SIBLINGS BIRTH ORDER AND PERSONALITY IMPACT

Siblings Birth Order and Personality Impact

Siblings Birth Order and Personality Impact

Introduction

Does birth order really affect a person's personality? This question has been looming over the psychology world for a long time, beginning with the research of Alfred Adler in the early 20th century. While the views on Adler's theories are currently almost as skeptical as Freud's radical theories, Adler sparked the controversy that scientists still debate today. Each child in a family unit has a unique personality. One factor that can influence differences in personality is birth order (Utay & Utay, 1996). Each child has a particular place in the family structure based on when they arrived. The majority of psychologists think birth order does not have an effect on personality, but the topic is still a widely debated disagreement that remains unanswered. Despite numerous research projects, scientists are still concluding answers that do not align, leaving the public mystified. Can someone's personality really be attributed to their age rank amongst their siblings?



Discussion

Many people have heard the term "birth order" without understanding fully what it means, so let's start with a basic definition. Birth order refers to the position in the family that a child occupies at the time he or she is born. A child can be the oldest, the middle, the youngest or anywhere in between. Of course, the possibilities are endless, but in general, the most frequently studied birth positions are oldest, middle and youngest. These are the most common because a great percentage of parents have two or three children. This does not mean that being an only child, or being from a larger family doesn't matter, of course it does! In fact, interestingly, many first-born children have similar personalities to only children (probably because they are both 'only' for a time.) Furthermore, youngest children often have predictable personality traits no matter how many older siblings they have. However, it is true that in much larger families, birth order issues can become more complex and difficult to understand(Adler, 1956).

Birth order is one of the important life experiences that helps to mold a child's personality. There are two reasons for this. First, although parents think they treat their children in exactly the same way, they actually have different expectations for them, reactions to them and interactions with them, depending on the child's birth position. Second, children have differing views of themselves depending upon when they were born and who comes before and/or after them. In fact, the ways in which a child relates to parents and siblings (and also to other significant caretakers) and the way these people relate to the child are developed starting at the very beginning of a child's life. These patterns of relating become the blueprint for all future interactions the child has with people inside and outside the family. It is therefore crucial that parents not only understand the emotional and behavioral patterns related to birth order, but that they learn how ...