Theories of human development emphasize the importance of childhood experiences in the formation of personality. It is believed that the role assumed by the child within the family has implications for his later adult life. Adler proposed that the order of birth significantly influences vocational behavior and recent research has provided support for this idea. The present study has the objective of investigating differences in vocational interests among the following categories, by order of birth: only children, firstborn, middle children and lastborn. The subjects comprised 435 college students of both sexes with ages ranging from 17 to 56 years (Mean=26.9). The subjects answered measures of vocational interests and a brief demographic questionnaire to define the order of birth category. The scores for their interests were compared by means of variance analysis. The results revealed that only children showed greater interest in scientific investigation than middle children and less entrepreneurial interest than the firstborn; middle children displayed greater social interest than only children and firstborn. The results suggest that individuals develop distinct vocational processes depending on the order of birth, and therefore the use of order of birth information is recommended for vocational counseling.
Occupacional choice; Birth order; Occupational guidance
