Tg. O'Connor et al., Are associations between parental divorce and children's adjustment genetically mediated? An adoption study, DEVEL PSYCH, 36(4), 2000, pp. 429-437
The hypothesis that the association between parental divorce and children's
adjustment is mediated by genetic factors was examined in the Colorado Ado
ption Project, a prospective longitudinal study of 398 adoptive and biologi
cal families. In biological families, children who experienced their parent
s' separation by the age of 12 years exhibited higher rates of behavioral p
roblems and substance use, and lower Levels of achievement and social adjus
tment, compared with children whose parents' marriages remained intact. Sim
ilarly, adopted children who experienced their (adoptive) parents' divorces
exhibited elevated levels of behavioral problems and substance use compare
d with adoptees whose parents did not separate, but there were no differenc
es on achievement and social competence. The findings for psychopathology a
re consistent with an environmentally mediated explanation for the associat
ion between parent divorce and children's adjustment; in contrast, the find
ings for achievement and social adjustment are consistent with a geneticall
y mediated explanation involving passive genotype-environment correlation.