They tend to be the most ambitious and qualified of their siblings.
And evidence from public life seems to back up the findings. Politicians Angela Merkel and Hillary Clinton, TV host Oprah Winfrey, Harry Potter author JK Rowling and singer Beyonce, were all their family’s firstborn child.
Next in line for success, according to the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Essex University, are firstborn boys. All 12 of the men who have walked on the moon were the eldest or only children in their family.
It could be that the parents simply devote more time and energy to them – it could be they are more intelligent
The study also found parents are more likely to have high-achieving children if they leave a gap of four years between each sibling. The wider the age gap, the greater the chances of higher qualifications.
The research, which followed 1,503 sibling groups and 3,532 individuals, looked at sibling structures and found firstborn girls were 13 per cent more ambitious than firstborn boys.
Firstborns were 16 per cent more likely to take up further education than younger siblings, with girls four per cent more likely to have further education qualifications. PhD student Feifei Bu, who led the research, said: “It could be that the parents simply devote more time and energy to them – it could be they are more intelligent.
“For me, I tend to lean towards the theory that parental investment is possibly at work here.
“It shows us how educational disparities exist not only between families but also within families. It is interesting that we observe a distinct firstborn advantage in education, even though parents in modern society are more likely to be egalitarian in the way they treat their children.”
The study looked at the gender mix and size of families – excluding twins and only children – and found this made no difference to achievements in later life. It did find that parents who space out the age gap between their children can have a “significant positive effect” on attainment and achievement.
The research also scotched the myth that middleborn children are “left out” when it comes to parental attention.
And why does Ms Bu have an interest in studying sibling structures? She said: “I’m the firstborn, of course. That is why I’m doing a PhD.”
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