Academic Achievement in Adopted Children

Research Question and Hypothesis

In this study that explores the impact of the environment on cognitive development, the testable research question will be: What do you think of the topic of adoption, and how do genetics and environmental factors affect the academics of adopted children? This research question is relevant in psychology since it seeks to determine if adoption impacts a child’s mental health and if the same can affect the child’s academic performance. The research question is also relevant since it seeks to explore the impacts of parenting by the adopting parents on the child’s cognitive development, which then translates to the overall academic performance of the adopted child. The study also considers that the child’s genetic makeup also has a role to play in the academic performance of the adopted child. Researchers may also be interested in understanding the effectiveness of adoption on children’s development. This research hypothesizes that adopted children in the right environment excel academically compared to children brought up by biological parents.

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Abstracts and Annotations

Amiri, E., & Karfa, A. E. (2022). The impact of learning environment on EFL students’ academic achievement: A study of socio-cultural factors affecting academic achievement. International Journal of Medical Research & Health Sciences 5(7S):360-369 https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/crnkq

Abstract

Factors within the learning environment, such as lighting, noise, and space, affect the learner. This research study was carried out to investigate the impacts of the learning environment on the learners’ academic performance (Amiri & Karfa, 2022). The research study surveyed literature published from 2000 and achieved in various databases. There were no word restrictions. At first, the researchers collected 252 articles, but only 39 journals were selected for the study based on expert advice (Amiri & Karfa, 2022). Two independent investigators analyzed and evaluated the quality of this literature. The results showed that noise negatively affected learning, and lighting, painting, and wall decorations also impacted learning.

Annotation

The study above relied on a literature review as a study method, so it failed to offer details on how the analysis of the journals was done. However, this study by Amiri and Karfa (2022) was considered valuable for this study since it answers the research question on the impacts of the environment on cognitive development. This study will be used in the research to argue that if adopted children can access good schools with better learning environments, they can perform better academically than those brought up by their parents. This study by Amiri and Karfa (2022) will complement the study by Fishbein et al. (2019) and Yang et al. (2021), who have also looked at the environment’s influence on the child’s development. However, the difference is that these two scholars focus on the home environment and not the school atmosphere. The primary limitation of this study is that it lacks an account of the method used in literature selection, the quality of literature that was selected, and the limits of this literature were not given.

Dégeilh, F., Beauchamp, M. H., Leblanc, É., Daneault, V., & Bernier, A. (2019). Socioeconomic Status in Infancy and the Developing Brain: Functional Connectivity of the Hippocampus and Amygdala. Developmental neuroscience, 41(5-6), 327–340. https://doi.org/10.1159/000507616

Abstract

The hippocampus and the amygdala are parts of the brain whose development relies on the environment. This longitudinal study examined how socioeconomic status (SES) can predict the functionality of the hippocampus and amygdala when a child is older (Dégeilh et al., 2019). The researchers measured the indices of 28 sampled children who were seven months old and ten years old. The children underwent a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging exam (Dégeilh et al., 2019). The teachers then examined the child’s socioemotional adjustments. The left and right hippocampi and the amygdalae were measured as seeds and SES. The results of this research showed that there was connectivity between these regions and the environment. Thus, it reaffirms the connection between a child’s prosocial behavior and the environment.

Annotation

This article is helpful for this study because it examines the impact of socioeconomic status on the child’s brain. This study is reliable because it used the same sampled children observed from childhood to age 10. At age ten, the parts of the brain, hippocampus, and amygdala were measured, showing a direct connection between brain development and SES (Dégeilh et al., 2019). This study will support the idea in the research that parents’ income and level of education are essential for the child’s psychological development. The study differs from the rest because it measures the parts of the brain that are responsible for socio-emotional development. However, it is similar to Li and Qui’s (2018) study by Ramphal (2020) because their interests are in socioeconomic development. Therefore, it supports the claim that a child whose parents cannot provide a proper environment for their growth must be given a chance to have the right environment for development through adoption. The limitations of this study were the central focus on the hippocampi and amygdalae and the tiny population that was sampled, making it difficult to generalize.

