THE INFLUENCE OF THE POSITION OF BIRTH ON THE STRUCTURING OF THE STYLE OF LIFE

Abstract

The article summarizes the thought of Adler and his students, about the influence of the birth position in the structuring of lifestyle, through the analysis of the family constellation. More than the order itself, it is necessary to keep in mind the psychological position occupied by the subject within the phratry. Therefore, the roles of only child, firstborn, secondborn, middle brother, lastborn, will not be an absolute determinant, but a trend. In fact, various factors will have a considerable influence, including the sex of the child, the age difference between the brothers, the physical and cognitive characteristics, the family climate in which the child is born, any roles assumed by the child (“benjamin”, “black sheep”, etc.). A short section describes position inferiority complexes. Some clinical cases illustrate these aspects, in order to integrate the theoretical contributions with clinical practice