AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Adopted children receive genetic characteristics and behaviors from their birthparents. But they also learn characteristics and behaviors from their adoptive family as they grow up. As a result, an adopted child usually demonstrates characteristics and behaviors reflective of both their genetics and environment.

Detailed explanation-2: -Most adoption professionals refer to biological parents as “birth parents, ” but not everyone agrees that it’s the best term to use. The term “birth mother” comes from the Positive Adoption Language (PAL) framework developed in 1979.

Detailed explanation-3: -Many Adopted children and adults have lingering feelings of being unconnected to their roots. I’ve heard this feeling described as a void or emptiness that is felt deep in the core of a sense of not belonging. Searching for birth family members may assist in filling the hole and allowing connections to be made.

Detailed explanation-4: -Adoptees’ traits bear more similarities to their biological parents than to their care giving adoptive parents. Environmental factors shared by a family’s children have virtually no impact on their personalities. Studies of adoptive families have provided clues to hereditary and environmental influences.