Are you the eldest, the middle child or the youngest? According to certain studies, the order of birth within a sibling would bring certain advantages, in particular on the personality and the IQ of each child.
In a family, we often hear that the eldest is the wiser, that the younger is often put aside, that he is a little more temperamental and that the youngest, on the contrary, is the little darling of the parents. It must be said that within the same siblings, each child has their own identity. But what many don’t know is that the order of birth would also influence the personality and the IQ of the children of the family.
A first American study published in 2015 in the review Science Direct and piloted by Rodica Ioana Damian and Brent W. Roberts, two researchers from the University of Illinois, demonstrated that the order of birth plays a role in the construction of the personality of the child during his childhood and adolescence. To draw their conclusions, they analyzed the character and IQ of 377,000 American high school students, all of whom differ in age, gender, number of children in their family and socioeconomic status. According to the scientists, three portraits stand out:
The eldest, extrovert, conscientious and agreeable
Whether it’s a boy or a girl, the elder is often outgoing, conscientious and agreeable, according to the researchers. Because he is the first of the siblings, he is also under some pressure from his parents. His IQ is generally higher compared to his younger siblings.
The youngest: autonomous, empathetic and smart
The child who comes after the eldest is usually autonomous, empathetic, smart and very good negotiator, say the authors of the study. He easily adapts to situations and gets along with most people. Nevertheless, he also difficulty finding a place in the family. He is not the center of attention either, but this allows him to emancipate himself a little more than the others.
The youngest: cheerful and rebellious, who is not shy
The last of the siblings is the one who has all the rights and who is free. His parents don’t put as much pressure on him as on his older siblings. He has a “hothead” spirit, a bit rebellious and he dares without taking the lead. Beside that, he is also easy-going and cheerful.
Also, according to this German study, whether they are eldest, youngest or youngest, the children would even have common character traits. Scientists have noticed that they can be, within the same sibling, extroverted, amiable, conscientious and emotionally stable. On the other hand, they noted a difference between elders and youngers, noting that the oldest have a more enriched vocabulary than the others, but also an ability to better understand abstract ideas. They therefore also agree in saying, like the American analysis, that the older ones would have a higher IQ than their little brothers or little sisters. This could be explained by the fact that the youngest are more often left to their own devices and free, while the eldest generally get more attention than the other children of the siblings.