Birth Order and Mate Selection
While studies of personality and behavioral correlates of birth order have increased, the possibility that this variable may affect mate selection has not been considered. The present study employed a brief on-the-street interview to examine the relationship between Ss' birth order and the birth order of their spouses. Ss were 100 male and 100 female pedestrians who passed the principal business corner of a large city in the Pacific Northwest. Prospective Ss were approached by a well-dressed 25-yr.-old white male who asked if they would answer a few questions for a survey. Refusals to participate were fewer than 8% and a small number of unmarried Ss were also excluded. Among other information, married Ss reported their ordinal birth position and that of their spouses. Respondents and spouses were classified as first and/or only born or later born in a 2 X 2 contingency table. For 200 respondents the relationship between S's birch position and birth position of the spouse was not significant (x2 = .644). Separate analyses of the reports of male and female Ss were also nonsignificant. Although the present sample is noc large, first and only born Ss accounted for 36% of the respondents, suggesting a fairly representative sampling of the larger population. Given this assumption and finding that previous studies have not reported birth order as a determinant of mate selection, it appears unlikely that further snldy will identify a direct relationship between the two variables. However, birth order may indirectly affect mate selection if suitable moderator variables are selected. A recent study by Touhey ( 1971 ), for example, showed that firstborn male and female undergraduates reported more premarital sexual behavior than later born college students. More comprehensive findings reported by Schachter (1959) and Douvan and Adelson (1966) have also identified a number of behavioral and personality correlates of birth order. To the extent, then, that established birth-order correlates, such as premarital sexual activity and need for affiliation, are determinants of mate selection, they might be profitably employed as moderator variables to study birth order and mate selection.