Firstborns’ Success Inspires Younger Siblings To Excel, Study Finds

The success of first-born children inspires younger siblings to achieve more, according to a new study.

A phenomenon that is being called the “sibling spillover effect” shows that the success of older brothers or sisters motivates people to improve their performance.

Researchers from the University of Essex examined how a successful first-born child affected his or her younger siblings. It’s the first study of its kind.

In this case, the researchers studied the primary school test results and the GCSE scores of the brothers and sisters. The data showed that people performed better if they had an older sibling who excelled academically. It was the equivalent of spending an extra £670 on the younger sibling’s schooling.

The sibling spillover effect is even more noticeable among families who don’t have means. Apparently, poorer children are more inspired to achieve success if they have an older brother or sister who performs well.

Birgitta Rabe, one of the study’s authors, explained the findings as follows: “The older sibling’s achievement may have a direct effect on the younger sibling’s school grades if the older sibling teaches the younger sibling or helps with homework; the younger sibling imitates the older sibling, for example in their work style, or conversely tries to be different, for example to avoid competition the older sibling passes on important information about educational choices or school and teachers to the younger sibling.”

She also confirmed that the effect is more noticeable in poorer families.

“We find that the spillover effect is larger for siblings in families eligible for free school meals, living in deprived neighborhoods and speaking a language other than English at home,” she said. “This means that children from more deprived backgrounds benefit more from a high attaining older sibling than children from more affluent backgrounds.”

The results of this study are in contrast with those of previous studies showing that first-born children tend to be more successful than their younger siblings. Another study from the same university showed that first-born girls are statistically more likely to be the most highly qualified of all their family.

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Firstborns’ Success Inspires Younger Siblings To Excel, Study Finds