Birth Order Position and the Occurrence of Perceived Parental Favortism

AbstractThe present study presents an evaluation of the effects of birth order and family size on the self-concept as measured by the 29 scores of the Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS). One hundred and seventeen middle and upper class 18 to 22-year-old female American university students were administered the TSCS and divided into the following birth-order groups: only, first, middle, and last; and family-size groups: subjects that came from two-child families, three or four-child families, and five-or-more-child families. Analysis of variance and t test statistical procedures showed the only-born to have the most favored birth-order position in terms of self-concept and tendencies to avoid the characteristics associated with pathological disorders. The most favored family size (in terms of self-concept and tendency to avoid the characteristics associated with pathological disorders) was three or more children with the least favored being a family with two children.

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Shyness, sensation seeking and birth-order position

Personality and Individual Differences ◽

10.1016/s0191-8869(02)00146-0 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 35 (1) ◽

pp. 127-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

W. Ray Crozier ◽

Nicola Birdsey

Keyword(s):

Birth Order ◽

Sensation Seeking ◽

Order Position

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SEX OF SIBLING, BIRTH ORDER POSITION, AND FEMALE DISPOSITIONS TO CONFORM IN TWO-CHILD FAMILIES1

Child Development ◽

10.1111/j.1467-8624.1963.tb05163.x ◽

1963 ◽

Vol 34 (4) ◽

pp. 913-918

Author(s):

Richard Schmuck

Keyword(s):

Birth Order ◽

Order Position

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Birth Order, Sex, and Socio-Political Orientation in College Students

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.1982.51.3.891 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 51 (3) ◽

pp. 891-896 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Alex Heingartner ◽

Celeste Keusch Wetherell

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Birth Order ◽

Political Orientation ◽

Role Expectations ◽

The Political ◽

Only Children ◽

Males And Females ◽

Order Position ◽

Main Effects ◽

The Relationship

The relationship between socio-political orientation and birth-order position and sex were examined for 62 college students. A modified version of the Wilson-Patterson Conservatism Scale and abridged versions of the California F Scale and the Political and Economic Conservatism Scale measured socio-political orientation. While significant main effects for birth order and sex were not obtained on any of the scales, significant interactions of sex by birth order occurred on all three. On each scale females who were firstborn or only children scored significantly more conservatively than correspondingly born males. For subjects who were later born there was no sex difference on two of the scales, while on the Political and Economic Conservatism Scale males scored significantly more conservatively than females. The results are discussed in terms of the differential socialization experiences of firstborn and later born children and the different role expectations for males and females.

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Narcissism and Birth Order

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.1996.78.2.403 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 78 (2) ◽

pp. 403-406 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

William E. Eyring ◽

Steven Sobelman

Keyword(s):

Birth Order ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Parenting Style ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Only Children ◽

Narcissistic Personality ◽

Narcissistic Personality Inventory ◽

Adlerian Theory ◽

Order Position ◽

The Relationship

The purpose of this investigation was to clarify the relationship between birth-order position and the development of narcissism, while refining research and theory. The relationship between birth-order status and narcissism was examined with a sample of 79 undergraduate students (55 women and 24 men). These subjects were placed in one of the four following birth-order categories of firstborn, second-born, last-born, and only children. These categories were chosen given their significance in Adlerian theory. Each subject completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and a demographic inventory. Based on psychodynamic theory, it was hypothesized that firstborn children were expected to score highest, but statistical significance was not found for an association between narcissism and birth order. Further research is urged to investigate personality theory as it relates to parenting style and birch order.

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