It is often said that the elders are serious, that the youngest loves to shake up the rules and that unique children live in a bubble. But in the midst of these stereotypes, a place in siblings remains largely ignored: children in the middle. A Canadian study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences comes to set the record straight on time.
What the Canadian study reveals
Led by psychologists Michael Ashton and Kibeom Lee, this research is based on data of more than 700,000 volunteers, mainly from English -speaking countries. Seniors, youngest, unique children … All siblings were compared.
The researchers found that growing up in a large family promotes a more focused personality to others. Two dimensions are particularly emerging:
- Authorability, that is to say the ability to agree with others;
- Honesty-humility, a tendency to be sincere, fair and respectful.
Caught between their elders and their cadets, children in the middle seem to develop these qualities more. They often become the natural mediators of the family, capable of eating tensions and cultivating mutual aid.
A discreet but essential role
A figure illustrates this phenomenon well: a person resulting from a siblings of six children is 60 % chance of being more cooperative than one child, if we compare two individuals taken at random. What give credit to the idea that life in siblings forges unique social skills.
However, researchers call for caution. As Kibeom Lee explains in an interview with Guardian : “It is difficult to draw conclusions on the personality of an individual based on his birth rank or the size of his family, although obvious differences appear when considers averages on large groups“.
In other words, the birth order does not write the whole history, but it leaves a subtle imprint. Being the child in the middle is not just a forgotten label: it is also a school of cooperation and adaptability, discreet but precious.