Life
Second Children Are More Likely To Be 'Troublemakers'
Jessica
12.14.18

People have long assumed that birth order determines the kind of person you grow up to become.

It’s a controversial issue in psychology because to some extent it acts as an excuse for bad behavior that can be controlled and assumes that we don’t have free will when it comes to how we act.

The stereotypes suggest that older children are the over-achievers, middle children are the troublemakers, and the youngest children are the independent free spirits.

The Guardian
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The Guardian

But the data is mounting that there’s something to the stereotype that second-borns are troublemakers.

Her
Source:
Her

The latest data comes from an economist at MIT named Joseph Doyle whose study on boys found that second-born brothers are likely to get into serious trouble.

Pexels
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Pexels

In an interview with NPR, Doyle reported the following:

“I find the results to be remarkable that the second-born children, compared to their older siblings, are much more likely to end up in prison, much more likely to get suspended in school, enter juvenile delinquency. Across all these outcomes, we’re getting 25 to 40 percent increases in the likelihood of these outcomes just by comparing a second-born sibling compared to a first-born.”

Doyle’s study is made up of much more than just anecdotal evidence. In fact, the data set they used involved thousands of brothers, making the research findings more compelling (though the outcomes are not set in stone).

The researchers also used brother from two very different places – the state of Florida and the country of Denmark – to show that their findings were consistent across cultures.

The team decided to focus on boys since, statistically, they are more likely to get into trouble during their teenage years, which makes them easier to track.

Law.com
Source:
Law.com

Researchers have suggested many different reasons for the difference in behavior between first and second children. For example, some assume that first children get more attention because new parents are more insecure about their parenting skills and therefore invest more time. Others suggest that older children have their parent as peers in the home and develop more adult-like behavior, which younger children tend to look to their siblings for behavioral cues.

Tenor
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Tenor

Other studies have found that first-born children excel compared to their siblings in everything from educational attainment, test scores, and IQ, to wages, and career success outcomes.

YouGov
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YouGov

But there have also been studies that show that birth order has no real effect on the delinquent behavior of middle children and that the connections found by others are deceptive and artificial.

According to Dr.

Amazon
Source:
Amazon

Second-borns and middle children are also expert negotiators. She explains:

“Middles are used to not getting their own way, and so they become savvy, skillful manipulators. They can see all sides of a question and are empathetic and judge reactions well. They are more willing to compromise, and so they can argue successfully. Since they often have to wait around as kids, they’re more patient.”

And if they are, indeed, more neglected than their older siblings, it can sometimes be beneficial:

“Middles have lower self-esteem than other birth orders, because of their lack of uniqueness and attention at home — but this can actually be a positive, as they don’t have huge egos.”

It’s important to remember that no matter how big the study group is or how much research is conducted, it only points to likelihoods at best and doesn’t apply to every child. We all know families where all of the children are wildly successful.

Naija Parents
Source:
Naija Parents

There’s nothing inherently different about second-borns or middle children, and most of this data is a result of environment.

This makes it important for parents to be aware of the issues they can create when they treat children differently.

Of course, if you have more than one child, there’s only so much of you to go around, but being aware of the long-term effects of different parenting styles can help nip problems in the bud.

Best Medicine News
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Best Medicine News

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