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Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
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Are Only Children Missing Out? Comparison of the Peer-Related Social Competence of Only Children and Siblings

Katherine M. Kitzmann

University of Memphis, k.kitzmann{at}mail.psyc.memphis.edu

Robert Cohen

University of Memphis

Rebecca L. Lockwood

University of Memphis

In this study, we tested the assumption that having a sibling provides practice with skills that generalize to peer relations, by comparing the peer-related social competence of only children, first-borns with one sibling, and second-borns with one sibling in a sample of 139 elementary school-age children. Only children were similar to classmates in terms of number of close friendships and friendship quality, but were less liked by classmates as a group. Only children were more likely both to be victimized and aggressive in the peer group, suggesting that having a sibling may be especially helpful for learning to manage conflict. Results are discussed in terms of the need to examine multiple levels of social complexity to understand family-peer links.

Key Words: conflict • peers • siblings • social competence

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 19, No. 3, 299-316 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/0265407502193001
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