Birth order does affect personality, but only slightly
A new study found minor differences between firstborns and their siblings.
Siblings are constantly compared to each other, but can their differences be blamed on their birth order?
A recent study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found differences in personality and IQ associated with birth order, but the variations are so slight they don’t have much practical impact, The Boston Globe reported.
The study looked at 377,000 U.S. high school students and was controlled for number of siblings, socioeconomic status, family structure, age, and gender.
Among the differences identified in the study, firstborns were more conscientious and agreeable , and less sociable and neurotic, compared to later-born children, according to the Globe. But, the researchers noted, the differences were so small that while they were statistically significant, they were ultimately meaningless—so don’t let your older sibling convince your parents they’re the better kid.
Read the full Globe article here.
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