PREVIOUS : Birth Orders (Part 1)

⬆️ ARTWORK at Anna Goodson Illustration Agency

SITE : BIRTH ORDER TRAIT ∼ FLosCuLous (Personal story)

For “ONLY CHILD” – see Part 1

INFO: Several studies show that First-borns & Only children usually reach higher educational goals, gain greater prestige & acquire more net worth, while Middle children are likely to struggle a bit more.

EXP: “As a result of a stricter upbringing, First-borns tend to be more extroverted & confident, Second-borns more rebellious & open to new experiences, & the Youngest is usually the most creative, & more often manipulative to get their way.”

Obviously, predicting personality based on birth order is not straightforward. There are many other factors that will determine how much it can affect personality.
EXP: Adoption / Blended families / Gender / How many children in the family / Mental or Physical disability / Multiples (twins or triplets) / Spacing (1, 6, 9 year separation….)

The following are the broad basics, but do apply more than not. «

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re. ELDEST ACoA : Usually cast as HERO / caretaker, they often have to take care of a drunk or NPD parent &/or younger sibs – cooking, cleaning, babysitting…. but also emotional needs of the adults. This is more likely if it’s a girl or a ‘sensitive’ boy, nor necessarily gay.
But if there are several children & there’s a boy as second or third, he may be designated family Hero-rescuer, but more likely outside the home, by accomplishing something they can point to (military, academic, sports, professional) – to prove the family’s not as dysfunctional as they really are.

NOTE: When there’s 6 years or more before the next child arrives, the First becomes a version of an Only, which effects their overall attitude to life. It also makes it potentially very hard for them to deal with being dethroned.
According to Adler, this makes them more neurotic & may even contribute to substance abuse.
Parental ‘compensation’ is to make the First be the baby’s parent-substitute – an unfair & heavy responsibility for a youngster of 7 or 8, especially when punished for lapses in attention or not ‘always knowing’ what to do.
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re.  Middle ACoA : SCAPEGOAT – the second child who identifies with the drunk or crazy one, but is actually trying to take the focus off that parent(s) by being an even bigger troublemaker, sometimes with suicide attempts. But the ‘acting out’ (getting into trouble) is also a way for this child to express their own pain.

LOST CHILD ACoA – Especially if there are several kids, one of the Middlers is likely to be the invisible one, like the nerd hiding in their room or staying after school in the library. They’re silent, lost in their own inner world, although it can lead to some very creative ideas. (Middle Child Overview – 21 traits)
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re. Youngest ACoA : Often the MASCOT, the entertainer who tries to lighten the heaviness of the family drama & depression. They may be used that way by the family, but then not taken seriously – for their own needs & pain. (See post on ROLES)

CHARACTER TRAITS
Generally, adults will have some characteristics from more than one column. Don’t assume you need to have all per your type.
However, as children, when one leaves home – usually the eldest &/or the Hero (for college, marriage, military), roles tend to get re-shuffled, & one will take over as Hero – to keep the family going – since the dysfunctional parents aren’t doing such a great
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Research from Gronqvist & Ockert (2017, Sweden) focused on males, starting from the result of a standardized psych evaluation. They were interested in how birth order may influence skills developed in childhood, & professional decisions made later on.

EXP: LATER-borns are more likely to be self-employed.
FIRST-borns tend to be in occupations with the highest need for the “BIG 5” Personality Traits, such as CEOs, managers, legislators, & senior government officials. (Applies to both genders). (MORE…)

Studies of CEOs show that Firsts tend to run companies conservatively – improving things by streamlining product lines, simplifying distribution routes, making sure the trains run on time…..
LAST-borns are more likely to blow up the tracks & buy new trains – entirely reinventing a company, rather than just reforming or improving it.
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NEXT : POWER

PREVIOUS : Self-Parenting BOOKS

SITEs: ‘Birth Order Theory : Insight into your personality’
vs.”Birth Order may Not Shape Personality after all”

“The Relationship between Birth Order, Personality & Career choices” ∼ Colleen Collins

POST: Toxic ROLES (#3) scroll to “As an only child”

⚙️ Viennese psychological Alfred Adler (early 1900s) believed social & community aspects of a person’s life were just as important as internal thoughts & emotions. His Birth Order Theory grew out of this perspective – how family environment shaped a child’s beliefs & behavior.

In “Why Firstborns Rule the World & Last Borns Want to Change It” Michael Grose says that “A child’s position in the family impacts their personality, behavior, learning & ultimately, their earning power.”
“Most people have an intuitive knowledge that birth order somehow has an impact on development, but underestimate how far-reaching & significant that impact is.”

There’s quite a divide among researchers about the validity of Birth Oder Impact. Some dismiss it entirely, while others are convinced it plays a crucial role. Researchers at the U of Leipzig & Johannes Gutenberg U (in Germany) studied more than 20,000 adults from the USA, UK & Germany. In this study, they compared siblings within families using the order of their birth.

INFO: The scientists found that older children generally show higher performance on intelligence tests. More than half of all Nobel Prize winners & U.S. presidents were Firsts. However, the study showed no birth-order effects on emotional stability & imagination.

ANOTHER German study reported that “the effect on intellect persisted after controlling for IQ scores, indicating that there is a genuine birth-order effect on ‘brains’ that goes beyond objectively measured intelligence, & can be observed in adults.”

Researchers suggest that the Youngests, like J.S.Bach & Mozart, were 50% more likely to have careers in classical music, possibly for their “sensitive & idealistic personality traits.”
And a study on Onlys concluded they’re more likely to become artists due to their “perfectionist & mature personality traits.”  Different genres & styles.

PARENTS unconsciously feel they better understand the child with the same birth order position as themself (a little narcissism??) – which the child can find annoying. They may also have a soft spot for the child whose birth order matches that of their own favorite sibling.

Adoptees – It will depend on the age of adoption. If adopted as babies, they’re assimilate into the birth order already set in family. EXP: In situations where the parents have tried a long time but haven’t conceived, or lost some, they adopt – so the baby is an Only. Then suddenly the mother does get pregnant & the adoptee becomes a First (Oldest).
If the adoptee is older (not an infant), then they’ll have the birth order of their foster home or previous family.

Culture. EXP: In some traditions, even if a boy is born after 4 girls, he may still be treated as the oldest.

Twins. Most twins get special attention from parents, so experts say birth-order rules don’t automatically apply – but may, especially if fraternal.

Birth order & HEALTH – Studies suggest if you’re the eldest, you’re more likely to have a lower birth weight than your siblings. Later-borns have an increased risk of hospitalization due to avoidable accidents, which could  be due to a lack of parental attention in a large family. Younger siblings may struggle with mental health during puberty & young adulthood, & are more likely to be admitted to hospital for problems related to alcohol abuse.

IN DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES children are slotted into a ROLE, usually by birth-order, sometimes by gender. The main Toxic Roles are Hero, Scapegoat, Lost Child & Mascot.

re. ONLY children : If an ACoA was an ONLY who had to deal with adults who were drunk, raging, ranting for hours, uninvolved & distant or just plain missing – the child ended up filling all the Toxic family Roles.
This usually has a long-term effect, such as being the caretaker Hero throughout adulthood. But during a particularly stressful event – these CoAs may cycle thru all 4 Roles in rapid succession.
This can make the child (& later as adult) seem like they’re ‘crazy’, switching from one mode to another, (placating, raging, silent, humorous, withdrawn…. ). But NO – they’re just trying to cope with the impossible – & having to do so way beyond their capacity!

NEXT: Birth Order – Part 2