Question

Explain gender and birth placement as well as siblings developments and the relationships. (Child Psych)

Answer 1

y to develop Amongst the varsity of genetic (nature)and environmental ( nurture) factors which influence development of an individual’s personality, developmental psychologists have also studied and analysed the role of the birth order or the chronological position of the individual in his/her sibling hierarchy. The idea is based on Alfred Adler’s psychodynamic theory of Individual Psychology according to which the key to understanding personality and differences between siblings lies in the birth order -- whether you're a first-, middle-, last-born, or only child -- and how parents treat their child because of it. Adler was interested in noticing how two siblings may develop very different personality traits despite having the same genes.

According to this view, parents tend to respond and organise the environment differently for the children depending upon who is older and who is younger. This in turn creates a different set of expectations and motivation about the gratification of needs from the environment. In general, reasearches on the sibling order have shown that:

The first born children are often perfectionist and always strive to please their parents. Thus is because, parents also learn about their parenting roles with their first birth. Thus, their trial and error parenting may make them extremely attentive, stringent with rules, and overly neurotic, all of which later creates a dependent attachment style in their first child. Moreover, differences are seen between first borns in terms of gender wherein female first borns are more likely to develop a high moral consciousness and assume caregiving responsibility of their younger siblings.

The second born or middle children are more of a people-pleaser due to the lack of attention they get in comparison to their older sibling. By the time of the second birth, as parents feel more confident about their caregiving roles and identif6 themselves as experienced parents, they may become less stringent and more relaxed in their norms and control. Second born children therefore may become more competitive and independent and seek interests outside their home as they grow older. They are likely to be more rebellious and norm defying especially if they are males and at the same time be very popular in their large social circle.

The last borns or the youngest siblings tend to be simplistic, the most free-spirited, outgoing and attention seeking due to their early childhood experiences with competing with many siblings for their parents’s attention. Parents may respond to the youngest child with a very relaxed nature and this may increase the child’s predisposition towards being self-centered in pursuit of goals and values.

Only children do not have any siblings and they may monopolize their parents' attention and resources forever. However, this can be both a burden as well as a privileged position as being the center of attention in the family can also imply that they may assume greater responsibility within the family in order to meet the parent’s expectations. Moreover, in the absence of siblings, such children are likely to have a lack of exposure to social learning experiences with other children. In the process, they can become introverted, be more imaginative and engage in creative play particularly if they are females.