Only Children
G. Stanley Hall
• Being an only
child is a disease
in itself.
• Overprotected
• Overindulged
Romeo & Juliet
• Alas,
• Was Juliet
• An Only Child?
Happier by the Dozen
• Early Industrial
Psychologists had 12
children to demonstrate
efficiency.
•
• Happily described in
1948 book, Cheaper by
the Dozen
Lillian Moller Gilbreth
Cheaper by the Dozen
• Three Movies
 1950
 (based on 1948 book)
 2003 & 2005
 (stories unlike
• 1948 book)
Meta Analyses-Falbo & Polit
• Quantitative reviews of literature
• Over 100 studies
• 1925-1984
• Difference between onlies and others was
small, even if statistically significant.
Key Findings
• The high achievement of only children was
similar to that of children from 2-child families
and firstborns.
• The achievement of only children was higher
than children from 3+ child families.
Parent-Child Relations
In terms of,
 Expert reports, Parental descriptions of children, &
Children’s descriptions of parents
First-time parents: More anxiety ->
Greater vigilance
First-time parents: higher expectations for
their children than more experienced parents.
Apolo Ohno
China’s One-Child Policy
Began over 30 years
ago.
Extremely successful
in reducing birth rate.
Intended to promote
modernization.
Little Emperors
I began conducting research
in China…..
Beijing, 1985
Vanessa Fong
2004
Only Hope
Teens were
pushed by parents
to achieve
Teens were
supposed to be
vanguard of
modernization
2007
Ethos
Mismatch between
simple values and
more complex models
parents want for their
children
Falbo & Poston (1993)
Four
Provinces
50
Schools
50
Schools
50
Schools
50
Schools
Four Provinces in 1990
Province
% Urban
* Anhui (n=1000)
44%
* Beijing (n=1000)
70%
* Gansu (n=1000)
50%
* Hunan (n=1000)
30%
Secondary Analyses
Multilevel analysis.
Mediation investigated:
Parents’ reports of:
Child getting way
Homework help
Educational expectations
Empty Model
Used SAS PROC MIXED
Random Variable = 200 schools
Fixed Variable = None
ICC =.34
Fixed Effects:
Birth Order
Sibship Size
Order of birth,
Number of siblings
in a family,
such as firstborn,
middle born, last
born.
such as, 0, 1, 2, 3,
etc.
Model 1: Onlies vs. Others
1400
1200
1000
800
One Child
Two Child
Three+Child
600
400
200
0
1
FB
MB
LB
Raw Means-Sibship Size
86
84
82
80
78
Third Grade
SixthGrade
76
74
72
70
68
66
0 Siblings
1 Sibling
2 Siblings
3+ Siblings
Model 2: Family Characteristics
Parents’ Education
Range:
None to
College Degree
Average: Primary Jr. High
Completion
Family Income
Range:
Less than 1000 to
Over 5000 Yuan
Average: 2501 to
3500 Yuan
Model 3: Control Variables
Individual
School
Gender
Region
Grade Level
Province
Beijing vs.
Anhui,
Gansu,
Hunan
Model 4: Mediators?
Child Getting Way
Homework Help
Educational Expectations
Child Get Way
2.8
2.78
2.76
2.74
1 child
2 child
3+child
2.72
2.7
2.68
2.66
2.64
1
FB
MB
LB
Homework Help
2.6
2.5
2.4
1 child
2 child
3+child
2.3
2.2
2.1
2
1
FB
MB
LB
Educational Expectations
4
3.9
3.8
1 child
2 child
3+child
3.7
3.6
3.5
3.4
1
FB
MB
LB
Table. Results of Multilevel Models Predicting School Achievement
Measure
Sibling Effect
One (1) vs. FB, 2C (0)
vs. LB, 2C (0)
vs. FB, 3+C (0)
vs. MB, 3+C (0)
vs. LB, 3+C (0)
Model 1
2.27***
1.81**
2.40**
4.73***
3.39***
Family Characteristics
Parents’ Education
Family Income
Model 2
Model 3
Model 4
1.52**
1.43**
1.42
3.22***
2.08**
0.68
0.64
0.39
2.16**
0.86
0.27
0.27
0.01
1.53*
0.28
0.81***
0.09
0.75***
0.07
0.57***
0.00
1.24***
-1.32***
1.60***
-1.24***
1.77*
1.94*
7.17***
7.16***
9.71***
7.07***
7.40***
9.52***
Individual-Level Control Variables
Gender (female)
Grade (sixth)
School-Level Control Variables
Region (Urban)
Province
Beijing (1) vs. Anhui (0)
vs. Hunan (0)
vs. Gansu (0)
Educational Expectations
Level One Variance
Level Two Variance
2.73***
105.55
44.69
101.62
37.47
100.68
25.45
Note. Unstandardized regression coefficients presented here. *p < .05; **p < .01; *** p < .0001
95.89
24.26
What’s Next?
• 2008 Chinese Data
– Secondary Students
– College Students
– Young Adults