“It’s always nice when an expression emerges that captures something we’ve long needed words for…”

June 18th, 2024

BY EMMA SPECTER

VOGUE WORLD - PARIS - …this week that expression is eldest-daughter syndrome. Though it might seem self-explanatory, the term actually carries with it a lot of birth-order-related subtext. Below, find everything you need to know about what eldest-daughter syndrome is, which famous pop-culture figures appear to suffer from it, and how you can ease its symptoms in your own life.

What is eldest-daughter syndrome?

The term describes an all-too-common situation in which the eldest daughter in a family is tasked with outsized and often developmentally inappropriate responsibilities as a result of her position in the family’s birth order. People dealing with the effects of eldest-daughter syndrome might find themselves struggling to uphold boundaries, devoting too much of their energy to people-pleasing, or finding it hard to shake a type A or overachiever mentality in their day-to-day lives.