Only and Intermediate Children in the Senior High School

Abstract

However, the studies reported by Campbell (1) contain little that is conclusive regarding the moot question. The number of subjects is conspicuously small in all investigations: For example, one writer studied thirty-four only distributed from the kindergar ten to the sixth grade. Furthermore, the studies are of restricted value also because adequate control groups were not employed. The following is a case in point. Fenton (3) studied 512 university students of whom sev enty-three had been only children. Interest ing and suggestive were his results from the Woodworth Psychoneurotic Inventory, al though the only and the control groups were not strictly comparable. Many of the studies are of limited value since they have dealt solely with young or very young children. Campbell (2) pointed out that nearly all re cent studies deal with children of less than high school age. Among these was the writ er's study of only of age five (6). On ratings of courtesy, truthfulness, self-con trol, initiative, orderliness, co-operation, and dependability, the number of only reaching or exceeding the median of the con trol group was greater than 50 per cent. Throughout, the results of this study posited superior social adjustment for only of age five. What the adjustment of these might be at adolescence remains a matter of speculation. Campbell insists that personality difficulties are likely to become acute during those ages when are severing home relations and attempting to establish social or economic in dependence. It seems evident that if family position has any influence upon personality adjustment this influence will be best observed at an age more mature than the kindergarten level. Campbell gave the Bernreuter Per sonality Inventory and Cason's Annoyance test to 200 college men and women. Only and intermediate were paired accord ing to: high school grades, college entrance examination scores, sex, and class in the uni versity. Slightly greater atypicality was ex hibited by the only subjects than by the intermediates, but in no comparison was the critical ratio significant. Moreover, the only child group was slightly more variable than the control group. Since this study dealt with college stu dents, the present writer was led to make an investigation of high school students to ascer tain whether Campbell's conclusions concern ing personality development applied to younger subjects. In addition, the writer planned a more comprehensive study than any reported thus far, attempting to relate per sonality development to factors such as: health, socio-economic status, mental ability, and developmental history.