Study: 'Only Child' Stigma Unfounded

(NewsCore) - Growing up without siblings does not disadvantage teenagers’ social skills, researchers announced Monday.

Ohio State University researchers assessed over 13,000 middle and high school students across the country and found that “only children” attracted as many school friends as peers who grew up with brothers and sisters.

In tests, teens were given a roster of all students at their school and asked to identify up to five male and five female friends -- students’ popularity was then calculated based on how many peers chose “only children” as friends.

Overall, students were nominated by an average of five other schoolmates as a friend. There were no significant differences in that number between those who had siblings, and those who had none.

The number of siblings a teen had did not affect the outcome, nor did it matter if those siblings were brothers, sisters or some combination, or if they were stepsiblings, half-siblings or adopted siblings.

The researchers studied data from the National Study of Adolescent Health, which interviewed students in grades seven through 12 at more than 100 schools nationwide during the 1994-95 academic year.

Donna Bobbitt-Zeher, co-author of the study and assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State University said: "As family sizes get smaller in industrialized countries, there is concern about what it might mean for society as more children grow up without brothers and sisters. The fear is that they may be losing something by not learning social skills through interacting with siblings."

“In every combination we tested, siblings had no impact on how popular a student was among peers,” she added.

A 2004 study by the university found that “only children” showed poorer social skills in kindergarten, but the new study discovered the early advantage of having siblings did not persist through to adolescence.

The research was due to be presented Monday in Atlanta at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.