Characteristics may include being a mediator or one who avoids conflict, being independent and extremely loyal to a peer group, and frequently being the child in the family who gets lost. This child may be shy and quiet or friendly and outgoing, impatient and easily frustrated or laid back, taking life in stride. A middle-born may be very competitive or very easygoing, the family black sheep or the peacemaker. Branching off is a powerful force in shaping middle-borns. This principle says the second born will be most directly influenced by the first born and the third born will be most directly influenced by the second born.
Influence means that each child looks above and sizes up the older sibling.
If the second born senses he can compete with the older sibling, he may do so. But if the older sibling is stronger, smarter, etc., the second born typically shoots off in another direction. The general conclusion of all research studies done on birth order is that second-borns will probably be somewhat the opposite of the firstborns. Because later-born children bounce off the ones directly above them, there is no way to predict which way they might go or how their personalities might develop. Middle children often describe their birth position as out of place, misunderstood, fifth wheels, or as leftovers who always got bypassed and upstaged by the younger or older siblings.