Advantages and Disadvantages of Adoption Studies
- Unlike twin studies,
in adoption studies individuals are exposed to a different environment
to their biological or genetic relatives. This makes it easier to separate
genetic and environmental factors.
- These studies are not easy to undertake
as information on an adoptee and their biological families may not be
available.
- There are ethical issues to be considered when approaching
members of the biological family, about a child who was adopted many
years ago.
- Adoption is not a random process, meaning that children are
often placed in families resembling their biological family or in families
that have been specially selected for other reasons.
- Adoption is also
an unusual event in itself, leading to a small sample size.
