Did you assume kids without siblings don't fit in?
Well, it might not be the case. A new study says being an "only child" isn't a disadvantage for teens when it comes to social skills.
The study looked at more than 13,000 middle and high schoolers nationwide and found kids picked those without siblings as friends just as often and they did those with siblings.
"I don't think anyone has to be concerned that if you don't have siblings, you won't learn the social skills you need to get along with other students in high school," said Donna Bobbitt-Zeher, co-author of the study and assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State University's Marion campus, in a statement.
The study was presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.
She and a partner did the study because family size has gotten smaller in the industrialized world. And concern was going about what it would mean for only children. Maybe they were losing something because they weren't interacting with brothers and sisters.
In 2004, the researchers had found that was the case with kindergarteners, based on ratings of social skills from teachers. But the new study shows that the advantage of having siblings doesn't seem to persist into adolescence.
"Kids interact in school, they're participating in extracurricular activities, and they're socializing in and out of school," she said. "Anyone who didn't have that peer interaction at home with siblings gets a lot of opportunities to develop social skills as they go through school."
Baltimore Sun file photo