Here is an interesting piece of Swedish research that is based on following the progress of 13,400 twins born between 1973 and 1981. The conclusion of the research is that growing up with your twin sibling helps you have a better life. You are less likely to be a drug addict, or a criminal and you are more likely to go to University.
The researchers are not entirely sure why this is the case. One possible mechanism is that twins are much more thoroughly socialised when from birth. They are forced to learn to interact with each other and generally have a closer relationship than normal siblings.
The original article in Norwegian is here.
Google’s sometimes curious attempt at auto translating from Norwegian to English is here.
Trust me, the original Norwegian article reads a lot better than the auto translation.
What is this of relevance to this blog you might well ask? Well, besides it being a Scandinavian research project, both Damae and I have similar family structures. We both the second born of five children. Both of us have an older brother and a younger brother. The youngest siblings in both our families are twin sisters.