While Adler’s birth order theory describes firstborns as being high achievers, problem solvers, and caretakers, Stewart says these strong characteristics can also result in controlling tendencies.

Find out what you need to know about how birth order affects children, their personality, intelligence, and more.

Studies conducted since Adler’s time have found associations between birth order and everything from educational attainment to sexuality to middle children’s success in team sports.

The beginnings of birth-order theory can be traced back to the early 20th-century Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler.

According to Adler's research, only children mature a lot faster than kids with siblings. That has a lot to do with having more interaction with adults. Only children are often comfortable being the ...

Does being the first middle child or the eldest shape your personality Does the birth order dictate how your life turns out ...

While Adler’s birth order theory describes firstborns as being high achievers, problem solvers, and caretakers, Stewart says these strong characteristics can also result in controlling tendencies.

Have you ever wondered if being the oldest or youngest sibling means anything for your personality? One psychiatrist introduced an idea that birth order could impact development and personality.

It stems from the belief that birth order shapes who you are, a theory first introduced by Austrian psychiatrist Alfred Adler in the early 20th century.

The psychological framework Alfred Adler, a contemporary of Freud, first formalized birth order theory in the early 20th century.