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Birth Order Effects on Personality and Achievement Within Families
Importance of sibling relationships
Birth Order Effects on Personality and Achievement Within Families
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Birth order and the effect it has on your personality
Some parents often wonder, what, if any, effect birth order will have on their children’s personalities. Genetic factors and other influences play a significant role, but the birth order within the family plays a larger role in determining the personality of children. Countless academic studies say your place in the family is such a strong factor in developing your personality that it can have a major influence on the rest of your life.
Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychiatrist and former disciple of Freud, acknowledge environmental influences such as social class, geographic origin and relationship with parents as factors in the development of personality. But it was birth order and relationship with siblings that was the single most reliable predictor of human nature (Udall).
Joy Berthoud, author of “Pecking Order,” had read and been convinced by this and researched and confirmed it. “I am a journalist and wanted to stand it up myself,” she says. Hundreds of interviews later, she had her proof. “Without exception, everyone I spoke to displayed the characteristics of their position in the family pecking order.” There are many variables, she was quick to point out, dictated most notable by age gab and the gender of the children. “A girl with a sister two years her senior will be closer to the model of the second child than a girl with a brother ten years order, who might well display more of the characteristics of a first or only child” (Udall).
Frank J. Sulloway, researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has studied the differences in sets of siblings throughout history. He recorded his findings in the book, “Born to Rebel: Birth Order, Family Dynamics and Creative Lives.” In almost every case Sulloway found that siblings seemed to seek different roles in the family. If the first child was feisty and active, and the second child would be significantly more likely to be quiet and sensitive and vice versa (Brazelton).
Firstborns, Sulloway conclude, were likely to be more conforming and traditional, identifying with their parents’ power. In most cases, they were tough-minded and determined, driving toward success. They were likely to be responsib...
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...intains, birth order is crucial ("Birth order and your child").
Birth order like every other factor in the development of the child, can and will differ from the norm for some children. You can have a child of any birth position who may or may not show the typical characteristics.
“Birth order and your child.” Familylinks: At Parent and Child Guidance Center.
6 March 2001.
Brazelton, Berry. “Why are siblings often so different?” The Washington Times, 4 February 2001, D1.
Cook, Emma. “No more like you at home.” Independent on Sunday 12 January 1997, pp 7.
“Parenting- Children.” CNN Health In-Depth. 6 March 2001.
Payton, Chevonn. “Birth order may provide clues to understanding you kids.” The Kansas City Star 29 June 1999.
Udall, Elizabeth. “How the family pecking order affects you.” Independent, 16 September 1996, pp 6,7.
White, Donna Gehrke. “Birth order say more about your personality than many other determinants, a study finds.” The Miami Herald, 10 August 1999.