Birth Order: Its Influence on Personality

I A Survey of World Literature 1946-1980.- 1 Outline of Fallacies in Birth Order Research.- 1.1 Birth Order as Dependent Variable: Problem of Control Groups.- 1.1.1 The Fallacies in Determining Sibship Size.- 1.1.2 The Fallacy of Comparing Carriers for Birth Order with Their Sibs. Normal Distribution of Birth Order.- 1.1.3 The Fallacies of the Greenwood-Yule Normal Distribution for Birth Order.- 1.2 Birth Order as Independent Variable: Differences Between Firstborns and Laterborns.- 1.3 Comparison of Sibs Within the Same Sibship.- 1.4 Conclusions.- 2 Birth Order and Biological Differences.- 2.1 Sex Ratio.- 2.2 Prematurity, Gestation Length, Birth Weight, Early Death, and Handicap.- 2.3 Birth Order and Risk at Birth and in Early Childhood.- 2.4 Does Birth Weight Mediate an IQ-Birth Order Correlation?.- 2.5 Birth Order and Minimal Brain Damage.- 2.6 Birth Order and Height.- 2.7 Birth Order and Age at Menarche.- 2.8 Conclusions.- 3 Research on Twins and Only Children.- 3.1 Studies on Twins.- 3.1.1 Biological Differences Between Twins and Singletons.- 3.1.2 Is Lower IQ in Twins Related to Lower Birthweight?.- 3.1.3 Is Lower IQ in Twins Related to Social Background Variables?.- 3.1.4 Is Lower IQ in Twins Related to Interaction with a Partner of the Same Age?.- 3.1.5 Conclusions.- 3.2 Studies on Only Children.- 3.2.1 Character Development.- 3.2.2 Intellectual Development.- 3.3 Conclusions.- 4 Birth Order and IQ.- 4.1 Introductory Remarks.- 4.2 The IQ-Social Class Correlation.- 4.3 Differential Fertility by Social Class.- 4.4 Sibship Size and IQ.- 4.4.1 Is the IQ-Sibship Size Correlation Spurious?.- 4.4.2 Differential IQ by Sibship Size within Social Class.- 4.4.3 Conclusions.- 4.4.4 Research on Direct Influences of Sibship Size on IQ.- 4.4.5 Birth Intervals and IQ.- 4.5 Birth Order and IQ.- 4.5.1 Birth Order as the Independent variable.- 4.5.2 Birth Order as the Dependent Variable.- 4.5.3 Comparison of IQ Between Sibs in the Same Family.- 4.5.4 Birth Order and Linguistic Skills.- 4.6 Conclusions.- 5 Birth Order and School Achievement.- 5.1 Introductory Remarks.- 5.2 Sibship Size and School Achievement.- 5.2.1 School Grades.- 5.2.2 Standardized Achievement Tests.- 5.2.3 Educational Attainment.- 5.2.4 Conclusions.- 5.3 Birth Order and School Achievement.- 5.3.1 Birth Order as Independent Variable.- 5.3.2 Birth Order as Dependent Variable.- 5.4 Birth Order and Over-1980.- 1 Outline of Fallacies in Birth Order Research.- 1.1 Birth Order as Dependent Variable: Problem of Control Groups.- 1.1.1 The Fallacies in Determining Sibship Size.- 1.1.2 The Fallacy of Comparing Carriers for Birth Order with Their Sibs. Normal Distribution of Birth Order.- 1.1.3 The Fallacies of the Greenwood-Yule Normal Distribution for Birth Order.- 1.2 Birth Order as Independent Variable: Differences Between Firstborns and Laterborns.- 1.3 Comparison of Sibs Within the Same Sibship.- 1.4 Conclusions.- 2 Birth Order and Biological Differences.- 2.1 Sex Ratio.- 2.2 Prematurity, Gestation Length, Birth Weight, Early Death, and Handicap.- 2.3 Birth Order and Risk at Birth and in Early Childhood.- 2.4 Does Birth Weight Mediate an IQ-Birth Order Correlation?.- 2.5 Birth Order and Minimal Brain Damage.