Criminology - U2 - Adoption Studies

0.0(0)
studied byStudied by 0 people
0.0(0)
call kaiCall Kai
learnLearn
examPractice Test
spaced repetitionSpaced Repetition
heart puzzleMatch
flashcardsFlashcards
GameKnowt Play
Card Sorting

1/5

encourage image

There's no tags or description

Looks like no tags are added yet.

Last updated 2:08 PM on 3/12/25
Name
Mastery
Learn
Test
Matching
Spaced
Call with Kai

No analytics yet

Send a link to your students to track their progress

6 Terms

1
New cards

Adoption Studies and Criminality

Adoption studies compare adopted children to their biological and adoptive parents to determine whether genetics or environment has a greater influence on criminal behaviour.

2
New cards

Nature vs Nurture in Adoption Studies

If an adopted child's criminal behaviour is more similar to their biological parents, it suggests a genetic influence. If it is more similar to their adoptive parents, it suggests an environmental influence.

3
New cards

Mednick et al. (1984) Adoption Study

Mednick, a US psychologist and geneticist, conducted a large-scale adoption study to investigate whether criminality is more influenced by nature or nurture. He studied 14,000 adopted males in Denmark (1924-1947) and found a 20% concordance rate for criminality with biological parents, compared to 14.7% with adoptive parents. This suggests a genetic link to criminality, though environmental factors still play a role.

4
New cards

Mednick and Hutchings Study

Further research by Mednick and Hutchings reinforced the genetic link to criminality. They compared adopted children with and without a criminal record and found that those with a criminal record were more likely to have biological parents who also had criminal records. This strengthens the argument that genetic factors contribute to criminal behaviour. However, it does not completely rule out environmental influences.

5
New cards

Purpose of Adoption Studies

Adoption studies attempt to rule out environmental effects by studying children raised by adoptive parents with no genetic similarity. Unlike twin studies, which cannot fully separate nature from nurture if twins are raised in the same home, adoption studies allow researchers to see whether criminal behaviour persists even when environmental factors change. This provides stronger evidence for genetic influences on criminality while also acknowledging the role of upbringing.

6
New cards

Crowe (1972) Adoption Study

Crowe compared a group of adopted children whose biological mother had a criminal record to a control group whose biological mother did not. He found that 50% of children whose biological mother had a criminal record also had one by 18, compared to only 5% in the control group. This suggests that criminal tendencies may be biologically inherited, even when children are raised in a different environment.