Comparative Study of Behavioral Qualities of Only Children and Sibling Children

993 children from rural and urban kindergartens aged 4-6 and primary schools aged 9-10 from Beijing and surrounding communes participated in a study comparing only children and siblings in which the children rated each other in matched pairs for 7 behavioral characteristics. The kindergarten children rated photographs of their peers in answer to set questions and the schoolchildren answered 22 questions about their peers by name. The characteristics examined were independent thinking persistence behavior control frustration cooperation peer prestige and egocentrism (self-direction). Both rural and urban siblings had higher scores on cooperation and peer prestige than did only children. Only children were more egocentric considered a negative quality. Urban kindergarten sibling children were more persistent than only children. Urban kindergarten only children showed more independent thinking than sibling children yet urban school siblings were more independent than only children. Urban sibling schoolchildren scored higher on all the positive qualities except behavior control while their only children peers scored higher on the negative quality of egocentrism. Older only children had higher scores for behavior control. Kindergarten teachers often noted that only children had low self-control when frustrated. There were no significant associations between behavior scores and parental education or occupation or type of family by number of generations living together. Cooperation and peer prestige were thought to be related and both were enhanced by siblings in the family.