Effects of Parent Interaction with Family Size and Sibling Order

摘要

The effect of parent loss during the first 18 years of life wa studied in a non-psychiatric population of 247 men. Family Size and Sibling Order were also studied in relationship to loss. Groups defined by Loss (No Loss, Temporary Loss, Intermittent Loss, and Permanent Loss), Family Size (Small and Large) and Sibling Order (First Born and Later Born) were compared using Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scale scores. The differences among groups in mean scores and in the occurrence of highly abnormal scores were determined statistically for each scale of the MMPI. The results strongly suggest that parent loss and family size and their interaction have an important impact on adult personality traits as measured by MMPI scores. The strong adverse impact of Intermittent Loss and Temporary Loss in large families (much greater than that of Permanent Loss) is a crucial finding not previously noted in the literature. These findings are of theoretical, clinical, and epidemiological importance. (Reprints)