Birth order, family structure, and avoidance behavior

Studies birth order, family structure, and family-role variables for their effect upon the frequency with which soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces appeared for officer training. 3 hypotheses were investigated: that in contrast with later-born sons, (1) 1st-born males with preferential family status from Middle Eastern extended families appear with greater than expected frequency, (2) 1st-born males with preferential status from Middle Eastern nuclear families appear with expected frequency, and (3) 1st-born males from Western nuclear families appear with less than expected frequency for officer training. Analysis of 2 samples numbering 2523 and 2388 men confirmed Hypotheses 1 and 2. Hypothesis 3 was confirmed for Israel-born Western males only. Explanations were offered for the unexpected finding from the foreign-born Western group of 1st-born males who appeared with greater than expected frequency. The relationship between these results and S. Schachter's anxiety-affiliation theory was discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).