As the first born, am I the smartest? Maybe – but siblings shape us in far more interesting ways | Imogen West-Knights

A new book explores the impact of birth order, but how we measure up against our brothers and sisters can be complex

A new book about sibling relationships, The Family Dynamic by Susan Dominus, examines how things like birth order and the specific achievements of your siblings affect a person's life trajectory. As such, some of my favourite research is back in the public eye: the studies that suggest that I, as the eldest of three children, am the cleverest.

I'm kidding. I don't actually think this is true in my own sibling group, but sure, I'll take it, and say so in the national press: I'm smarter than you guys, science confirms. I am very interested in siblings and their influences, though. So much so that I wrote my first novel about a brother-sister relationship. Siblings shape you in ways that are less deliberate than parents, which means their influence is less discussed, though just as important. That said, birth order has remained a public fascination, with parents agonising over whether a middle child is overlooked or eldest is overburdened.

Imogen West-Knights is a writer and journalist