Sibling Rivalry Justified, US Research Shows "Second-Borns Are More Likely To Be Trouble-Makers"

By christinelai on 28 Jun 2018

If you could choose to be the oldest or the youngest in the family, what would you choose? Perhaps the youngest..? I mean, the youngest seems to get all the attention and extra care... But a study from the US suggests that second borns are more rebellious and more likely to get into trouble! Hmm... Is it really their fault?

This research is conducted by Economist Joseph Doyle and team from MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It aims to study the sequence of birth and delinquency rate for family with 2 children and above.

Studying thousands of sets of brothers in Denmark and the US, the study found that second-born are 20 to 40 per cent more likely to be disciplined in school or commit crimes. However, it is not entirely their fault...
Very often, parents are willing to give their first child all the undivided attention, at the slightest they will jump! Automatically, they become the role model of the firstborn. Yet at the arrival of the second child, they are less willing to take leave at work, even quality time and the tangible concern given to both children significantly drop.

Instead of parents being the role-model of the second child, subconsciously the firstborn becomes the role model. This difference goes a long way. Over time, the younger child is learning from the oldest child and that gives it more room for mischief and wrong decisions growing up. How much can a 2-year-old learn from a 5-year-old..?

It's not the end of the world for all the second borns! Not all second-borns are born to be troublemakers. Personality plays a big part too. When parents play a more vital role in giving the attention individually, being good role models and etc. Second borns might fare better in making everyday choices from a young age!