The Therapist Is In!-2/7/2025

Payton D -

Hello everyone!

My name is Payton Dymek and I am here to be your accidental therapist-in-training. While my main job is being a senior in high school, I’m completing a Senior Research Project (SRP) for my high honors diploma. However, think of it as an amateur psychology crash-course, where my years of people-watching will be put to good use.

Everyone has a label whether we want to or not, it’s just how our minds naturally categorize people. Although I’d love for my label to be “overachiever” or “most likely to burst out singing,” it’s that I’m an only child. Yes, the infamous “O-word!” I can see the face you’re making through the screen while you form theories about my personality, which definitely involve the words “spoiled” and “lonely,” but what if I said there was a plot twist? Instead of living in my own bubble for 18 years, I’ve spent my life creating a chosen family of close friends and connections outside my home. These relationships have shaped me into who I am today, but have also left me to wonder: how different would I have been if I grew up with siblings? 

Throughout my research I plan to compare the experiences of only children (like yours truly) with those of multiple sibling dynamics from a wide-range of races across multiple family structures. By comparing these experiences with those of only children, I hope my findings will help demonstrate the psychological significance that sibling relationships have on shaping one’s cognition, emotional intelligence, and world view. 

Think of my blog as a therapy session, not one that you have to lie on a couch for, but one where you join me on my path to discovery. Besides, who knows? You may reflect on your own sibling relationships along the way (and yes, this is your sign to send that text to your sibling you’ve been putting off- you’re welcome!).

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Comments:

All viewpoints are welcome but profane, threatening, disrespectful, or harassing comments will not be tolerated and are subject to moderation up to, and including, full deletion.

    mahalena_g
    Hi Payton! I'm sure there's a lot to work with in how sibling relationships influence our development. Are you focusing on any specific age group for your study, or are you looking at a wide range of experiences?
    February 10, 2025 at 12:06 pm - Reply
    marina_b
    Hi Payton! Your project sounds so awesome and I am so glad to be participating in your "therapy session"! How do you plan to balance the different family dynamics, like parenting styles, when comparing only children to those with siblings?
    February 10, 2025 at 1:00 pm - Reply
      payton_d
      Hi Marina! By collecting data on parenting approaches—like authoritative, permissive, or authoritarian—alongside external factors, such as socioeconomic status and cultural background, I hope to better understand the impact of sibling dynamics versus being an only child!
      February 21, 2025 at 10:01 pm - Reply
    jessie_z
    Hi Payton! I greatly admire your research topic and am very excited to participate as well. Since your project acquires information through surveys, I imagine there will be response bias. How will your study account for these different biases and how do you plan on navigating this particular challenge?
    February 10, 2025 at 8:00 pm - Reply
      payton_d
      Hi Jessie! I know that I cannot fully prevent these biases from happening, but I hope with my large sample size, neutral wording, and balanced answer choices will help with this!
      February 21, 2025 at 10:00 pm - Reply
    david_g
    Hi Payton, I think your project is so cool! I was wondering what was your motivation behind starting this project!
    February 12, 2025 at 12:31 pm - Reply

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