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　　Police today stepped up a murder probe(探究)after a father was killed by a gang．They attacked him with an axe．

　　John Purcell, 40, suffered fatal injuries in the incident in Easterhouse, Glasgow on Saturday evening…moments after he had said goodbye to his children．His youngest son John, 11, was being comforted by his mum Elizabeth Malcolm after witnessing the street horror．The father-of-three was attacked around 10∶30 pm in Easterhouse Road．

　　Young John said,“My father was struck from behind with something that looked like a chopper．”John, his sister Danielle, 15, and brother William, 19, have been left devastated and placed a floral tribute(葬礼献花)at the attack scene in memory of their dad．Elizabeth Malcolm said, “We are all in shock about what had happened．When he left here he usually turned left down the road, but for some reason on Saturday he went in the opposite direction which is where the gang members always hang out．”

　　“We have been apart for a number of years, but John always remained close to his children and this has hit them hard,”she said．

　　Police officers initially sealed off the area for forensic(法医)examination but later allowed his relatives to lay flowers．Following a post-mortem(尸检报告), Mr．Purcell's death is being treated as murder．He had been taken by ambulance to Glasgow Royal Infirmary(医院)but died from his severe injuries．Detective Chief Inspector John Riggans, who is leading the investigation, appealed for witnesses to come forward and said,“Inquiries are at an early stage and we are trying to establish the circumstances surrounding the attack scene for the moment．”

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　　All parents tell their children little white lies from time to time．“Of course Father Christmas comes down the chimney! ” “Eat your spinach-you'll get as strong as Popeye．”… and so on．However, there's one fib that's bigger than all the others．It's “I don't have a favorite child．”

　　In his fascinating new book, The Sibling Effect：What Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us, Jeffrey Kluger, a father of two daughters, aged eight and ten, claims that “ 95 percent of parents in the world have a favorite child-and the other 5 percent are lying．”

　　Kluger may be exaggerating the figures for dramatic effect-but despite every parent's vehement(激烈的)denial that they have a favorite child-scientific research shows that he is not far off the truth．

　　According to one recent study by researchers from the University of California-which followed 384 sibling pairs and their parents for three years-65 percent of the mothers and 70 percent of fathers exhibited a preference for one child．As this was among families that knew they were being monitored, there's a strong possibility the true figures could be significantly higher．

　　Favoritism is certainly a controversial topic．When raised as a subject for discussion on parenting websites, it always arouses a stream of angry denials．

　　But interestingly, a lot of personal anecdotes appear from parents who say they were overshadowed by a favored sibling, or were, indeed, their mother or father's favorite．It seems everyone knows favoritism exists-but nobody wants to put their hand up and say they’re guilty of it themselves．

　　Another research, where siblings have been asked to say who their mother and father favor, suggests that mothers do tend to a show a preference for their first-born son, but fathers often dote on their youngest daughters．

　　Parents will often be drawn to the child who is easiest to get along with-or the child that shares similar traits to them．For example, mum will have a special bond with her sensitive, arty son, while dad lavishes attention on his sporty daughter．

　　Professor Scott says being least favored in a family can color our behavior as adults．“Children who feel they are less loved within their family are more likely to develop low self-esteem, anxiety and depression．”

　　But some experts believe being less favored can have positive consequences．Professor Scott agrees that favored children can sometimes find life difficult when they have to rub along in the real world．

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