Only child

As only children are called children , those without siblings grow up.

In Germany (as of 2015) 26% of children are only children during their entire childhood (East Germany: 34%, West Germany 25%). Big city children grow up more often than their peers in smaller cities without siblings. There are no family and social networks that make it easier to raise more than one child. In addition, small rental apartments with only one children's room often predominate there.

reasons

There can be a variety of reasons why parents decide against having more children and for an only child:

Health reasons with one parent.
Parents don't want more children.
Children and family take a less central position in the personal value system.
The professional career , not starting or expanding a family, is the focus of life.
Due to bad experiences with one's own siblings, similar experiences for one's own child should be avoided.
Due to a limited social network , childcare is difficult to organize.
Other family members or caregivers would not tolerate a decision to have more children.
An unfavorable living situation prevents the implementation of a possible wish for more children.
More children lead to higher financial burdens that may not be bearable.
Fear of having more children in a (renewed / stronger) dependency on the partner.
Desire not to continue contributing to the overpopulation of the planet.
Health problems of the only child.
After the birth of the first child, the mother cannot cope with the health of a second.

Character Development of Only Children: Empirical Studies

Ernst and Angst 1983: Summary of Scientific Studies

The authors summarized all studies published up to then. They came to the conclusion that neither the birth rank nor the number of siblings, nor the fact of being an only child, has an independent influence on a person's character development if all other variables are kept constant.

literature

Christine Geserick, Sonja Dörfler, Markus Kaindl: Are only children different? GGS data for Austria, France, Norway and Russia. (PDF; 1.3 MB) Austrian Institute for Family Research, University of Vienna. Working Paper No. 79, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
Jill Pitkeathley, David Emerson: Only Children. Solve problems, use skills. A guide for parents and children. zu Klampen, Springe, 2003, ISBN 3934920292 .

Web links

Wiktionary: only child - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

↑ FAZ Family in Germany (September 18, 2015)
↑ ^a ^b Hartmut Kasten: Only children and their families. Hogrefe, Göttingen, 2007, p. 32.
↑ Brigitte Blöchlinger: Only children. It works fine without siblings. On observer.ch
↑ Cécile Ernst, Jules Fear. Birth Order. Its influence on personality. Springer, New York, 1983.

[1] FAZ Family in Germany (September 18, 2015)

[kasten-einzelkinder-2] Hartmut Kasten: Only children and their families. Hogrefe, Göttingen, 2007, p. 32.

[3] Brigitte Blöchlinger: Only children. It works fine without siblings. On observer.ch

[4] Cécile Ernst, Jules Fear. Birth Order. Its influence on personality. Springer, New York, 1983.