Middle child syndrome is a highly debated topic in the psychological field today, arguing over its validity and the set symptoms. Middle child syndrome is a personality type that mostly middle children have. There are exceptions within middle child syndrome that can cause contradictions. By analyzing the characteristics of the middle child, its exceptions, and who is affected by them, we can grasp the concept of middle child syndrome and assess its validity.

The "symptoms" of middle child syndrome are plenty. Eckstein and Kaufman list the traits of the middle child being "fewest acting out problems, most sociable, greatest feeling of not belonging, ...highest rate of success in team sports, high levels of relating well to older and younger people, tend to be competitive in areas not attempted by oldest children, and more likely to be faithful within monogamous relationships," (72). The feeling of not belonging could be attributed to the eldest child and the youngest child having definite roles in the family. The eldest child is normally the most responsible and the leader, while the youngest is the baby and gets a lot of attention. In another journal article I found that "persons in the middle-child role may become discouraged and feel less loved or perceive themes of rejection," (Stewart, 78). The parents, often unknowingly, give more attention to the oldest and youngest children. The middle child may feel rejected because of this. At one time, they were the baby before the current youngest was born. According to Sulloway in Born to Rebel, "middle children are more flexible and favor compromise... [and] develop diplomatic skills and to cultivate coalitions with other siblings," (303). Along with being a mediator of sorts, there is another trait of the middle child that comes into play: manipulation (Leman, 156). By learning to be in the middle and having to handle problems, they use that experience and trait to get something out of it for themselves. These skills acquired by being the mediators can also be a good work trait to have. "Middle-born children often hang out more with their peer group than does any other child in the family" because of the mindset that "to avoid the pain and frustration of being an outside in his family, the middle child leaves home the quickest," (Leman, 154-155). Since the middle child does not feel like he or she is not getting much attention at home, they look elsewhere for the attention. Leman also writes that middle children "are more of a closed book that an open one... [and] likely to be mentally tough and independent," (159-160). Middle children are more secretive and keep things to him or herself, making them a closed book. The secretiveness is possibly vouched for because they have something they do not have to share with their siblings or family. As for being mentally tough and independent, this rings with truth. When my little sister lost her vision in one eye by being shot, I had to be the strong one to hold the family together. By being the mediator, I had to help everyone else cope and be strong. That is probably why middle children are secretive because they have to hold the fort down. The independence in middle children is real, too, because since they hang out with peers more often than their other siblings they have their own part of life that is different from their siblings. 

Causes of middle child syndrome are numerous as well. What is debatable, though, is whether or not middle child syndrome is preventable (besides only having one or two children). The most obvious cause of middle child syndrome is being a middle child, which is defined as being born in between an older child and younger child. According to Leman, "this result in the middle children feeling they were born too late to get the privileges and special treatment the first born seemed to inherit by right [a]nd they were born too soon to strike the bonanza that many last borns enjoys-having the parents lighten up on the discipline," (150). He goes on to describe the "branching out effect" meaning that "[b]ecause the older brother or sister is usually stronger, smarter, and obviously bigger, the second born typically shoots off in another direction," (151). As I mentioned before, the middle child was the baby once and they had the relaxing parenting style because their parents already had experience from the first child. Since there is the new baby, the middle child will try to get attention in a different way by taking on something that is different than what the firstborn does. Kluger, in The Sibling Effect, further elaborates on the branching out effect by saying that "[s]iblings who hope to stand out in a family often do so by observing what the older child does and then doing the opposite," (78). In my case, this is true. My sister, who is not doing much with her life, is the eldest. I went to college away from the family to be different than her. 

As in any debatable idea, there are contradictions that can occur and exceptions to the rules. The research showed that middle children are most likely to be faithful in relationships and are secretive. Leman addresses this and he says that the middle child will need to marry someone patient so they can listen and draw out the middle child (160). The secretiveness and the faithfulness sort of butt heads but are manageable and able to exist at the same time. Middle-born children are also known be sociable or quiet and introverted. Middle children are different in particular situations. At home they may be quiet because they do not demand a lot of attention, but at school around their friends they are very outgoing and sociable. Leman also addresses an exception: "the second born can, for all intents and purposes, take over the first born's prestige, privileges, and responsibilities," (152). An example of this is Richard Nixon, who took over his older brother's role because he was a sickly child. However, he did keep some of the characteristics of a middle child, like being secretive. We all know how that played out during his time in office (Watergate Scandal). As Eckstein and Kaufman mentioned, the middle child can be have few acting out issues, but sometimes the opposite is true. Sulloway comments that "when they rebel, they do so largely out of frustration, or compassion for others, rather from hatred or ideological fanaticism," (303). My mother would say that her two middle children are her most "high-spirited" children. I think she believes this because my brother and I have to fight for her attention and for approval to do some activity. Leman has a lot to say on the subject of the middle born being an inconsistent paradox. A middle child can either be a loner, quiet, and shy or impatient, easily frustrated, very competitive and a rebel (153). They can be sociable, friendly, outgoing, takes life in stride, laid back, a peacemaker, and avoids conflict. Many of these traits contradict each other and middle children can have all these traits at various times. The middle child is truly a mystery. 

Now we need to analyze who is affected by middle child syndrome. Of course the middle child is affected by the syndrome, but also immediate family. Parents are affected by it because they are trying the raise the child who feels left out and misunderstood a lot of the time. Siblings are also affected by this syndrome because the middle child may have feelings of anger towards them for getting all the attention. Everyone that comes in contact with the middle child is affected in some way. Bosses and coworkers at a job can see ways that the middle child has changed them or the environment around them. Since they are good mediators this can cause a more peaceful and smooth-running professional environment. Friends of the middle child see the many sides of the middle child and know how to deal with the various characteristics, as well as a significant other who could be in the picture. By looking at all those who are affected, we can begin to question if the role that the middle child has, as well as the roles of the other siblings in the picture, are expected and accepted by society as normal. Are middle children expected to be difficult in defining their characteristics? Are they encouraged by their family to seek friends outside the home as an unconditioned response to being the middle child? Are they expected to find friends outside the home if they are not encouraged? All these questions come to mind when talking about middle child syndrome and what produces the "symptoms" of it. According to Wilson and Edington, "one's gender must be taken into account as an extremely important variable," (8). If you are the middle child but the only girl or boy, you will not have the same experiences as a middle child that has the same gender as another sibling. The oldest child also has the expected role of being the leader and setting a good example for their younger siblings. Is that too much responsibility resting on their shoulders as a child and teenager? The baby child personality seems like it could be a stereotype that younger children are forced and assumed to conform to. An excerpt from an article I came across in my research is "while you cannot dictate the personality that your child will have, you can do your best to make sure that the middle child does not become invisible," (Danish). Good parenting is key to managing this syndrome and helping your middle children, as well as other children, to lead successful lives due to great childhoods. 

As one can see, psychological birth order, as in being the eldest, middle, or youngest child, has an affect and is real. In this case, we determined what middle child syndrome and its characteristics, causes, affect, and validity. The roles determined by birth order can be further elaborated upon once an argument is made and the matter of validity is sided upon.
