Impacts of Birth Order on Personality Explored
In the early 1900s, Austrian psychotherapist Alfred Adler proposed a theory that suggested birth order significantly impacts personality and life outcomes. According to Adler, children's positions in a family can shape their traits and achievements, including career and educational success.
Adler's theory posits that firstborn or oldest children are often characterised as controlling, conscientious, cautious, reliable, achievers, and structured. They may also be perfectionists, diligent, and leaders. On the other hand, only children, who enjoy complete attention from both parents, are often seen as perfectionists, diligent, leaders, and conscientious.
Youngest children, however, can exhibit different personality traits such as being fun-loving, attention-seeking, outgoing, and self-centered. They might also be spoiled by parents and older siblings due to being the "baby" of the family.
Meanwhile, only children may struggle with sharing attention and belongings as they age. They might also become "bigger" instead of being the perpetual baby and make big plans for their lives that don't pan out.
However, Adler also emphasised the importance of "psychological birth order" - or perceived position within a family - over numerical birth order. Middle children, for instance, may feel squeezed between their older and younger siblings and exhibit traits associated with "middle child syndrome".
A 2010 review of 200 studies on birth order found that many personality traits were associated with birth order to a statistically significant level. Yet, a 2015 study found no statistically significant association between birth order and intelligence or personality traits. Similarly, a 2019 study seemed to contradict Adler's theory that firstborns are more neurotic, as higher birth orders were associated with increased rates of suicide attempts and psychiatric diagnoses.
It's important to note that mental health conditions are caused by a combination of environmental, biological, and genetic factors. Birth order probably does not play a significant role in causing mental health issues.
Recent research suggests that factors like parenting style and socioeconomic status have a stronger impact on personality development, while birth order may be just one of many contributing influences. For instance, a 2021 study found that the youngest children had the lowest rate of mental health challenges and scored higher on prosocial behavior and resilience.
In contrast, a 2021 study reported that middle children had the lowest happiness scores across all groups. This finding challenges the notion that birth order significantly influences happiness.
In conclusion, while Adler's birth order theory has sparked much debate and research, current evidence suggests that factors like parenting style, socioeconomic status, and individual experiences within a family may have a more significant impact on personality development and life outcomes than birth order itself.
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