Category
Applied
Description
The impact of birth order on personality, particularly the trait of conscientiousness in firstborns, remains a controversial topic due to methodological inconsistencies and differing theoretical perspectives. This study examines whether firstborns exhibit significantly higher scores on measures of conscientiousness than laterborns or only children, and how adults perceive the impact of birth order on their personality development in childhood and adulthood. Utilizing a convergent mixed-method design, this study assesses the impact of birth order on personality among 300 U.S.-residing adults. Participants were divided into three groups (firstborns, laterborns, and only children), and all took the HEXACO-100 Personality Inventory. A subset of each birth order group was interviewed to explore perceptions of birth order’s impact for thematic analysis (22 total). Due to the numerous confounding variables within development, this study also considers how the contributions of sex, family size, and sibling age gaps contribute to the variance, using a hierarchical multiple regression (HMR). This study is currently in progress; therefore, final results are not yet available. It is anticipated that the findings will provide insight into birth order effects and hold clinical relevance for personality-focused interventions in educational, therapeutic, and organizational contexts.
Birth Order’s Impact on Conscientiousness & Personality in Adults: Mixed-Method Insights on the Firstborn Profile
Applied
The impact of birth order on personality, particularly the trait of conscientiousness in firstborns, remains a controversial topic due to methodological inconsistencies and differing theoretical perspectives. This study examines whether firstborns exhibit significantly higher scores on measures of conscientiousness than laterborns or only children, and how adults perceive the impact of birth order on their personality development in childhood and adulthood. Utilizing a convergent mixed-method design, this study assesses the impact of birth order on personality among 300 U.S.-residing adults. Participants were divided into three groups (firstborns, laterborns, and only children), and all took the HEXACO-100 Personality Inventory. A subset of each birth order group was interviewed to explore perceptions of birth order’s impact for thematic analysis (22 total). Due to the numerous confounding variables within development, this study also considers how the contributions of sex, family size, and sibling age gaps contribute to the variance, using a hierarchical multiple regression (HMR). This study is currently in progress; therefore, final results are not yet available. It is anticipated that the findings will provide insight into birth order effects and hold clinical relevance for personality-focused interventions in educational, therapeutic, and organizational contexts.
