Study: Second-Born Children Are More Likely To Misbehave

Most people with a sibling think that they are better behaved than their brother or sister, and it turns out, if they are the first-born, that might be the case, but if they are a second-born then there's some bad news coming their way. A new study by an MIT economist shows that second-born kids are more likely to misbehave than their older siblings

You might have heard of the "curse of the second-born," which claims the second child is much more of a handful than the first. Well essentially, the study is saying it's a real thing - especially when it comes to boys. The researchers looked at thousands of sets of brothers in America and Britain and learned the second-born kids were 25 to 40% more likely to get into serious trouble at school or with the law. 

The scientist behind the study told NPR that the issue here might be that the second-born's role model is different than their older siblings'. He explained, "The firstborn has role models, who are adults. And the second, later-born children have role models who are slightly irrational 2-year-olds, you know, their older siblings." Other potential causes - the parenting style might change after the first-born, parents take less time off from work for their second-born, and also the first-born gets all of their parents' attention while the second-born has to compete for it. 

If you are a second-born child don't worry - the good news is just because of your birth order you aren't destined to be some kind of delinquent. 

Photo Credit: Getty 


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content