The post 6 Things Research Says Keep Siblings Close for Life first appeared on Crafting Your Home.
Brothers and sisters can spend years sharing a bedroom, arguing over the television and competing for their parents’ attention. Then adulthood arrives, everyone moves in different directions, and the relationship can change dramatically.
Some siblings become each other’s closest friends. Others remain connected but see one another only occasionally. Research suggests that sibling closeness is not simply determined by being raised in the same household. The quality of the relationship, the amount of contact, and the way siblings handle changes over time can all matter.
Showing warmth and affection
One of the clearest themes in sibling research is warmth.
Warmth can include affection, encouragement, helping one another, and simply showing that a sibling matters. A 2025 study using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study found that positive sibling interactions during childhood, including hugging and helping, were associated with greater sibling closeness and contact in adulthood.
Research following siblings from adolescence into adulthood has also found that warmth between siblings can remain meaningful as relationships change with age. In one longitudinal study, warmth in young adulthood was associated with later emotional outcomes, although the researchers did not suggest that sibling relationships alone determine those outcomes.
Keeping hostility and unnecessary conflict under control
Arguments are part of many sibling relationships, especially during childhood. But research suggests that persistent hostility can make it harder to maintain a close connection.
A 2026 longitudinal study tracking siblings from approximately ages 7 through 30 found that sibling conflict generally declined across adolescence and leveled off during young adulthood, while intimacy followed a different developmental pattern.
Another longitudinal study found that increases in sibling conflict during childhood and adolescence were associated with increases in certain adjustment difficulties. In contrast, greater sibling intimacy was associated with better adjustment in some groups.
Staying in contact as life changes
Siblings often become less involved in one another’s daily lives after leaving home. Careers, relationships, children, and geographical distance can all change how frequently they interact.
Research on emerging adulthood found that major life transitions, including full-time employment, marriage or cohabitation, and parenthood, were associated with changes in sibling relationship quality. Some of these transitions were associated with more distant relationships, showing how easily adult responsibilities can reshape sibling connections.
Being there for one another
Sibling relationships can involve practical and emotional support.
Researchers studying older adults have found that sibling warmth is associated with greater connection, while closeness can also be related to patterns of contact and confiding. A study of 608 older adults found generally high levels of sibling warmth and relatively low levels of conflict, although relationships varied considerably from one sibling pair to another.
Building positive shared experiences
They may remember the same childhood home, relatives, holidays, family traditions, and embarrassing moments. Those shared experiences can provide a foundation for connection even when siblings eventually lead very different lives.
Research increasingly examines sibling relationships across the life course rather than treating childhood and adulthood as completely separate periods. The 2026 longitudinal study, for example, followed sibling intimacy and conflict from childhood through young adulthood and found that these relationships change rather than simply remaining fixed.
Accepting that closeness can change.
A sibling relationship may be extremely close during childhood, become more distant in early adulthood, and then become closer again later. Research on young adults has found that sibling conflict can decline as people move through young adulthood. In contrast, other research shows that major transitions such as marriage, parenthood, and employment can alter patterns of sibling contact and intimacy.
A study of older adults also found that sibling closeness was related to lower loneliness, although the researchers examined associations rather than proving that sibling closeness directly causes particular outcomes.
Keeping the sibling bond strong
No single formula guarantees siblings will remain close throughout their lives. Family circumstances, personalities, geography, and childhood experiences can all shape the relationship.
Research, however, repeatedly points to some useful ingredients: warmth, manageable conflict, continued contact, mutual support, shared experiences, and flexibility as life changes.
For siblings who want to stay connected, the message is less about recreating childhood and more about continuing to build a relationship as adults.
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