Second Children are More Likely to be Troublemakers

Jakarta – A 2017 study confirmed that second children are considered to have worse habits, and sometimes with severe consequences.

The study was conducted by Dr. Joseph Doyle, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or MIT. Doyle and his colleagues said that firstborn children, especially boys, are considered to become troublemakers more than their older siblings.

The data they collected, which looked at thousands of sibling pairs in the United States and Europe, showed that second children were 25% to 40% more likely to get into serious trouble at school or with the law. 

One possible explanation for this finding is that parenting styles may change according to birth order. 

For example, the first child often gets the full attention of their parents, while younger siblings have to compete for attention. And, as the family grows, the dynamic changes.

"First children have adult role models. And secondly, later-born children have a slightly irrational role model like a 2-year-old, you know, which is their older sibling," Doyle said. 

"Both parental investments are different, and sibling influences probably contribute to these differences, which we see in the labor market and what we find in delinquency. It's really hard to separate those two things because they're happening at the same time." 

In addition, other studies have shown that firstborns tend to be smarter than their siblings. Research conducted by scientists from the University of Edinburgh reported that firstborns tend to have higher IQs and thinking skills than their younger siblings.

This is because of the higher mental stimulation received by first child, reports CBS affiliate KUTV.

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