scholarly journals Analysing Effects of Birth Order on Intelligence, Educational Attainment, Big Five, and Risk Aversion in an Indonesian Sample

2020 ◽  
pp. per.2285
Author(s):  
Laura J. Botzet ◽  
Julia M. Rohrer ◽  
Ruben C. Arslan
Keyword(s):  
Risk Aversion ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Birth Order ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Sibship Size ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Linear Pattern ◽  
Universal Family ◽  
Non Linear

Few studies have examined birth order effects on personality in countries that are not Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD). However, theories have generally suggested that interculturally universal family dynamics are the mechanism behind birth order effects, and prominent theories such as resource dilution would predict even stronger linear effects in poorer countries. Here, we examine a subset of up to 11 188 participants in the Indonesian Family Life Survey to investigate whether later–borns differ from earlier–borns in intelligence, educational attainment, Big Five, and risk aversion. Analyses were performed using within–family designs in mixed–effects models. In model comparisons, we tested for linear and non–linear birth order effects as well as for possible interactions of birth order and sibship size. Our estimated effect sizes are consistent with the emerging account of birth order as having relatively little impact on intelligence, Big Five, and risk aversion. We found a non–linear pattern for educational attainment that was not robust to imputation of missing data and not aligned with trends in WEIRD countries. Overall, the small birth order effects reported in other studies appear to be culturally specific. © 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology

scholarly journals Effects of Birth Order on Intelligence, Educational Attainment, Personality, and Risk Aversion in an Indonesian Sample

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Botzet ◽  
Julia Marie Rohrer ◽  
Ruben C. Arslan
Keyword(s):  
Risk Aversion ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Birth Order ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Sibship Size ◽  
Resource Dilution ◽  
Universal Family ◽  
Intelligence Education

Few studies have examined birth order effects on personality in countries that are not Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD), even though theories have generally suggested interculturally universal family dynamics as the mechanism behind birth order effects, and prominent theories such as resource dilution would even predict stronger effects in poorer countries. Here, we investigate a subset of up to 11,188 participants of the Indonesian Family Life Survey, an ongoing representative panel study, to study whether later-born siblings differ from earlier-borns in intelligence, educational attainment, personality, and risk aversion. Analyses were performed using within-family designs in mixed-effects models. In model comparisons we tested for linear and non-linear birth order effects as well as for possible interactions of birth order and sibship size. Our estimated effect sizes are consistent with the emerging account of birth order as having relatively little impact on intelligence, education, personality, and risk aversion; and they exclude recent estimates from WEIRD populations based on large sample sizes. Thus, even the small effects of birth order reported in other studies appear to be culturally specific.

scholarly journals No evidence that middleborns feel less close to family and closer to friends than other birth orders.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Simanko ◽  
Ben Rimmer ◽  
Thomas Victor Pollet
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Birth Order ◽  
Opposite Direction ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Sibship Size ◽  
Emotional Closeness

Middleborns have been argued to be the neglected birth order. The present study aimed to test whether the emotional closeness to parents, siblings or friends differed between middleborns and otherborns, across two different datasets. Using a between family design this study accounted for gender, nationality, educational attainment, age and sibship size via matching. We found no evidence to suggest that middleborns differ from otherborns in familial sentiment. The sign of closeness to friends was in the opposite direction than predicted, with middleborns being less close than other birth orders. The findings are discussed with reference to current literature on birth order and familial sentiment.

scholarly journals DamianSpengler_2020_EJP_Negligible Effects of Birth Order on Selection into Scientific and Artistic Careers, Creativity, and Status Attainment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodica I. Damian ◽  
Marion Spengler
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Birth Order ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Status Attainment ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Occupational Prestige ◽  
Career Outcomes ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Confluence Model

We tested birth order effects on selection into different careers (scientific, artistic, creative) and status attainment (educational attainment, occupational prestige, and income) using a large sample (n = 3,763), a longitudinal design, and relevant controls. Additionally, we tested mediation of birth order effects on career outcomes via personality traits, intelligence, and educational attainment. We found negligible birth order effects ranging from .02 to .12 on a correlational metric, where firstborns (vs. laterborns) selected into more creative careers and attained higher prestige and education. Conditional on the theoretically based mediation models tested, results showed that intelligence and educational attainment (but not personality traits) accounted for a statistically significant portion of the variance in the links between birth order and career outcomes. No direct effects of birth order on career outcomes remained when accounting for indirect effects through educational attainment. These findings bring modest support to the confluence model, no support to the niche-finding model, and suggest that one possible route via which birth order might impact career outcomes (if at all) could be via educational attainment.

Mental Illness in Sibships of Two and Three

1971 ◽  
Vol 119 (552) ◽  
pp. 481-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Birtchnell
Keyword(s):  
Birth Order ◽  
Population Control ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Expected Number ◽  
Sibship Size ◽  
Birth Rank ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Sibling Position ◽  
Population Control Group

A conspicuous deficiency of practically all birth order studies is the absence of a general population control group. Instead, a number of statistical methods of estimating the expected number of subjects in each sibling position have been used. These are based upon the assumption that for any given size of sibship there should be equal numbers of subjects in each birth rank. As Price and Hare (1969) have pointed out, there are a number of reasons why such as assumption is incorrect, and therefore why the conclusions based upon it are unreliable. Because, in most studies, only relatively small numbers of patients are available various methods of combining sibships of different sizes are adopted and the sexes of the siblings are ignored. To consider a sibling position irrespective of the size and composition of the sibship in which it occurs is unjustifiable. As birth order effects are relatively slight, large numbers of subjects are required to detect them. Unless a patient sample of several thousand is used the numbers in any sibship size are too small to permit analysis by birth rank. As sibship size is itself a possible variable, and as within each sibship the sexes of the siblings can be distributed in a variety of ways, birth order studies should ideally consider one sibship size at a time and should investigate sibling position by sex of sibling. Unfortunately, in sibships of four or more the numbers of combinations become so great as to render this approach impracticable.

Negligible effects of birth order on selection into scientific and artistic careers, creativity, and status attainment

2020 ◽  
pp. 089020702096901
Author(s):  
Rodica Ioana Damian ◽  
Marion Spengler
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Birth Order ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Status Attainment ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Occupational Prestige ◽  
Career Outcomes ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Confluence Model

We tested birth order effects on selection into different careers (scientific, artistic, and creative) and status attainment (educational attainment, occupational prestige, and income) using a large sample ( n = 3763), a longitudinal design, and relevant controls. Additionally, we tested mediation of birth order effects on career outcomes via personality traits, intelligence, and educational attainment. We found negligible birth order effects ranging from 0.02 to 0.12 on a correlational metric, where firstborns (vs. laterborns) selected into more creative careers and attained higher prestige and education. Conditional on the theoretically based mediation models tested, results showed that intelligence and educational attainment (but not personality traits) accounted for a statistically significant portion of the variance in the links between birth order and career outcomes. No direct effects of birth order on career outcomes remained when accounting for indirect effects through educational attainment. These findings bring modest support to the confluence model, no support to the niche-finding model, and suggest that one possible route via which birth order might impact career outcomes (if at all) could be via educational attainment.

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