[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-564048-105":53,"doc-detail-564048-en":126},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":119,"head_meta":121,"extra_data":123,"updated_unix":125},105,"en","birth-order-pairings-and-romantic-success-working-paper","BIRTH ORDER PAIRINGS AND ROMANTIC SUCCESS - Working Paper","","Birth order may shape romantic compatibility, a topic long emphasized in popular “marital advice” narratives despite limited empirical testing. This working paper uses Swedish population register data to evaluate prevalent claims from lay literature and finds them weak in validity. The study then presents an original analysis showing two main effects: a strong only-child influence and, for men, a protective divorce outcome tied to marriage with a firstborn female.",{"@graph":63,"@context":118},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":51,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/general/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/birth-order-pairings-and-romantic-success-working-paper/564048/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/birth-order-pairings-and-romantic-success-working-paper/564048.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"RuangKosong","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-23","2026-10-12",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":79},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"What does the paper test about birth order and romance?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"It examines claims that birth order pairings influence romantic compatibility and marital success, using Swedish population register data to assess their validity.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What are the two major birth-order impacts found?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"The analysis identifies a pronounced only-child effect and, for males, a protective effect from divorce when married to a firstborn female; this pattern does not hold for females in their own pairing choices.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why does the paper argue popular advice literature may be unreliable?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"It highlights that widespread lay beliefs were largely unsupported by empirical research and often relied on the perceived expertise of clinicians rather than systematic evidence.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":120,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":122,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":124,"site_id":56},564048,1792104522,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":127},{"doc_id":124,"user_id":128,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":9,"category_id":50,"category_name":51,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":79,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":32,"language":135,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":136,"faqs":137,"seo_title":138,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":139,"read_time":40},962090883219,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","Konrad-Zuse-Strasse 1 · D-18057 Rostock · Germany · Tel +49 (0) 3 81 20 81-0 · Fax +49 (0) 3 81 20 81-202 · [www.demogr.mpg.de](www.demogr.mpg.de)  \nMPIDR Working Paper WP 2020-017 l April 2020  \n[https://doi.org/10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2020-017](https://doi.org/10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2020-017)  \nBirth order pairings and  \nromantic success  \nSeymour Spilerman [l ss50@columbia.edu](l ss50@columbia.edu)  \n[Kieron Barclay](Kieron Barclay l barclay@demogr.mpg.de)[ l barclay@demogr.mpg.de](Kieron Barclay l barclay@demogr.mpg.de)  \n© Copyright is held by the authors.  \nWorking papers of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research receive only limited review. Views or opinions expressed in working papers are attributable to the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute.  \n1  \nBIRTH ORDER PAIRINGS AND ROMANTIC SUCCESS  \nSeymour Spilerman 1,‡ and Kieron Barclay2,3,†  \n1 Department of Sociology, Columbia University  \n2 Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research  \n3 Department of Sociology, Stockholm University  \n‡ [ss50@columbia.edu](ss50@columbia.edu)[ ](ss50@columbia.edu)† [barclay@mpidr.de](barclay@mpidr.de)  \nABSTRACT  \nThe possibility that birth order influences romantic compatibility has long intrigued the lay public . In the absence of empirical research a marital advise literature has emerged , based on the observations of counselors and clinical psychologists, which purports to explain marital success in terms of birth order pairings. The present paper has two parts . In the first, using population register data from Sweden, we investigate the propositions about birth order and romantic relationships that are prevalent in the popular literature and show they have little validity. In the second, we undertake our own analysis which reveals two major birth order impacts: (a) a pronounced only-child effect, in that couples in which either spouse is an only have a divorce rate notably higher than couples in which neither is an only-child; and (b) for males, a protective effect from divorce from marriage with a firstborn female, an outcome that does not hold for females in their own pairing choices .  \n2  \nINTRODUCTION  \nThe possibility that birth order influences romantic compatibility has long intrigued the lay public . First proposed by Walter Toman a half century ago, based on earlier insights by Alfred Adler (1928; 1937) about the purported linkage between birth order and coping style, Toman (1959; 1961) extended Adler's observations to encompass pairings of birth orders, essentially proposing a theory about which couplings will be harmonious and which will be conflictual and stressful.  \nToman's contentions, amplified by the writings of later clinical psychologists and marital counselors, have generated a robust popular literature about birth order effects in romantic settings. Indeed, a Google search of the joint terms \"birth order\" and \"romance\" yields some 1.3 million entries, with citations to a variety of newspapers, magazines, and web sites, and with titles such as\"What Your Birth Order Can Tell You About Your Love Life\" (Huffington Post 2017); \"How Birth Order Affects Your Marriage\" (Focus on the Family 2015); \"Does Birth Order Make or Break a Relationship\" (CBSnews 2011) . Even the financial outlet Business Insider (2017) carried an article on this theme: \"Who You Should Marry Based on Your Birth Order . \"  \nDespite the wide interest in this topic little empirical research has been carried out to assess the validity of the contentions . One result of this lacuna in our knowledge has been the occasion for an advise literature to emerge that purports to explain the mysteries of romantic compatibility in terms of the suitability of different birth order combinations . And in the absence of empirical evidence, the embracement of these contentions by the lay public has largely rested on the aura of expertise of clinical practitioners--their academic credentials and experience as psychologists and marriage coun","cbCaintokWpwf0dq","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaintokWpwf0dq","pdf",814344,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Birth order and popular romantic advice\n## Prior research on birth order effects","[{\"question\":\"What does the paper test about birth order and romance?\",\"answer\":\"It examines claims that birth order pairings influence romantic compatibility and marital success, using Swedish population register data to assess their validity.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the two major birth-order impacts found?\",\"answer\":\"The analysis identifies a pronounced only-child effect and, for males, a protective effect from divorce when married to a firstborn female; this pattern does not hold for females in their own pairing choices.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the paper argue popular advice literature may be unreliable?\",\"answer\":\"It highlights that widespread lay beliefs were largely unsupported by empirical research and often relied on the perceived expertise of clinicians rather than systematic evidence.\"}]","BIRTH ORDER PAIRINGS AND ROMANTIC SUCCESS - Working Paper | PDF",1791840002]