A woman comforting her child.
Birth order can play a significant role in determining one’s personality and level of success in life. Studies show that firstborns are better suited for leadership roles as they age. Middle children tend to be the best-behaved, and the youngest child in a family is often the most social.
Those are all positive traits associated with birth order. However, a new Epic Research study has found a dark side to being the firstborn child in a family. They are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression.
The research team looked at the medical records of over 180,000 children and found that by the age of 8, firstborn children were 48% more likely to have anxiety and 35% more likely to have depression than the younger children in their families.
The study also found that only children were 35% more likely to have depression and 42% more likely to have anxiety by the age of 8 than children who were born second or later.
The study comes 2 years after the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that all children be screened for anxiety starting at the age of 8, regardless of whether they are showing symptoms or not. “For older children and teens, screening and follow-up care can reduce symptoms of depression and can improve, and potentially resolve anxiety,” the statement reads. “However, there is very limited evidence on the benefits and harms of screening children younger than 8 for anxiety and younger than 12 for depression.”
A child with anxiety.via Canva/Photos
Children with anxiety often have trouble sleeping or developing a consistent sleep pattern. They may also be clingy and express excessive anger and irritability. Anxiety may also manifest in physical symptoms such as stomach pains or headaches.
Children with depression may have continuous feelings of sadness and hopelessness. They may also be prone to outbursts of crying, feelings of worthlessness or guilt and impaired concentration.
The Epic Research study didn’t provide a reason why firstborn and only children are more likely to have anxiety and depression. However, Milly Cox, a biological anthropologist at UCLA, said it could be caused by inexperienced parents who aren’t as exposed to child-rearing as older generations. “In the pre-industrial context, the context present for the majority of human history, you would be exposed to parenting and kids your whole life. You would be more involved in caring for your younger siblings,” Fox told The Huffington Post.
The differences in mental health between firstborn and subsequent children may also be caused by different conditions in the mother’s womb. Firstborn children often have other health challenges than their siblings due to the differences in uterine environments.
Even though firstborn children are more likely to have anxiety and depression than their siblings, it’s still essential for children to be screened for anxiety and depression regardless of their birth order.
“Anxiety and depression don’t have a single cause, so understanding what factors are likely to impact a child can help both parents and clinicians to make sure that they are helping the child with their specific needs,” Caleb Cox, head of research and data science at Epic Research, told The Huffington Post. He added that there are plenty of cases where second- or third-born children have anxiety and depression as well, “so it’s important for parents to make sure their kids are getting the help that they need, regardless of the child’s birth order.”