A study on Conscientiousness, Narcissism and Self-Esteem among First Born and Last- Born Siblings

Abstract

Often in our society we come across statements like “firstborns are more responsible” or that “middleborns are often the ignored children.” Such statements usually pique the interest of individuals and are also a propagator of misinformation. While there might be slight differences in the bringing up of children, its impact on the personality of these individuals is not major. To further investigate on this research a study was conducted on a sample (n=60), between the age groups of 18-25 years, with 30 firstborn and 30 last born. The purpose was to study conscientiousness, narcissism and self-esteem among first born and last-born children. Standardized scales were used to measure these stated variables. The results found a significant positive correlation between Conscientiousness and Self-Esteem and a significant positive correlation between Narcissism and Self-Esteem. However, no statistically significant differences were observed in Self-esteem, Conscientiousness and Narcissism among Firstborn and Lastborn siblings. Due to the firstborn siblings usually taking up the role of substitute parents for the later born, it is often believed that the siblings, according to their placement in the family, possess different personality traits. However, evidence from the present study as well as the past studies suggests that birth order does not have a lasting impact on broad personality traits outside of the intellectual domain, and any variations might have to do with the genetics rather than the familial positioning of individuals.