THE EFFECT OF BIRTH ORDER ON SELF-CONCEPT IN HIGH SCHOOL AGE STUDENTS A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, Hayward In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Counseling By Lisa Gene Fisher May, 1993 ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the effects, if any exist, of birth order on self-concept in high school age students. The Piers-Harris Children's Self­ Concept Scale was administered to 29 female and 7 male tenth grade students at San Lorenzo High School. Scoring of the inventories resulted in one total score and six factor scores including Behavior, Intellectual and School Status, Physical Appearance and Attributes, Anxiety, Popularity and Happiness and Satisfaction. An additional page was attached to the inventory requesting the subject to report all members of his or her family and the ages of those family members. Each subjects was then classified as first, middle or last-born according to the information provided by the subject. An analysis of variance was performed on the total score and each of the factor scores obtained by each subject on the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. No significant differences were found between the mean scores for each of the groups. ii THE EFFECT OF BIRTH ORDER ON SELF-CONCEPT IN HIGH SCHOOL AGE STUDENTS By Lisa Gene Fisher Approved: Date: Iff) lll ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Dr. Tom Whalen, for the patience and support he provided me over the last year while working on this project. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Ted Alper for taking the time to read this manuscript and offer his suggestions. Many, many thanks go to the staff and students at San Lorenzo High School who, without them, this study could not have been done. In particular, I wish to thank Sheryl Cambra and Dave Rhodes whose support, encouragement and incredible cooperation made my work easier. I would also like to thank the students 1n the Clinical Child/School Psychology program for their suggestions and comments relating to this thesis. Thanks to Jeanine Wright for the many hours spent thinking, talking, crying, laughing about and avoiding the "T" word. Last, but definately not least, I want to thank my family, especially my mom and dad, for their neverending love and support throughout the years and also, by having five children, providing me with the idea for this project. lV TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT. l. l. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . i v LIST OF TABLES ......................................... vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION................................... 1 General Statement of the Problem. 1 Background of the Problem. 1 Significance of the Problem. 5 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ...................... 7 Introduction. 7 Birth Order and Achievement................. 7 Birth Order and Psycholgocial Functioning... 9 Birth Order and Popularity .................. 12 Birth Order and Self-Concept ................ 14 Summary ................. ...... ............ 17 3. DESIGN AND PROCEDURES ......................... 19 Problem .......................... .......... 19 Hypothesis. 19 Population and Sample ....................... 20 General Methodoloy .. ..................... 20 Instrument Used ............................. 21 Analytic Procedure .......................... 23 v CHAPTER Page 4. RESULTS ....................................... 25 Descriptive Results ......................... 25 Testing the Hypothesis ...................... 26 Summary of Results .......................... 32 5. SUMMARY ....................................... 34 Conclusions ................................. 34 Limitations. 3 6 Recommendations. 3 6 REFERENCES. 3 9 APPENDIX A. SAMPLE INVENTORY .............................. 41 B. RAW DATA ...................................... 47 Vl LIST OF TABLES TABLE Page 1. Means and F Probability Value for Birth Order Groups on Piers-Harris Total Scores ......... 26 2. Means and F Probability Value for Birth Order Groups on Piers-Harris Behavior Scores ...... 27 3. Means and F Probability Value for Birth Order Groups on Piers-Harris Intellectual and School Status Scores ........................ 28 4. Means and F Probability Value for Birth Order Groups on Piers-Harris Physical Appearance and Attributes Scores ....................... 29 5. Means and F Probability Value for Birth Order Groups on Piers-Harris Anxiety Scores ....... 30 6. Means and F Probability Value for Birth Order Groups on Piers-Harris Popularity Scores .... 31 7. Means and F Probability Value for Birth Order Groups on Piers-Harris Happiness and Satisfaction Score .......................... 32 Vll CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION General Statement of the Problem The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between birth order and self-concept in tenth­ grade students. Is there a difference in how the first, middle and last-born child in a family feels about himself? This study will focus on the effect that ordinal placement within one's family has on how a person may view himself. Specifically, this study will look at how birth order may influence self-concept in tenth-grade students at San Lorenzo High School. In this text, self-concept is defined as a relatively stable set of self-attitudes, reflecting both a description and an evaluation of one's own behavior and attributes. Thus, self-concept is based on conscious self­ perceptions and awareness of one's own behaviors and attributes. Defined as such, self-concept can be used interchangeably with the terms self-esteem and self-regard. Background of the Problem It has long been known that siblings play an important role in the family structure and that sibling 1 2 relationships are unique in that a sibling 1s viewed as a friend, a pseudo-parent, someone with whom to compete and a confidant. Research on this topic has shown that birth order is an important and complex variable in personality development. The results of such research provide an interesting view of how one's place in the family can continue to be a major factor in development throughout one's lifespan. Birth order, gender, family styles of communication, bonding, socialization, intersubjective matching and structure building all have a lasting impact on our intrapsychic functioning (Agger, 1988, p.4). Over eighty percent of children in the United States have at least one sibling. The arrival of a sibling has an effect on future relationships for the other children concerned. As Judy Dunn stated in her article on sibling relationships in early childhood, "It is clear that for first children the arrival of a sibling affects their relationship with their parents dramatically" (Dunn, 1983, p.787). Research indicates that parents treat their firstborn child differently after the arrival of the second child, and this action has a measurable effect on both children. However, these effects are different depending on the particular developmental period of the person. For example, during early childhood, ages four to six, birth order influences intellectual and academic achievement, degree of stress and anxiety experienced by the child and activity level . During late adolescence and early 3 adulthood, ages seventeen to twenty-two, birth order plays a role in self-concept, psychological functioning and well­ being, educational attainment and occupational status. Along with other critical factors including heredity, family size, the spacing and sex of siblings, education and upbringing, birth order provides clues about children that can be used to help them feel good about who they are (Marzella, 1990). However, there is the danger of putting too much emphasis on birth order analysis and, thus, stereotyping children solely on the basis of their position in the family. The theory of birth order effects was first introduced by Alfred Adler in the 1920's. He outlined the general dynamics that occur in families as each child is born. Adler suggested that the first-born child, who is also the only-child, is treated as the center of his parents' universe. However, this changes when the second child lS born. Adler suggests that the first-born child never recovers from the trauma of losing his position and the exclusive attention of his parents when the second child is born. These feelings have been linked to the oldest child's need for affiliation and achievement as well as stronger dependency needs. According to Adler, the youngest child can concentrate on catching up with older siblings, while being relatively secure about being lavished with affection from the rest of the family. However, the last- 4 born is also likely to be more egocentric (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956). The first-born child often takes on a parental role in his treatment of his younger sibling. In response to the older sibling's role, the second child may rebel against authority and take on a competitive stance throughout his life. According to Adler, the second-born child is in a more advantageous position than the first- born. Never having had to give up exclusive parental attention, and having an older sibling as a 'pacemaker,' maximizes chances for healthy development in the second born and other middle siblings (Gates, et al, 1986, p.29). The youngest child, according to Adler, remains pampered and maintained as a dependent individual. He may respond to opportunities for competition with older siblings and may, 1n fact, earn greater success. The theory concerning the effects of birth order has been of interest to researchers since it was first proposed. Numerous