The study found that a single child is more prone to anger issues and irritability
In an age where nuclear families are on the rise and finances touching the sky, couples either prefer not to have children, or restrict themselves to one. However, they fail to realize the consequences a single child faces because of their decision. A study undertaken by a Criminology student at Gujarat Forensic Sciences University found that children without siblings tend to be more aggressive and irritable than those with brothers or sisters.
"A Study on Irritability and Anger Control Between Only Child and Children with Siblings" was undertaken by Saket Saurav with his guide Professor Ruttuja Karkhanis, who specialises in forensic psychology.
The study was conducted on 60 children (Class 8-12) from four states – Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. They used irritability tests and anger scale on different parameters to reach their conclusion.
The study found that a single child is more prone to anger issues and irritability. For Gujarat, out of a sample group of 30 children with siblings, 14.3% showed symptoms of both anger and irritability, 5% showed anger symptoms, while 3.8% showed symptoms of irritability. However, in the sample group of children without siblings, 23.6% demonstrated symptoms of both irritability and anger, 3.6% had symptoms of anger, while 8.2% showed irritability symptoms.
"We have been witnessing lot of cases of juveniles getting into criminal activities hence getting into the root became important for us as researchers," said professor Karkhanis. "The reasons are many. Single child often gets all the attention at home so they seek the same attention outside. When they do not get it, they get into such activities to get attention."
Dr Hansal Bhachech, a consultant psychiatrist, agreed with the findings. "It has been observed that a single child becomes more aggressive and intolerant," he said. "They never learn to share, and become restless and angry about petty issues. Majority of the criminals are single child or neglected child." According to him, there is only one solution to this problem – "If parents decide to have children, they should go for two children, and parental care should be unbiased".
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