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Effects of Birth order on age of leaving home

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2016

Richard Thurecht
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
Michael S. Nystul
Affiliation:
University of Queensland

Extract

Alfred Adler (1954) referred to the sibling rivalry between the first and secondborn when he said,

The striving for power in the case of a secondborn child also has its especial nuance. Secondborn children are constantly under steam, striving for superiority under pressure: the race-course attitude which determines their activity in life is very evident in their actions. The fact that there is someone ahead of him who has already gained power is a strong stimulus for the secondborn. If he is enabled to develop his powers and takes up the battle with the firstborn he will usually move forward with a great deal of elan, then while the first born, possessing power, feels himself relatively secure until the second threatens to surpass him (p. 126).

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1978

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References

Adler, A. Understanding human nature. Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett Publications Inc., 1954.Google Scholar
Sutton-Smith, B., & Rosenberg, B.G. The sibling. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970.Google Scholar