Perceived and actual similarities in biological and adoptive families: does perceived similarity bias genetic inferences?

Abstract

Critics of the adoption method to estimate the relative effects of genetic and environmental differences on behavioral development claim that important biases are created by the knowledge of biological relatedness or adoptive status. Since the 1950s, agency policy has led to nearly all adopted children knowing that they are adopted. To test the hypothesis that knowledge of biological or adoptive status influences actual similarity, we correlated absolute differences in objective test scores with ratings of similarity by adolescents and their parents in adoptive and biological families. Although biological family members see themselves as more similar than adoptive family members, there are also important generational and gender differences in perceived similarity that cut across family type. There is moderate agreement among family members on the degree of perceived similarity, but there is no correlation between perceived and actual similarity in intelligence or temperament. However, family members are more accurate about shared social attitudes. Knowledge of adoptive or biological relatedness is related to the degree of perceived similarity, but perceptions of similarity are not related to objective similarities and thus do not constitute a bias in comparisons of measured differences in intelligence or temperament in adoptive and biological families.