If you've ever encountered someone maladjusted and bitter and then found out they were a middle child, fear not for your own kids — there's no science to back up those correlations people harp about. While it may be true that these kids don't necessarily get as much attention as the child who was born first, it doesn't always lead to resentment or a life doomed to living in their older sister's shadow.
So where did these old wives' tales come from? To be honest, the middle child syndrome debate has been going on for a long time, particularly in fiction. Look at Regan in the Shakespearean play King Lear, for starters. And Jane Austen, a middle child herself, often wrote her lead protagonists as the same. And more current popular books and TV shows like The Brady Bunch, Full House, and Malcolm in the Middle only add to the stereotype.
Psychologist Dr. Catherine Salmon, the coauthor of The Secret Powers of Middle Children, gave a real-life example of how the negative stereotypes of middle children are often inaccurate in an interview with Business Insider.
"Of course, this theory is based on the idea that a lack of attention is a bad thing," said Salmon. "Many people do not actually like being the center of attention, and actually thrive when they're left alone. Others are the opposite."
So when it comes to middle children, you really can't group them all together. It's completely case-by-case basis based on personality.
