A Systematic Review of the Outcomes for U.S. Only Children in the Last 40 Years

Abstract

While family trends indicate that more families are having zero or one child, stigma against one-child families exists. Understanding if there are negative outcomes for only children is important to family planning in the future. Although there are a limited number of U.S. studies with the explicit purpose of examining only child outcomes, this systematic review intends to synthesize current knowledge of only child outcomes in order to better understand the context of this important trend. This review examined peer-reviewed articles and dissertations in two major social science databases (PsycInfo and Social Science Database) for all years since 1984; studies must have been: (a) written in the English language, (b) peer reviewed, and (c) conducted in the United States. 12 articles were found for inclusion. Risk of bias was assessed using the Downs and checklist. Examining only children compared to those with siblings, the results of this review find no negative outcomes for only children and even some more positive outcomes for these children, including quality of parent–child relationship, achievement motivation, more education, and strength of character. Qualitative and longitudinal research is called for to further explore non-significant differences that may exist. Limitations include limited studies found and the younger ages of most participants. The results of this review support the need for more qualitative and longitudinal research to better understand these families of the future.