1. Only Children Myths & Realities

2. G. Stanley Hall Being an only child is a disease in itself. Overprotected Overindulged

3. Romeo & Juliet Alas, Was Juliet An Only Child?

4. Happier by the Dozen Early Industrial Psychologists had 12 children to demonstrate efficiency. Described in 1948 book, Cheaper by the Dozen

5. Lillian Moller Gilbreth 1878-1972

6. Cheaper by the Dozen Three Movies  1950  (based on 1948 book)  2003 & 2005  (stories unlike 1948 book)

7. Meta Analyses-Falbo & Polit Quantitative reviews of literature Over 100 studies 1925-1984 Difference between onlies and others was small, even if statistically significant.

8. Key Findings The high achievement of only children was similar to that of children from 2-child families and firstborns. The achievement of only children was higher than children from 3+ child families.

9. Parent-Child Relations In terms of,  Expert reports, Parental descriptions of children, & Children’s descriptions of parents First-time parents: More anxiety -> Greater vigilance First-time parents: higher expectations for their children than more experienced parents.

10. Tiger Woods

11. China’s One-Child Policy Began almost 30 years ago. Extremely successful in reducing birth rate. Intended to promote modernization. Little Emperors

12. I began conducting research in China…..

13. Beijing, 1985

15. Chinese Children’s Sample, 1990: N = 4000

16. Four Provinces in 1990 Province% Urban * Anhui (n=1000)44% * Beijing (n=1000)70% * Gansu (n=1000)50% * Hunan (n=1000)30%

17. Secondary Analyses Multilevel analysis easily available now. Mediation investigated: Aspects of the parent-child relationships: Parents’ reports of: Child getting way Homework help Educational expectations

18. Five Multilevel Models Used SAS PROC MIXED Outcome: School Performance Random Variable = 200 schools Empty Model: School Effects Model 1: Sibling Status Effects Model 2: Socioeconomic Effects Model 3: Control Variables Model 4: Mediators

19. Empty Model ICC =.34 High Level of Stickiness

20. Model 1: Sibling Status Birth Order Order of birth, such as firstborn, middle born, last born. Sibship Size Number of siblings in a family, such as, 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.

21. Model 1: Onlies vs. Others

23. Raw Means-Sibship Size

24. Model 2: Socioeconomic Status Parents’ Education Range: None to College Degree Average: Primary - Jr. High Completion Family Income Range: Less than 1000 to Over 5000 Yuan Average: 2501 to 3500 Yuan

25. Model 3: Control Variables Individual Gender Grade Level School Region Province Beijing vs. Anhui, Gansu, Hunan

26. Model 4: Mediators? Child Getting Way Homework Help Educational Expectations

27. Child Get Way

28. Homework Help

29. Educational Expectations

30. 2.73*** 95.89 24.26 1.94* 7.07*** 7.40*** 9.52*** 1.60*** -1.24*** 0.57*** 0.00 0.27 0.01 1.53* 0.28 Model 4 100.68 25.45 1.77* 7.17*** 7.16*** 9.71*** 1.24*** -1.32*** 0.75*** 0.07 0.68 0.64 0.39 2.16** 0.86 Model 3 101.62 37.47 0.81*** 0.09 1.52** 1.43** 1.42 3.22*** 2.08** Model 2 105.55 44.69 2.27*** 1.81** 2.40** 4.73*** 3.39*** Model 1 Educational Expectations Level One Variance Level Two Variance School-Level Control Variables Region (Urban) Province Beijing (1) vs. Anhui (0) vs. Hunan (0) vs. Gansu (0) Individual-Level Control Variables Gender (female) Grade (sixth) Family Characteristics Parents’ Education Family Income Sibling Effect One (1) vs. FB, 2C (0) vs. LB, 2C (0) vs. FB, 3+C (0) vs. MB, 3+C (0) vs. LB, 3+C (0) Measure Table. Results of Multilevel Models Predicting School Achievement Note. Unstandardized regression coefficients presented here. *p <.05; **p <.01; *** p <.0001

31. Vanessa Fong  2004  Only Hope  Teens were pushed by parents to achieve  Teens were supposed to be vanguard of modernization  2007  Ethos  Mismatch between simple values and more complex models parents want for their children

32. What’s Next?  2008 Chinese Collaboration  Middle School Students  College Students  Young Professionals