- 2.6 Birth Order and Height.- 2.7 Birth Order and Age at Menarche.- 2.8 Conclusions.- 3 Research on Twins and Only Children.- 3.1 Studies on Twins.- 3.1.1 Biological Differences Between Twins and Singletons.- 3.1.2 Is Lower IQ in Twins Related to Lower Birthweight?.- 3.1.3 Is Lower IQ in Twins Related to Social Background Variables?.- 3.1.4 Is Lower IQ in Twins Related to Interaction with a Partner of the Same Age?.- 3.1.5 Conclusions.- 3.2 Studies on Only Children.- 3.2.1 Character Development.- 3.2.2 Intellectual Development.- 3.3 Conclusions.- 4 Birth Order and IQ.- 4.1 Introductory Remarks.- 4.2 The IQ-Social Class Correlation.- 4.3 Differential Fertility by Social Class.- 4.4 Sibship Size and IQ.- 4.4.1 Is the IQ-Sibship Size Correlation Spurious?.- 4.4.2 Differential IQ by Sibship Size within Social Class.- 4.4.3 Conclusions.- 4.4.4 Research on Direct Influences of Sibship Size on IQ.- 4.4.5 Birth Intervals and IQ.- 4.5 Birth Order and IQ.- 4.5.1 Birth Order as the Independent variable.- 4.5.2 Birth Order as the Dependent Variable.- 4.5.3 Comparison of IQ Between Sibs in the Same Family.- 4.5.4 Birth Order and Linguistic Skills.- 4.6 Conclusions.- 5 Birth Order and School Achievement.- 5.1 Introductory Remarks.- 5.2 Sibship Size and School Achievement.- 5.2.1 School Grades.- 5.2.2 Standardized Achievement Tests.- 5.2.3 Educational Attainment.- 5.2.4 Conclusions.- 5.3 Birth Order and School Achievement.- 5.3.1 Birth Order as Independent Variable.- 5.3.2 Birth Order as Dependent Variable.- 5.4 Birth Order and Over- and Underachievement.- 5.5 Conclusions.- 6 Birth Order and Occupational Status.- 6.1 Birth Order as Dependent Variable.- 6.1.1 Studies without Control Group.- 6.1.2 Studies with Inadequate Control Groups.- 6.2 Birth Order as Independent Variable.- 6.3 Occupational Status Among Sibs.- 6.4 Sibship Size, Fertility and Social Mobility.- 6.5 Conclusions.- 7 Birth Order Differences in Socialization and Personality.- 7.1 Introductory Remarks.- 7.2 Social Class, Sibship Size, and Personality.- 7.2.1 Social Class and Personality.- 7.2.2 Sibship Size and Personality.- 7.3 Hypotheses Concerning Socialization and Personality Differences by Birth Order.- 7.4 Birth Order and Familial Socialization.- 7.4.1 Differential Treatment of Children by Birth Order Investigated in Parents.- 7.4.2 Differential Treatment of Children by Birth Order Investigated in Children.- 7.4.3 Differential Interactions of Siblings by Birth Order.- 7.5 Summary of the Evidence of Differential Familial Socialization by Birth Order.- 7.6 Birth Order and Personality.- 7.6.1 Introductory Remarks.- 7.6.2 Birth Order, Anxiety, Sensitivity to Pain and Risk Taking.- 7.6.3 Birth Order and the Disposition to Associate.- 7.6.4 Birth Order and Achievement Motivation.- 7.6.5 Birth Order and Aggression.- 7.6.6 Birth Order, Dominance, and Conservatism.- 7.6.7 Birth Order and Interest in Ideas or Persons.- 7.6.8 Birth Order, Autonomy, and Creativity.- 7.6.9 Birth Order and Self-Esteem.- 7.6.10 Birth Order, Adjustment, and Neuroticism.- 7.6.11 Birth Order and Intro- and Extraversion.- 7.6.12 Birth Order and Empathy.- 7.6.13 Birth Order and Responsibility.- 7.6.14 Birth Order and Personality in General.- 7.6.15 Birth Order and Sex Role.