COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Family Environmental Influences on Cognitive and Related Outcomes -- An Adoption Study

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Despite the realization that genes affect development, the environment remains a critically important domain of learning and socialization--affecting children's cognitive, social, and emotional development. Although many studies have examined the relationship between environmental processes and development, nearly all of this research has examined biologically-related family members living together. This makes the research difficult to interpret because family environmental influences are confounded with potential genetic influences. Another limitation of previous research is that the environment is often thought of as a between-family phenomenon (for example socioeconomic status), despite the fact that many important environmental differences exist within families. The goal of the proposed study is to examine the environment by examining adoptive families. Because adoptive families are genetically unrelated, it is possible to examine environmental effects upon the development of cognitive, social, and emotional skills while controlling for genetic factors. Additionally, by studying each child within these adoptive families individually, it is also possible to examine environmental similarities and differences among family members. By understanding the environment and its effect on the development of children, it may be possible to develop targeted prevention and intervention programs for improving cognitive and behavioral outcomes for all children. Additionally, better understanding of the environment helps place the emerging genetic research into context.