You’ve probably heard that which child you are, whether you’re the oldest, youngest, or middle child, makes a difference to what kind of person you are. But does it really? Research seems to disagree.
Traditionally the oldest is said to be the responsible child who will be a high achiever, the middle child is the ‘peacemaker’ of the family, whereas the youngest child is more inclined to seeking attention, taking risks, and rebellion. Whilst this may be true to an extent while children are living at home, it doesn’t always remain as a lasting effect once children are grown up. At least, the hard data isn’t there to support the birth-order-defines-personality theory.
A team of European researchers examined the data from three separate sources. One was a risk study of 1,500 Germans, one a survey of 11,000 German households, and one was an analysis of over 100 famous risk-taking explorers and revolutionaries from throughout history. They found that, despite what the accepted wisdom may be, being born last doesn’t make you more likely to take risks.
It’s not the only study to debunk the birth order myth either. In 2015 a study of 370,000 high school students in Houston found that there was no correlation between the relative age of someone’s siblings and the student’s personality.
Another study from 2015 looked at birth order for 20,000 people from the USA, Germany, and Great Britain. The team behind the study found that birth order didn’t affect any of five broad personality traits – openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. A follow-up study published in 2017 which looked at more specific characteristics also didn’t find that birth order had an effect on personality types.
The possibility remains that birth order can affect the personalities of children, but the research evidence says that the effects of birth order disappear in adult life. So if you’re the youngest child in your family there’s no need to worry. Although first-borns do usually take over the family business, being a high-achiever isn’t just a first-born thing.
