Lived Experiences of an Only Child

Abstract

Birth ranking has been used to describe the personality of the eldest, middle and the
youngest child, and how they act the way they do because of the birth order that
they were born into. This is not the case for an only child. An only
child’s personality is said to be more complicated compared to those with siblings.
Hence, this phenomenological study aimed to understand the self-perception, lived
experiences, issues, and challenges of an only child. Eight participants (five males
and three females) ranging from 15-21 years old were chosen through purposive
and snowball sampling techniques. One-on-one interviews were conducted
utilizing a set of semi-structured self-made interview questions, and then the data
were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed through thematic analysis. Six themes
emerged for an only child’slived experiences, namely: academically contented,
positive interpersonal relationship, emotionally satisfied, inclined to sports, lack of
spiritual convictions, and feels compensated through friends; three themes for
an only child’s self-perception such as: the priority, lack of companionship, and
emotionally weak; three themes emerged for the issues and problems that an only
child faces, specifically: no issues in general, sibling issues, and distant relationship
with the parents; lastly, two themes emerged for their challenges, particularly, being
alone in supporting parents and lack of freedom. This study can be an informative
tool to help practitioners in dealing with individuals who are an only child. It is
recommended that a deeper study on an only child’s performance during adulthood
in terms of career and family be done.