A Study has revealed that second-born children are likely to be criminals later in life.
Researchers from the University of MIT, Northwestern and University of Florida and a couple of others sampled second born children from a set of brothers in Denmark and the state of Florida—two dramatically different cultures.
Despite large differences in environments across the two areas, we find remarkably consistent results: In families with two or more children, second-born boys are on the order of 20 to 40 percent more likely to be disciplined in school and enter the criminal justice system compared to first-born boys even when we compare siblings,” the authors wrote in a paper about the study.
The study also reveals that second born look up to the first born for guidance. They treat first born as their role models. Whatever the first born does will be replicated by the second born. If the age gap between the first born and second born is insignificant, the second born might pick only the negative traits-which is why the study finds the second born more likely to break the law as opposed to other members of the family.
It comes as no surprise that previous research has found that oldest siblings tend to be smarter than their younger sisters and brothers. The reason? Parents, naturally, spend more time alone with their first children—giving them their undivided attention.
Many parents in the intelligence study admitted that they were less enthusiastic about engaging in enriching activities with their second and third children. What types of enriching activities, you ask? Well, bedtime stories, crafts and playing instruments—exactly the types of things that help to increase intelligence.
On top of all that, some mothers admitted that they were not as strict with themselves about things like drinking and smoking during their second or third pregnancies, which could contribute to adverse outcomes for their babies.
