engleski

The effects of birth order on five-factor personality traits in early adolescents

On the sample of 952 early adolescents we examined the effects of birth order on five- factor personality traits by using between-family design. Four most frequent classifications of birth order were used and their effects were examined not only on primary five-factor personality traits, but also on two higher-order meta-traits, stability and plasticity, as well as general factor of personality. Additionally, a number of potentially important sociodemographic variables which may confound the relationship between birth order and personality were controlled for. The results of this study show that birth order exerted no effects on the conscientiousness and openness, while on extraversion, agreeableness, emotional stability, higher order plasticity dimension and general personality factor a few differences with small effect sizes were obtained. When sociodemographic variables were controlled for, relationships between birth order and five-factor personality traits were not changed. The analyses of trends show that extraversion, openness, agreeableness, higher-order plasticity dimension and general factor of personality exhibited quadratic, while neuroticism and higher-order stability dimension linear trend. The results are somewhat different depending on the birth order classification and they suggest that the most informative classification are more detailed one.

birth order, personality traits, early adolescence, family niche theory

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