Middle child syndrome

Alfred Alder (1870-1937) was an Austrian physician and psychiatrist during the Victorian era. Throughout his life, he created and studied three main theories. Inferiority v. superiority, social interest, and birth order. His theory surrounding birth order stated that the order siblings/children are born significantly affects children's adolescence and personality types. With the help of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, Alder specifically developed this theory to understand children's behavior easier. He understood better their working brain and why they act differently even after being raised under the same roof by the same parents. His idea revolved around married parents who raised their children while living together. Many researchers and psychologists today study the topic of birth order and how it affects children—the term "middle child syndrome" developed as a term over time. It describes the shared characteristics middle children feel and the events they go through that are specifically related to being the middle child. According to Alder's theory, the life of each first, middle, and last-born sibling is different regarding birth order, and personality traits are affected by this.

• The oldest child may be dominant and conservative
• The middle child may be cooperative and independent
• The youngest child may be ambitious and privileged [2]

With middle children being "stuck in the middle," it can become standard for the middle-born to feel unloved or have less attention on them from their parents. There are certain family situations where birth order and middle child syndrome don't apply. Alfred Alders's concept surrounding birth order relies on the stereotypical dysfunctional family. Middle child syndrome is an idea, not a diagnosis. This term helps researchers understand more about child development and why children behave as they do regarding parenting and sibling relationships.

A study on the differences between the perceived IQ of middle-born children and their siblings was conducted in 1988. Through the data they collected, researchers found that parents tended to have a more favorable impression of their first-born's intellect than their younger siblings. It was found that when testing the IQ of siblings of comparable ages, their IQ scores tended to be within a few points of each other. The study concluded that although siblings tended to have a similar IQ due to having a shared environment, the way they were treated due to their perceived intelligence was mismatched.[3]

In 1998, researchers conducted a survey to test the theory that birth order had an influence on the personality of an individual and the strength of their bond with their parents. They found that middle children were the least likely to say they would turn to their parents when faced with a dire and stressful situation. It was also noted that middle children were less likely to nominate their mother as the person they felt most close to compared to the first-borns and last-borns.[4]

In 2016, research was done on birth order and its effect on the idealistic self-representation among undergraduate Engineering students. There were 320 participants and researchers found that middle-born children were less likely to be family-oriented than their siblings. Reviewing the study it is stated the first-born children rate higher in being protective than their younger siblings, in a similar manner the middle children scored the highest for affection and getting along but lower for companionship and identification. These results indicate that there are differences in characteristics brought on by birth order. Middle children were also the most likely to develop maladaptive perfectionism, which is an inclination towards following instructions up to the finest details.[5]

An analysis on birth order and parental sibling involvement in sex education was conducted in 2018. The survey had over 15,000 participants. The results showed that middle-born women were slightly less likely than women who are the youngest in their family to talk to their parents about the matter, with results of 30.9 percent to 29.4 percent respectively. A similar story was told on the men’s side as 17.9 percent of middleborn men found it easy to talk to their parents about sex compared to the 21.4 percent of last-born men.[6]

A study conducted by Jeannie S. Kidwell, explored the self-esteem of middleborns compared to first and last born children. The key aspects of this study included variables such as the number of children, spacing in age, and gender. Kidwell wanted to study Middleborns compared to firstborns and lastborns in relation to Self-esteem. This is because she believed self esteem is an important scope of one's identity and is related to many other areas of competence, achievement, and relationships during a child's development. The study found that self-esteem decreases as the number of siblings increases but is only noteworthy when the siblings are spaced at an average interval of two years. The study suggests that this is because “there is less time to develop and solidify the uniqueness inherent in being firstborn and lastborn when there is only one year between siblings. With this compact spacing, all three birth positions become less distinct, clouding the behavioral and perceptual differences between them.” This uniqueness is referred to as the “lack of uniqueness” phenomenon. Which is defined as achieving status, affection, and recognition among siblings and feeling special in the eyes of one's parents. Which Kidwell was testing to see if this was more difficult for the middleborn and is reflected in overall self-assessment. Kidwell also determined through this study that being an only male among female siblings creates a much higher form of self-esteem, helping to balance the lack of status which occurs when one is caught "in the middle.”Kidwell, J. S. (1982). "The Neglected Birth Order: Middleborns". Journal of Marriage and Family. [Wiley, National Council on Family Relations]. 44 (1): 225–235. doi:10.2307/351276. ISSN 0022-2445. JSTOR 351276.

The idea of birth order believes that each born child develops different personalities. This is due to how they are being parented. The way you are raised has a significant effect on how your life. For example, parents with multiple children might raise the oldest child differently from the middle child, or the last child is presented differently from the oldest child, etc. Middle child syndrome is often used to show how middle children have felt growing up in the middle. Every middle child may not have experienced the same situations, but they may have a better understanding of each other and have similar behavioral patterns.

Many people in the public eye are middle children, both fictional and non-fictional. There may even be moments in certain TV shows/movies that show certain 'middle child syndrome' moments.

It has yet to be discovered when or where the term middle child syndrome originated. However, the study and research of birth order have given the phrase its meaning. Being a middle child doesn't propose instant oversight. There may even be times when being a middle child has its advantages. Like many other life affairs, being the middle child has positive and negative aspects. While birth order and middle child syndrome may help us understand child development, it doesn't define the middle-born as a whole. Ultimately, there can be psychological effects on middle-born children who don't get the attention that the oldest and youngest child of the family receives.[13] While there are many birth order studies and research, Alfred Alder is the leading psychologist who developed the theory. However, his research is widely criticized as being outdated and not including essential aspects in his work, such as race, age, and gender.

• Sibling rivalry
• Sibling abuse
• Nepotism
• List of siblings groups
• Nuclear family

Kidwell, J. S. (1982). "The Neglected Birth Order: Middleborns". Journal of Marriage and Family. [Wiley, National Council on Family Relations]. 44 (1): 225–235. doi:10.2307/351276. ISSN 0022-2445. JSTOR 351276.

"Middle Child Syndrome", Psych Central, 25 October 2021, retrieved 5 December 2022

Eklund, M. (2013). "Middle Child Syndrome". The North American Review. University of Northern Iowa. 298 (2): 8. ISSN 0029-2397.