Neuropsychological functioning of 30 siblings of children with autism (AU-S), 28 siblings of children with mental retardation of (MR-S), and 30 siblings of children with developmental language delay (DLD-S) was compared. Two siblings, both AU-S, received diagnoses of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). More siblings with cognitive disabilities…

Behavioral and related disorders are frequently reported in association with childhood epilepsy but the reasons for this are unclear. In a long-term prospective, community-based study of newly-diagnosed childhood epilepsy, behavioral assessments (Child Behavior Checklist) were performed in children 8 to 9 years after the initial diagnosis of…

The present paper reports the results of a within and between family analysis of the relation between birth order and intelligence. The material comprises more than a quarter of a million test scores for intellectual performance of Norwegian male conscripts recorded during 1984-2004. Conscripts, mostly 18-19 years of age, were born to women for…

This study examines how sibship characteristics affect educational attainment in Taiwan. Using a multilevel analysis of a sibling sample of 12,715 observations from 3,001 families drawn from a national survey, we investigate the effects of family size, sibship density, birth-order rank, and sibship gender composition. The results support the…

The idea that birth order influences intellectual development and social success has recently been revived, despite the accumulated evidence that birth order effects are often negligible or artifactual. In this paper, the association of birth order with educational attainment is examined among 9,000 Wisconsin high school graduates of 1957 and…

An examination of two samples of National Merit Scholarship participants tested in 1962 and almost all participants (800,000) tested in 1965. Consistent effects in all three groups were observed with respect to both birth order and family size (firstborn and those of smaller families scored higher). (Author/SDH)

In Adler's Theory of Individual Psychology the significance of birth order position in the family constellation depends on the interpretation given to it by the child, which in turn influences his character. This study surveyed the perceptions of middle children in large families. Subjects (N=13) were middle children in families of more than five…

Recent psychological investigations have demonstrated the significant impact of the sibling relationship throughout the lifespan. To determine the extent of developmental consistency in sibling relationships, 62 working class adults (40 female, 22 male) were interviewed about the nature of their relationship with the sibling to whom they felt…

The study compared the self-concepts of siblings of handicapped children with norms and examined mediators for this personality variable. Thirty-four siblings of handicapped children (2-15 years old) from the United States and Canada completed a children's self-concept scale while their parents filled out two questionnaires: one on parental…

The author describes difficulties she experienced as the elder sister of a deaf girl. (GW)

This study examined the creative performance among siblings of various ordinal birth positions. Subjects were 36 male elementary students, nine sets of four brothers with no additional siblings of either sex in their families. Their families were primarily of middle socioeconomic status and both parents were college graduates. Each subject was…

Intense sibling loyalty was examined in three sibling groups: (1) four brothers in mid-life, aged 36-45, three of whom were married; (2) two brothers, aged 20 and 22, attending the same university; and (3) a brother age 6 and his sister age 9 living together in a foster home. Anecdotal excerpts from extensive videotaped interviews are used to…

Research on the effects of birth order on cognitive ability often fails to control relevant variables related to family background and does not usually investigate the effects of birth order among members of the same family. Consequently, apparently significant birth order effects may in fact be spurious. This study uses a sample of brothers…

The purpose of this study is to clarify further the relationships among creative, cognitive, and affective production of students. Thirteen pairs of twins, eight monozygotic (MZ), five dyzygotic (DZ), were administered the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, MMPI, and Revised Beta Examination. The F ratio for testing significance of within-set…