Does eldest daughter syndrome really exist? A new study sheds light on the question!

Oldest daughter syndrome is not a psychological condition and this diagnosis is not scientifically recognized. It is more about the idea that an eldest daughter tends to manage the mental load of the family and sometimes to take a role of second mother within the home. Science wanted to see more clearly into this syndrome. So, a research team led by the University of California at Los Angeles looked into the subject.

The first observation is that older girls tend to ripen earlier. Which allows them to help their mother raise their younger brothers and sisters. More specifically, the researchers found a correlation between early puberty in older girls and the fact that their mother suffered high levels of prenatal stress. During puberty, we observe changes in the skin such as acne and hair growth. But in reality changes also occur in the brain. Indeed, puberty includes social and cognitive changes. Thus, physical changes correlate with emotional maturity.

Oldest Daughter Syndrome: What the Science Says

According to Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, one of the study’s co-authors and an assistant professor of psychology at the University of California, Merced, when mothers are stressed during pregnancy, it is in the mother’s best interest that her daughter matures socially more quickly. In fact, this allows the mother to have a “nest helper” more quickly, which helps women to “keep their offspring alive in harsh environments”explains the scientist.

But this early puberty called adrenal puberty does not include breast development or the onset of menstruation. The study assumes that girls gain the mental maturity to care for their younger siblings without being physically capable of having children of their own, which would naturally distance them from their responsibilities as older daughters. To carry out this study, researchers followed families for 15 years old, from pregnancy to adolescence of children.

A financial advantage for young older girls later?

As the children grew older, adrenal and gonadal puberty characteristics were measured separately. Namely hair growth, skin changes, height growth or growth spurts, breast development and the onset of menstruation in girls and voice changes and facial hair growth in boys. The study also measured adversity in childhood to take into account other factors known to correlate with early maturation or signs of puberty in children. As the death of a parent or divorce before the age of 5, the absence of a father and financial worries at the age of 7-9.

As a result, older daughters matured the fastest when their mothers experienced significant prenatal stress. Other studies suggest that highly responsible older daughters are paid more later in life. Indeed, a 2014 study found that eldest daughters are most likely to succeed among siblings, while a 2012 study found that eldest children are more likely to occupy management positions.

Passionate about women’s news, Agathe has been deciphering the latest trends for aufeminin since 2022. Her favorite areas? Psychology, nutrition and well-being advice, without forgetting the tips…