There were eight children in the family, two of them grown half-brothers with children of their own. Freud's closest companion in childhood was his nephew, who was only a year older. So strong an influence did this nephew have on Freud that he later described him as the source of all his (Freud's) friendships and hatreds for the rest of his life. The young Freud evidently experienced much rivalry with and resentment toward all the children in his family and was jealous and angry when new rivals for his mother's affection were born. Perhaps as a result, he became highly competitive.