Adoption Studies

Question 1

Why are adoption studies carried out?

Answer 1

Adoption studies are carried out because the environment of adopted children is different to that of their biological parent, meaning the child has genes of the biological parent but the environment created by the adoptive parent

Question 2

What similarities would suggest a genetic role and what similarities would suggest an environmental role?

Answer 2

Similarities between the child and the biological parent would suggest a genetic role, while similarities between the child and adoptive parent would suggest an environmental role

Question 3

What was the aim of Mednick et al. (1984)?

Answer 3

The aim of Mednick et al. was to investigate whether people become criminals because of their genes or because of the environment in which they are brought up through an adoption study of adopted children with criminal biological parents, adoptive parents, or both

Question 4

How many adoptees were used in Mednick’s study and what information was obtained?

Answer 4

Court histories and conviction rates of 14000 adoptees and their biological and adoptive parents were used in the study

Question 5

What were Mednick’s findings?

Answer 5

13.5% of adopted criminals had no criminal biological parents or adoptive parents. 20% had criminal biological parents and non-criminal adoptive parents. 14.7% had non-criminal biological parents and criminal adoptive parents. 24.5% had both criminal adoptive and biological parents

Question 6

What did Mednick conclude?

Answer 6

Mednick concluded that there is a relationship between the criminal convictions of the biological parent and their adopted children, suggesting that some genetic factor was transmitted by criminal parents that increased the likelihood of their children becoming criminals

Question 7

+ Objective data

Answer 7

Adoption studies provide objective data, as the concordance rates between parents and adoptive children is scientific

Question 8

+ Application to treatments

Answer 8

Adoption studies can be applied to create treatments and interventions as they show if a behaviour has a genetic or environmental basis

Question 9

• Extraneous variables

Answer 9

Extraneous variables from adoption may affect a child’s behaviour, e.g. area a child moves to, adoption process, age of adoption, etc.

Question 10

• Difficult finding participants

Answer 10

It is hard to find participants for adoption studies in which biological/adoptive parents and adoptee are available, leading to smaller sample sizes