Parent/Child Relationships

Only Children

1. Early Views on Only Children (Adler, Hall)
a. G. Stanley Hall: “Being an only child is a disease in itself.”
b. “Spoiled children with neurotic parents”
c. Parents of only children are “overindulgent and overprotective”
i. Lead to “negative developmental outcomes”
d. Problem with research: sample was taken only from patients in his private practice
2. Recent Research (Toni Falbo, et. al.)
a. Review based on the quantitative analysis of 210 studies
i. Falbo and Polit (1986)
1. 5 domains:
a. Achievement (only child has advantage)
b. Adjustment (no consistent difference)
c. Character (only child has advantage)
d. Intelligence (only child has advantage)
e. Sociability (no consistent difference)
b. Downey and Condron Study
i. Found that only children scored higher with respect to math and reading
ii. Also found that only children lack the interpersonal and social skills vs. their counterparts with siblings
c. Maturational Changes
i. The only child advantage disappears as the child grows into adulthood (for intelligence)
ii. The only child advantage grows stronger as the child grows into adulthood (for achievement)
iii. There is a deficit in social skills in only children that corrects itself usually by secondary school