Comparative Study Between Personality Traits of Only-Child Students and Those with Siblings Among Grade 11 Students: An Emerging Guide

Abstract

Hearing the word “only child” is often associated with being spoiled and self-centered. These notions stem from the fact that when a person is an only child,he practically has everything –his parents’ exclusive attention, love, and material needs. In this study, we compared the personality traits of an only child and those with siblings that were solidly grounded in evidence and theory. The researchers used a descriptive-comparative research design and purposive sampling technique to select the respondents for this study. The researchers used the Emotions Profile Index to determine the personality traits of the respondents. A total of 50 respondents were selected and grouped according to whether they are the only child or have siblings. The researchers determined that regardless of which group the respondents belong to, the majority displayed high percentile mean scores on depressed, distrustful, controlled, and aggressive dimensions. However, both groups of respondents obtained almost the same percentile mean on the majority of the personality dimensions. Therefore, the difference in the personality traits of an only child and people with siblings is not significant. The results demonstrated that the two groups of respondents can exhibit the same character traits because their birth order does not affect their development. Instead, a person's environment and experiences shape his/her personality and traits.