The Vulnerable Age: A Serendipitous Finding.

This paper reports that children from about six to eleven years may be generally vulnerable to crises in their environment; more vulnerable than either their younger or their older siblings. This phenomenon appears to be independent of the first/later-born effect. The finding turned up accidentally during a limited cross-cultural study of immigrants and is reported for its intriguing value and to invite replications. Some theoretical considerations are suggested and some practical implications are noted.