Adoption Studies

Question 1

What did Crowe (1972) do?

Answer 1

Compared a group of adopted children whose biological mother had a criminal record to a control group who’s mother didn’t didn’t have a criminal record.

Question 2

What did Crowe find?

Answer 2

That if the biological mothers had a criminal record then 50% of the adopted children also had one by the time they were 18. In the control group only 5% of the adopted children had a criminal record by the time they were 18.

Question 3

What did Crowe’s findings suggest?

Answer 3

That regardless of changed environment the children seemed biologically predisposed to criminality.

Question 4

Weaknesses of Crowe’s study.

Answer 4

We don’t know when they were adopted. Environment may affect them. Only looked at biological mother.