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Are Only Children Different? A Study of Child Psychiatric Referrals. A Research Note
Author(s) -
Richards Hilary,
Goodman Robert
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1996.tb01468.x
Subject(s) - psychiatry , psychology , warrant , psychiatric diagnosis , clinical psychology , cognition , financial economics , economics
For this study, 683 only children seen in a psychiatric clinic were compared with 2364 children from two‐child families seen in the same clinic. From the age of 5 years, there were no differences between the two groups. Among the under‐5s, a higher proportion of only children had problems which did not warrant a psychiatric diagnosis, and their parents were more often rated as being over‐protective. Our findings suggest, however, that the parents of only children differ from other parents not in being more over‐protective but in being more willing or able to seek medical advice.