FALSE Only-children are selfish. Because they never have to share a toy, a bedroom, or a parent’s attention, and consequently never learn to get along with peers. A study of 421 Chinese children in 2013, suggested that the one-child policy had produced Little Emperors — pampered kids who grew up to be less trusting, less trustworthy, more risk-averse, less competitive, more pessimistic and less conscientious. But a larger study with more than 1,000 Chinese schoolkids debunked this.
TRUE They’re raised differently. A 2001 study marking the rise in single-child households suggests that as incomes grow, parents use more rewards than punishments to instil good behaviour. Only-children benefit most from this.
FALSE They’re stubborn, egocentric, self-absorbed or hypochondriac. Claire Hughes, developmental psychologist and deputy director of the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge, says those traits are as common in kids with siblings. In Germany, a study of 2,000 adults found that only-children are no more likely to be narcissistic. The study was titled The End of a Stereotype.
TRUE They’re more likely to be obese. Last year, a study of 20,000 Chinese adults looked at eating habits and found that those who had been only-children tended make less healthy food choices than those raised in big families. Only-sons in urban China were 36% more likely to be overweight and 43% more likely to be obese.
FALSE They’re smarter. A review of 115 studies (from 1925 onward, in the US and Canada, across class and race) of people with and without siblings found that only-children scored higher on IQ tests than others. Only firstborns and those with one younger sibling did better academically. But the study suggested that the gap decreased with age. Even in China, when 250 college-aged students were tested, only-children displayed no differences in terms of IQ.
TRUE They face more pressure. A 2018 study of 10,000 German schoolchildren suggested that only-children have stronger bonds with their parents. Many are raised with higher expectations, which might make them more driven. They might also worry more about life after a parent’s death.
FALSE They’re lonely. Those 115 studies also revealed that only-children do not experience loneliness at higher levels than those with siblings. A 2011 study did find that only-children engaged in fewer social activities with relatives as adults. But it did not affect their sociability with friends and colleagues. A 2013 study also found that only-children had, on average, just as many friends as others.
TRUE They’re just fine. Toni Falbo, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Texas, has researched only-children since the 1970s. Her conclusion: Across all developmental outcomes, only-children were indistinguishable from firstborns and people from small families and, on average, did better on most parameters than children from large families.