Middle child syndrome can cause increased sibling rivalry, low self-esteem, and attention-seeking behavior. Middle children often feel neglected and less significant than their older and younger siblings. However, being the only boy or girl in the family can prevent this syndrome. Birth order does not determine success in life.
Some of the effects of middle child syndrome can include increased sibling rivalries and low self-esteem. It’s not uncommon for even middle children to feel an amplified desire for adult attention. Children with this syndrome also sometimes display destructive behavior in trying to get the attention of parents, teachers, and others due to feeling overshadowed by older and younger siblings.
Children who are neither the oldest nor the youngest in a family often experience what is described as middle child syndrome. Many describe feeling less significant than older or younger siblings and report feeling neglected. It is also not unusual for middle children to be more socially withdrawn than their older and younger siblings.
Middle child syndrome can increase the amount of sibling rivalry within a family. With children competing for attention and a unique place in the family, a middle child may feel a greater need to compete with older siblings who are often given more freedom and responsibility, as well as feeling ignored, compared to older siblings. little ones who commonly receive more attention because they are the youngest. Middle children may feel a sense of resentment at the unique types of attention and communication afforded to other siblings and may even exhibit attention-seeking behaviors.
Studies of self-esteem in children have also found that this syndrome can impact a child’s sense of self-worth. Because of their birth position, middle children sometimes feel invisible to the rest of the family as older siblings and younger siblings often seem to get more attention from parents and other adults. Despite being a middle child, however, some studies have shown that children who are the only girl or only boy in the family often do not suffer from middle child syndrome. Their unique position as an only child of a specific gender is thought to attract a level of attention and a feeling of uniqueness that other middle children with same-sex siblings do not experience.
Although birth order is not the only factor involved in personality formation, this syndrome is often attributed to feelings of low self-worth in adulthood. Researchers disagree, however, with the commonly held notion that one’s birth order determines a person’s level of success in life. As people mature and begin individual lives as adults, many are able to eliminate any negative effects associated with birth order.
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