Birth order and achievement: a study of the effects of family constellation and related variables on the achievement of officer students at the Naval Postgraduate School

Abstract

The findings suggest that there may be no significant difference between the achievement of first-, only-, and last-born children. While middle-born children appeared to do less well in academic achievement, their occupational achievement did not differ significantly from the other birth-order groups. The findings further suggest that sibling-identification may affect the occupational achievement of last-born offspring, while parental activity appears to influence the academic and occupational achievement of first- and only-born children. Last-born offspring appear to do better in occupations predominated by co-workers of the same sex as their next-older sib. For the last-born in an occupation predominated by co-workers of the opposite sex of his next-older sib, occupation achievement correlated positively with an increase in age space between the last-born and his next older sib.