- 7.6.16 Sex Role Differentiation and Sex of Sib.- 7.6.17 Personality and Sex of Sib.- 7.6.18 Birth Order, Interpersonal Relations, Mate Selection, and Quality of Married Life.- 7.6.19 Birth Order and Sociometric Popularity.- 7.6.20 Personality and Spacing.- 7.7 Summary of Research on Birth Order and Personality.- 8 Birth Order and Mental Illness.- 8.1 Introductory Remarks.- 8.2 Methodological Pitfalls.- 8.3 Sibship Size and Mental Illness.- 8.3.1 Methodological Difficulties.- 8.3.2 Sibship Size of Psychiatric Patients in General.- 8.3.3 Sibship Size in Schizophrenia.- 8.3.4 Sibship Size in Alcoholism.- 8.3.5 Sibship Size in Psychoneurosis.- 8.3.6 Sibship Size and Personality Disorder.- 8.3.7 Conclusions.- 8.4 Birth Order and Mental Illness.- 8.4.1 Birth Order in Psychiatric Patients in General.- 8.4.2 Birth Order and Schizophrenia.- 8.4.3 Birth Order and Alcoholism.- 8.4.4 Birth Order and Smoking Behavior.- 8.4.5 Birth Order and Use of Drugs.- 8.4.6 Birth Order and Depression.- 8.4.7 Birth Order and Psychoneurosis.- 8.4.8 Birth Order and Personality Disorder.- 8.4.9 Birth Order and Psychosomatic Illness.- 8.4.10 Birth Order and Homosexuality.- 8.4.11 Birth Order in Criminals.- 8.4.12 Mental Illness in Sibships of Two and Three.- 8.4.13 Birth Order and Problem Behavior in Children.- 8.4.14 Mental Deficiency in Children and Adults.- 8.4.15 Birth Order in Epileptics.- 8.5 Birth Order and Psychiatric Illess: Conclusions.- 9 Summary and General Conclusions.- II Analysis of Empirical Data.- 10 Examination of Hypotheses Concerning Birth Order and Sibship Size by Multivariate Analysis of a Representative Young Adult Population.- 10.1 Introduction and Purpose of This Study.- 10.2 Methodology.- 10.2.1 Samples.- 10.2.2 Assessment of Sibship Size and Birth Order.- 10.2.3 Statistics.- 10.3 Birth Order and School Achievement.- 10.3.1 Classification of School Types and Distribution of School Achievement.- 10.3.2 Birth Order and School Achievement: Bivariate Analysis.- 10.3.3 Sibship Size and School Achievement: Bivariate Analysis.- 10.3.4 Other Social Factors and School Achievement.- 10.3.5 Birth Order, Social Factors, and School Achievement: Multiple Classification Analysis.- 10.3.6 Social Factors, Sibship Size, and School Achievement: Multiple Classification Analysis.- 10.3.7 Path Analysis.- 10.3.8 Discussion.- 10.4 Birth Order and Personality.- 10.4.1 Assessment.- 10.4.2 Birth Order and Personality: Oneway Analysis of Variance.- 10.4.3 Birth Order, Extraversion, and Neuroticism.- 10.4.4 Sibship Size and Personality.- 10.4.5 Personality (Extraversion and Neuroticism) and Other Social Variables.- 10.4.6 Birth Order and Personality: Multiple Classification Analysis.- 10.4.7 Discussion.- 10.5 Birth Order and the Consumption of Cigarettes, Alcohol, and Drugs.- 10.5.1 Assessment of Consumption.- 10.5.2 Birth Order and Consumption: Bivariate Analysis.- 10.5.3 Sibship Size and Consumption: Bivariate Analysis.- 10.5.4 Other Social Factors and Consumption.- 10.5.5 Social Factors, Personality, Birth Order, and Consumption: Multiple Classification Analysis.- 10.5.6 Discussion.- 10.6 Summary and Conclusions.- 10.6.1 Survey of Results.- 11 Relation of the Empirical Results to the Survey of World Literature.- References.- Author Index.