Almost a third of the children questioned for the journal Pediatrics said that they had experienced ‘sibling aggression’ in the last year. This term includes theft, psychological abuse and physical assault. This figure is more than the quarter from similar research who said that they were victims of aggression at school.

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Alongside the report, some relevant calls to Childline were published. One girl aged between 12 and 15 said: ‘I’m so scared of my brother. He pushes me, shouts at me and sometimes even hits me.’ An under-11 year-old boy said: ‘My sister is so mean to me. She tells me I’m stupid and makes up all these horrible things about me. Mum and Dad don’t do anything to stop it. I cry almost every night. Sometimes I want to disappear.’

Corinna Tucker, from the University of New Hampshire - who led the study - said: ‘The public brushes off aggression between siblings as just rivalry. A sibling relationship is emotionally intense - it’s one of those relationships where you can love them and you can hate them at the same time - siblings are natural competitors for family resources and parents’ attention.’ The research also showed a link between experiencing sibling bullying and suffering from mental health issues.

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