Only Children in the 21st Century: Personality Differences between Adults With and Without Siblings are Very, Very Small

Publication date: Available online 10 September 2019Source: Journal of Research in PersonalityAuthor(s): Samantha Stronge, John Shaver, Joseph Bulbulia, Chris G. SibleyAbstractNegative beliefs about only children suggest that they are spoiled and unlikable, with these early personality differences persisting across the lifespan. Early research found little support for the idea, yet, negative views towards only children remain prevalent. The current research re-visited the issue using a large national panel study of New Zealand adults (N = 20,592) to assess mean differences in personality between those with and without siblings. Adults with no siblings reported significantly lower levels of conscientiousness and honesty-humility and higher levels of neuroticism and openness than adults with siblings; however, mean differences failed to reach the threshold of even a small effect size (|d’s| = .08 - .11). Beliefs about only children appear to contradict actual group differences.
Source: Journal of Research in Personality - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research