[Social development and family composition (author's transl)].

: In order to test the hypothesized relationship between family size and social development of children, 240 pupils of the National Schools of Zaragoza (120 males and 120 females) between the ages of 6-14, selected according to subjective and objective measurements of scholastic achievement were studied. 15 of each sex were chosen from each of the first 8 grades of school. Information was sought on their social development and family composition, the former through interviews and psychograms and the latter by means of a questionnaire. Families were then classified as to size, i.e., from 1 to 5 or more children. The psychogram concentrated on 3 basic aspects of social development; adaptation to the school system, the learning process, and personal attitudes toward teachers and friends. The number of children in a family was then related to school performance as measured by each topic in the psychogram. The result was that only children had a slight advantage over those from families with 2, 3, or 4 children, and a rather larger advantage over those from families of 5 or more.