Relationships of ordinal position and family size to psychosocial measures of delinquents

First-born, middle-born, and last-born white male delinquents in small and large families (N=72) were compared on 21 variables. Seven of the 21 variables showed some effect of either ordinal position, family size, or their interaction: reading achievement, Quay's unsocialized-psychopathic behavior classification, staff predictions of institutional adjustment, family intactness, Gough's socialization scale, future-events test never responses, and Rosenberg's self esteem scale. The pattern of results suggested that firstborns and delinquents from smaller families were better socialized or had better socialization resources than lastborns and those from larger families.This study was part of a larger research project performed under personal-service contracts CT 24867 and CT 46381 with the Department of Child Welfare, Commonwealth of Kentucky, through Grant No. 73A804 from the Kentucky State Crime Commission with funds made available by the State of Kentucky and the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, U.S. Department of Justice, under the authority of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice or the Kentucky State Crime Commission. Appreciation is extended to Lewis Davidson and Michael McColloch for their data collection efforts.