Kids with siblings are more likely to develop anxiety and depression. -Plus, a 2007 study from the American Journal of Psychiatry showed that BOYS who have bad relationships with their brothers and sisters are MUCH more likely to battle depression by the time they turn 50.

4.) THEIR BAD HABITS RUB OFF ON YOU. If you have an older sibling who drinks, smokes, or does drugs, YOU'RE more likely to do the same thing. And teenage girls are four times more likely to get pregnant if an older sister was a teenage mom.

5.) THEY CAN INSPIRE YOU TO BE DIFFERENT. Some kids want to be just like their older siblings, but more and more research shows that other kids do the OPPOSITE. --If your older brother or sister was "the jock" of the family, maybe you strived to be "the smart one." Kids want to be "special" in the eyes of their parents . . . and kids with siblings feel like they have to carve out their own niche.

6.) THEY MAKE YOU JEALOUS. If you were jealous of a brother or sister growing up, your self-esteem probably took a hit. And if that's the case, it might have made you more jealous . . . and suspicious . . . when it comes to relationships.

7.) THEY CAN ALSO GIVE YOUR LOVE LIFE A BOOST. Kids who grow up with a sibling CAN be at an advantage when it comes to dating. --A study of college students showed that guys and girls who grew up with siblings of the opposite sex tend to have an easier time FLIRTING. (USNews.com)