A new study on the only child syndrome has shown that children who grow up without siblings are not more selfish than those with brothers and sisters. Volunteers were asked to complete a series of altruism-related tasks from the perspective of both an only child and a child with siblings, conducted by a team from Shaanxi Normal University in Xi'an, China. Before the study, 70 percent believed that only siblings would demonstrate altruistic behavior, compared to 55 percent who thought the same about an only child.
However, after the study, researchers found no difference in altruistic behavior levels between children with siblings and those without. The researchers stated that negative stereotypes often rely on the idea that "inflated parental attention" can lead to self-centered behavior.
Despite the increasing trend towards one-child families, negative stereotypes about only children persist, according to the team behind the new research. Specifically, only children are believed to be more narcissistic, depressed, and impulsive than non-only children.
Nevertheless, the study revealed no differences in observable altruistic behaviors between the two groups of children, demonstrating that these stereotypes are unfounded. The researchers believe that these stereotypes stem from the perception of "inflated parental attention," along with the absence of siblings to learn from when it comes to sharing toys and time, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The researchers concluded that the findings of this study have important implications, writing, "Only children are becoming more common in many countries, following a general decline in fertility rates worldwide. The presence of negative stereotypes may make them more likely to be held onto; therefore, overcoming these stereotypes is of immediate importance."
