Micah comes from a middle class family. Both parents work and he has two brothers and one sister. His friend Sheila is an only child and her father is the CEO of a large company. Sheila's mother can afford to stay at home

Question

Describe some of the differences in terms of academic achievement, social skills, and self-esteem that you might expect to see between Sheila and Micah.
What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Many people assume that only children lack social skills. This is not true if they have a network of friends and are socialized from an early age. Micah may be at a disadvantage in terms of academic achievement and self-esteem because he may have less quality time with his parents and his familial income will likely not support the same types of clothes, games, etc. that Sheila has. This exemplifies the concept of resource dilution. Other research would say, however, that if Micah assumes responsibility for one or more of his siblings, his self-esteem will grow because of his sense of being needed and taking on responsibility at which he is competent.