I was the eldest of three kids, one brother and a step sister. When my mother passed, I went from 8 year old to the caregiver. It absolutely affected my maturation rate.

I am the middle child and I will cut you.

I am number six of seven and my mother's only daughter. I was always very close to her. My dad, who adopted me when I was one, brought a daughter and a son into their marriage (two of the seven kids). My sister is seven years older than I and got married when I was nine (yes, she was only 16); so, mostly it was me and five brothers; and I was also surrounded by male cousins. I think this affected me more than birth order. I was a tomboy growing up; on the rare occasions when I would do something "girly," my brothers would tease me about it. I also felt like an outsider a lot of the time, and still do in many ways. I was always well behaved and shy. I never smart-mouthed my parents (as my brothers would at times) and I was always mature for my age. I have often wondered whether I would have turned out differently had I grown up with sisters instead of brothers--or at least had a sister closer to my own age. I am the ONLY atheist in the bunch--but, I think that has more to do with being the only one of seven to attend a university. Although, I had questions and doubts before I started college. The most difficult thing for me, when I left my religious beliefs behind, was losing the connection with my mother that I had always had.

I was the baby with two sisters 6 and 7 years older no brothers, oh my what I got away with spoiled beyond belief! It impacted me by respecting women , not being a Trumpian. I have more female friends than male and prefer their company which my birth order says is normal. Not a macho man am I.

I'm the youngest of three. I'd say yes it makes a difference. I can see the difference in my four kids. It's a trip.

I was an only child until at the age of 56 I discoved my big sister. Our personalities were of course formed without knowing each other. It has been fascinating to work out which parts of us are nature and which are nurture.

Of course, it does but not sure if it's worse or better rather than just different. I'm the baby of the family.

I fit the most common traits of the middle child.

yes, being the oldest of three clearly shaped part of my personality. i was adored the first three years of my life, in particular by my father. so when my sister (with twin, who didn't survive her first 10 weeks) arrived with all the drama attached, it was a hard drop into a different reality. since then i have a thing with sharing the sweetness of life - i'm working on it. when at 18 i felt i had to leave the nest & make my own life, the detachment process was harder for my parents - & thus for me too - than it was a few years later for my younger sibs, to claim freedom & independence. what's left is a toughness when it comes to leaving.

I am the third of three births within 29 months. I was the "baby" for seven years before my little brother was born. On the other side, my mother had a two-year-old, a one-year-old (my sister was born 13months before me) when I came along. I think my mother might have felt overwhelmed. I've noticed a fundamental difference in my philosophy over that of my siblings.

Yes. Oldest of 3 boys (and least favourite).

Yes I think so. I am the middle child. My older brother was and is my mother's favorite child. My little sister was my father's favorite until he died. I always had to try a little harder to get attention, accolades, or even fair treatment (my brother bullied me) regardless of the fact I was by far the smartest of the three. That experience left me with relentless competitive drive, a chip on my shoulder, and an enduring understanding that meritocracy is undervalued in our society.

I have an older half-brother and half-sister. My half-brother lived with us for the first several years of my life. And I have a younger sister. I never really felt like a middle child, maybe because my half-siblings are considerably older, but I also didn't feel quite like the eldest. I'm unsure what that says about my personality, though. I guess it's as good a thing as any to blame my detachment, anxiety, misanthropy, etc., on.

Without a doubt. Everything was my responsibility

Not really. I'm the oldest.

YES, without question

In order I guess...
Yes. An older sister.
Youngest.
Not so much by birth order as much as family order. Let me explain that one though...
My older sister used to beat the hell out of me almost daily. When I was about twelve I'd finally had enough and put her in her place which led to me getting the crap kicked out of me by my step-father. Shortly after that my sister got a boyfriend who was a couple years older than her but not yet 18 and in a bad situation at home. My parents adopted him to get him out of the situation he was in. Needless to say that he was a pothead among other things. After that I kind of got shuffled off to the side. Ignored unless someone wanted something from me. My parents took in another troublemaker shortly after that was already over 21 but needed a place to stay so they moved him into my room and me into the small spare room, giving my sister and them pretty much the entire half of the house. (We lived in a duplex with the dividing wall cut out.) So seeing how important I was to my family I avoided trouble, did my school work and that was about it. Any time my parents left I would either try to go with them or go to a friends house because they would always have someone check up on the house and these idiots would always get caught with alcohol, pot and other things in plain sight when they walked in. My sister ended up getting home-schooled because she couldn't handle the drama of our little town. I ended up doing two years of her math work because of this along with my own work. She got a settlement from a childhood accident and bought a new blazer at 16 which she totaled a month later only to get another one. I didn't get my first car until I was 18 and had to buy it myself. She bought a house when she was 18 (it ended up getting seized in a drug bust.) My parents refused to cosign a student loan so I could go to college. She is mentally unstable and her kids end up getting shipped off to my mother for months at a time while she "fixes herself." I'm a parent of two boys that I wouldn't give up for the world living with my friend, his wife and their kid so we can afford to be a happy (if slightly dysfunctional) family.

Yes, I am also the eldest child. I am 7 & 8 and 11 years older than my siblings. I took care of my siblings from the age of eleven to help my mother who went to school at night and worked during the day. I learned to cook and I helped them with their homework and changed diapers. Yes it has impacted who I am today. When I was sixteen and started to drive, I took them to school and the movies, shopping etc... I did everything for them. I practically raised them.

I am thirteen months older than my brother, and 6 years older than my sister. Being first I had to struggle harder with slightly over protective parents to gain freedom that was just automatic for them. Although, I didn't have the example and guidance and older sibling could have offered. I do have an irresponsible uncle who's only 7 years older. He got me into enough trouble to make up for that.

Not as I've read. I think there are other factors that affect personality much more

Yes. I was younger than my brother by 11 years. He is still my hero, and yes, it did affect my choices in life.

I was the second of twins and my twin brother hung himself in 2014. So.yes I do. Survior guilt is a very real phenomenon and I always wondered what demons he faced in life simply by being born 15 minutes earlier.

I'm the youngest of two brothers, I'm the youngest middle if you add in my two step sisters. My parents were less strict with me on some things than my brother. Also getting beat up by him made me start working out and getting into fitness. It also made me learn to not take shift from anybody.

That's an interesting guestion. In my personal and professional opinion, first born girl children are most likely to be "The Responsible One." The one the rest of the family calls on for help and guidance. Certainly true of many of us.