But for only children, people often assume that the absence of siblings can be detrimental to a child's emotional and psychological wellbeing. Onlies are often labeled as being lonely, unable to form friendships, unwilling to share with others, self-centered, less empathetic, and more anxious than those with siblings.
The only child syndrome theory suggests that a child without siblings may be more likely to lack social skills and be spoiled, lonely, or selfish.
Since only child syndrome is not an actual condition, there are no real symptoms. However, there are several traits that are stereotypically associated with only child syndrome, including self-centeredness, lack of social skills, and perfectionism.
Some psychologists believe in the “only child syndrome," though there is very little evidence to back it up. “Only child syndrome” is the idea that in adulthood, those who have had no siblings are more likely to have less developed social skills and antisocial tendencies that have carried on from childhood.
Since they don't have siblings to interact with, only children are believed to be lonely and poorly socialized. They are also believed to be incapable of compromising or working well with others, since they haven't had to share their toys, space, identity, and parents' attention with others.
Psychologists also have conflicting ideas about how only children operate in relationships. “They often have problems when it comes to delayed gratification, overly seeking attention, difficulty separating from parental influence, immaturity, independence, giving and receiving, [and] sharing,” John Mayer, Ph.
MYTH: Only children are lonely. FACT: Only children can have as many friends as their peers with siblings do.
Not surprisingly, only children and last borns are also a good match. An only child is sensible and conscientious, so can take charge in the relationship. The last born brings creativity and adventure into the relationship, so they balance each other out. First borns also do well with middle children.
Youngest children are very slightly more likely to be Introverts (+1.13%) than they are Extraverts (-1.07%). Only children are less likely to be Introverts (-2.23%).
Only children tend to fall more into the "firstborn" camp of Adler's theory: Firstborns: Firstborns are thought of as responsible, reliable, cautious, achievement-oriented leaders and problem solvers.
For example, studies have found that only children are more aggressive and less popular among classmates and have poorer performance in conflict resolutions (Kitzmann et al., 2002) and poorer interpersonal skills (Downey and Condron, 2008).
Golden child syndrome, or being a “golden child,” is a term typically used by family, and most often by parents, to refer to a child in the family that's regarded as exceptional in some way. The golden child is expected to be extraordinary at everything, not make mistakes, and essentially be “perfect.”
Six themes emerged for an only child'slived experiences, namely: academically contented, positive interpersonal relationship, emotionally satisfied, inclined to sports, lack of spiritual convictions, and feels compensated through friends; three themes for an only child's self-perception such as: the priority, lack of ...
As Dr Murray M. Kappelman, author of Raising the Only Child, only children tend to put great stock in friendships and create something kind of like sibling attachment with their friends so they can enjoy the same closeness.
Research has showed that, while having one child is associated with a gain in happiness, having a second is associated with a drop in happiness for mothers.
About half reported that being an “only” made it hard to make friends because they had no practice with siblings – they became loners with a lack of good relationships. The other half reported that having no siblings obliged them to become socially skilled, and that they were great at forming relationships.
Depression and anxiety
No single difference was found between the only-children and the children with siblings in these two studies. However, a very large study (n=16 823) found higher values for depression in children having siblings than in only-children [32].
Disruptive behavioural problems such as temper tantrums, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional, defiant or conduct disorders are the commonest behavioural problems in preschool and school age children.
A study done by the National Bureau of Economic Research showed that only children tend to perform better in school, are higher achievers and are overall more mature. Most of this all comes down to only children simply spending more time with adults.