Birth Order and Happiness Study

II. Literature Review: The purpose of this study is to examine and compare the differences in happiness levels among first borns, second borns, middle borns, and last borns in our society. Many previous studies have been conducted in the past on the relationship between birth order and happiness/life satisfaction. These previous studies can be used for developing main hypotheses for this study. In addition to using these studies for developing the main hypotheses, these studies can be used to possibly predict the final outcomes of this psychological study. The most relative study from the past that was already conducted comes from Birth Order and Happiness: A Preliminary Study by G. Hugh Allred & Bernard E. Poduska. This study was part of a larger project, that investigated the differences on happiness scores among first born, second born, middle born, and last born while controlling for sex and family size. Before this study there were no empirical studies to be found relating to this topic besides those dealing with birth order and personality. In this study, a stratified and random sample of 88 subjects, from three different sections of Provo and Orem, Utah, were given surveys. The selected family income was below the median for family income in one section selected. In the second selection, family income was at the states median and for the third selection family income was above the median. Within each of these sections, families were selected at random and contacted by telephone. Those who decided to participate were invited to the Financial Counseling Clinic at Bringham young and then asked to complete the assessment instruments. Only those subjects who came from families with four or more children were included in the study in order to provide for an analysis of the birth order variables. The subjects in the study consisted of 4 first born males and 8 first born females, 11 second-born males and 8 second born females, 24 middle born