In Expectation of Meta-Analysis

Extract

Iam surprised and glad that our book, Birth Order (Ernst and Angst), which appeared in 1983, is still quoted in a controversial discussion. We wrote the book with little support and even less sophistication. By the vote-counting method, the result was unequivocal: birth order did not appear as an environmental factor with predictable effects on personality or psychiatric disorder. When the book was written, we were unable to use meta-analysis. If someone found it worthwhile and possible to reanalyze by meta-analysis the studies mentioned in our book or published later, the result of this effort could determine the value of doing any further research.