 Some researchers believe that birth order has some bearing on who you grow up to be. Research has suggested that whether you were born first, in the middle, or last, may have an impact on your personality, intelligence, or even how religious you are. There's debate in this area, and some studies find no significant differences due to birth order. However, we will explore some of the positive findings that have been found. Disclaimer, this evidence is all-correlational and does not imply causation. Also, there are generalizations, so they may not apply to everyone. First-born children. Researchers sorrow-gluing Fiasse looked at the grades siblings obtained in school. They found that siblings who were born first tend to achieve higher grades compared to middle and last-born children. It may be caused simply by a higher intelligence level or greater motivation. Another piece of research was conducted by Damien and Roberts. Their study looked at the effect of birth order on first and last-born children's personality. They found that, in general, first-born siblings are more conscientious, less sociable, and higher in leadership skills. They are natural-born leaders and achievers. They also tend to be more agreeable and less neurotic, which would explain the excellent leadership skills. Damien and Roberts also measured children's intelligence through IQ tests. They found that first-born children seem more intelligent, especially in verbal abilities, as opposed to other parts of intelligence, like math and spatial abilities. Middle-born children. Sorrow-gluing Fiasse were one of the first to include middle-born children in their order-effect studies rather than just first and last-born children. They conducted a study where they got religiosity and personality ratings from both the children and their parents and looked to see if birth order has any effect on these variables. They found that compared to kids who were born first or last, those who were middle-born are less religious and less conscientious. They also found that, generally, middle-born children have fewer achievements and less self-discipline than their siblings. Instead, they are more impulsive, open, and likely to fantasize. Last-born children. Sorrow-gluing Fiasse also found some interesting effects of birth order on the last-born child. Last-born children are found, either by their own ratings or by their parents, to be more altruistic in nature. They are also more agreeable, tender-minded, and warm, as rated by their parents. Additionally, they tend to be more trustworthy, straightforward, and obedient. So we've covered the effect birth order has on children. But what about those who are the only child their parents have? Does this affect them at all? Xiao, Yao, Li, and Huang looked at this topic and found that those who are only children experience higher life satisfaction than those who have siblings. This study was conducted in China, and so we should be mindful of any cultural differences that may explain the finding. But that aside, it probably makes sense that parents with one child put more time and resources into that child, causing them to have a higher life satisfaction. So what do you think? A load of rubbish or a genuine thing? Do the relationships discussed here reflect people you know in real life? Let us know in the comments and let us know what your birth order is in which of the traits fit you. If you enjoy this content, check out our other social media, and don't forget to subscribe. Thanks for watching and have a wonderful day.