A study published on Psychological Bulletin put an end to the harmful doubt that they arvella children from all over the world: Dad and mom have a favorite son? Well yes: according to the data analyzed concerning almost 19,500 participants, House favorites are the little ones, with a character condescending and responsible, and female.
The importance of personality. The study analyzed the data relating to a series of sources, including 30 articles on the topic published in Peer-Review, which involved 19,469 participants from the USA, Western Europe and Canada. Parents’ favoritisms were found to be thin and unconscious, based on age, personality and sex of children. The minor children are the cocci of the houseeven if the firstborn often enjoy greater freedom and autonomy; Then prefer the females on maleseven if this favoritism has been reported only by parents, and not by children; The personality is the one that has had more weight: regardless of sex and age, children with a more peaceful and more responsible character They were the ones in absolute favor from mom and dad.
Watch out for favoritism. The dynamics highlighted in the study do not concern only the rivalries between brothers, but have important implications for the future mental well -being of children: past studies have in fact shown that the children who feel “the disadvantaged” of the parents tend to enjoy a worst mental health and to be more problematic at school and home. “I hope our study throw light on some family dynamics that are often perceived, but rarely discussed,” says Alex Jensen, coordinator of the research.
The limits of the study. Research has some limits: in addition to being necessary further analyzes to confirm that what has been discovered is valid for the different phases of the life of the children, the same authors note that the highlighted preferences are not so evident, and that “the reasons why the parents They treat their children differently are probably more complex and go beyond the factors explored in this study ». Laurie Kramer, professor of applied psychology not involved in research, also notes that the data analyzed were collected in different ways by the different sources. However, he underlines, a key conclusion is that the characteristics and behaviors of children could influence the attitude of the parents: “The idea that children can make the task of parents is more or less easy is really important”, he concludes.
