Abstract
Utilizing ECLS-K:2011 data, this study compares adopted and biological children to account for the role of heritable characteristics in explaining the relationship between family environments and children's cognitive skills. I find that cognitive skills do not differ across adopted and biological children after adjusting for the systematic differences between them. I also find that the relationship between family environment and children's cognitive skills does not differ across adopted and biological children. Taken together, these results suggest that the relationship between family environment and children's cognitive skills is not spurious.
Degree
MS
College and Department
Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Sociology
Rights
http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
McNeill, Shelby Mae, "Family Environments and Children's Cognitive Skills: Accounting for Heritable Influences Through Comparing Adopted and Biological Children" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 6465.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6465
Date Submitted
2017-07-01
Document Type
Thesis
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd9376
Keywords
children's cognitive skills, cognitive skill development, family environment, heritable characteristics, social policy
Language
english