No brothers or sisters? That doesn’t mean you’ll grow up spoiled and lonely

Some studies have shown that only children are as happy or happier than those with siblings. Photograph: golero/Getty Images, posed by models

Are only children selfish, spoiled and lonely? Duh, no, a piece in the New Scientist recently concluded, unpicking all these stereotypes.

There are many more only children now: in 2022, 44% of UK families with dependent children had just one child. According to researchers at University College London’s Faculty of Education and Society, they are doing just fine. Rejecting the “outdated preconceptions and stereotypes about only children”, they found “an overall reassuring picture of UK only children’s lives and outcomes”.