RESEARCH STUDIES INDICATING THAT FIRST-BORN AND ONLY CHILDREN DIFFER FROM LATER-BORN INDIVIDUALS IN PERSONALITY AND BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS ARE REVIEWED. FIRST-BORNS TEND TO BE MORE DEPENDENT, PARTICULARLY AT TIMES OF STRESS, THAN OTHER CHILDREN. APPLYING THIS BIRTH-ORDER THEORY TO PROBATION, IT WAS EXPECTED THAT THE TWO GROUPS WOULD EXHIBIT DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSES TO CERTAIN KINDS OF TREATMENT. THE CASES ANALYZED IN THIS STUDY WERE TERMINATED EITHER BY DISCHARGE OR BY VIOLATION, AND DATA WERE ANALYZED IN TERMS OF THE TOTAL POPULATION STUDIED AND SEPARATELY FOR ADULTS AND JUVENILES. IN EACH INSTANCE THE HYPOTHESIS THAT BIRTH ORDER IS A VARIABLE IN THE TYPE OF TERMINATION WAS UPHELD. FIRST BORNS APPEARED TO BE MORE LIKELY TO BE DISCHARGED FROM PROBATION, WHILE LATER-BORNS WERE MORE OFTEN TERMINATE DUE TO VIOLATION. AN EXAMINATION TO DETERMINE WHETHER FIRST-BORNS REMAINED ON PROBATION LONGER AND RECEIVED LATER DISCHARGES INDICATED THAT FIRST-BORNS WERE MORE LIKELY TO RECEIVE A DISCHARGE OF ANY KIND THAN ARE LATER-BORN PROBATIONERS. ALTHOUGH THIS RESEARCH WAS NOT CONCLUSIVE, IT DOES PROVIDE A BASIS FOR FURTHER STUDY. TABLES DEPICTING THE COMPOSITION OF CASES AND THE BIRTH ORDER AND TYPE OF TERMINATION FOR PROBATIONERS ARE INCLUDED. (DAG)