Birth order and marital bliss in Israel

Based on the qualities of the first born and on the research literature, the authors rank the following birth order combinations in terms of successful marriages: First Born (FB) husband (h), Later Born (LB) wife (w); LB (h), FB (w); Middle Born (MB) (h) or MB (w) with any other; Only Child (OC) of either sex with FB; FB (h), FB (w); LB (h), LB (w); and OC (h), OC (w). 236 women of Tel Aviv, Israel, completed a questionnaire of adjustment to marital life. While the results closely approximated the rank order, the first 3 combinations were characterized as high, the fourth as medium, and the last 3 as low, marital adjustment.