Fishbein DH, Michael L, Guthrie C, Carr C &t Raymer J (2019) Associations Between Environmental Conditions and Executive Cognitive Functioning and Behavior During Late Childhood: A Pilot Study. Front. Psychol. 10(1263) pp. 1 – 12. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01263

Abstract

This exploratory research sought to evaluate the connection between the features at home and a child’s executive functions (EF) (Fishbein et al., 2019). The study also sought to clarify the difference between home and the neighborhood regarding a child’s executive functions. This study showed a connection between the home environment and many dimensions of EF.

Annotation

This article relates to the research because it also helps discuss the significance of adoption, especially in cases where the home environment is unsuitable for a child’s development. This study was designed as a cross-sectional study of children between 8 and 11 years old (Fishbein et al., 2019). The study targeted the counties in Indiana and Illinois, where 66 participants were sampled. Both questionnaires and interviews were used. Then, the cognitive evaluation of the child was done using an IQ test (Fishbein et al., 2019). This study is similar to that of Dégeilh et al. (2019) because the brain was measured, and the impact of the environment on the child’s brain development. The area of interest in this study is the neighborhood, contrasting it to the others that have focused on the home and school environment. The study’s limitations were that it was only conducted in two counties in the U.S., making it difficult to generalize.

Li, Z., & Qiu, Z. (2018). How does family background affect children’s educational achievement? Evidence from Contemporary China. J. Chin. Social. 5(13), pp. 1 – 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40711-018-0083-8

Abstract

This study examined the impacts of family background on a child’s development. This study used the analysis of data from the Chinese family collected from the Chinese Family Panel Study in 2010(CFPS2010) (Li & Qiu, 2018). The paper proposed that when parents push for high-quality education and show positive behavior toward education, it impacts the child’s academic performance. The study shows that while these two pathways affect educational performance, socioeconomic status also significantly affects the child’s intellectual development.

Annotation

Li and Qiu’s study will be applied in this research as a source that will be used to argue that children from impoverished backgrounds should be given foster care to help them have suitable environments for quality cognitive development and better academic performance. The data collected from CFPS2010 covered 14,960 households within 25 provinces, and the result confirmed how family background affects educational performance. This article is similar to Yang et al. (2021) because they all focus on the parent. It, however, conflicts with studies like that of Fishbein et al. (2019) and differs from Degeilh et al. (2019) and Yang et al. (21) since they all suggest that the environment because they all indirectly involved the socioeconomic status of the family. However, it contrasts with other studies like that of Amir and Karfa (2022), emphasizing the school environment. The study’s limitations were seen in the sampling limited to two ethnic groups, thus making it harder to generalize when assessing the other ethnic groups.

Ramphal, B., Whalen, D. J., Kenley, J. K., Yu, Q., Smyser, C. D., Rogers, C. E., & Sylvester, C. M. (2020). Brain connectivity and socioeconomic status at birth and externalizing symptoms at age two years. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 45, 100811. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100811

Abstract

This study was motivated by the idea that socioeconomic status (SES) during childhood impacted brain development. Therefore, the researchers sought to investigate if SES affected the child during conception and if the same further affected the psychiatric outcomes during childhood (Ramphal et al., 2020). Thus, the researchers wanted to see the effects of socioeconomic disparities in children aged two years and how this disparity impacts an infant’s mental symptoms. Resting-state function MRI was used for 37 term-equivalent preterm and 75 full-term newborns (Ramphal et al., 2020). The results of this research showed that there was a connection between SES and neurodevelopment trajectory. As such, mental illness begins at very early stages in life.

Annotation

For this research, the article by Ramphal et al. (2020) will be applied to emphasize that growing up in a socially and economically stable family helps the brain develop much better. Researchers argue that mental development influences academic performance. This study is similar to Li and Qui (2018) and the research by Ramphal (2020) because they all look into the brain and not the child’s overall development. Most importantly, they are similar to the other studies because they reveal the inherent connection between the child’s development and the environment. However, it is notable that this research is not interested in the school environment like the study by Amiri and Karfa (2022). The study’s overemphasis on mental illnesses made it difficult to generalize because mental illnesses differ from academic performance, even though they have a relationship. Also, the sample population was too small for generalization.

Yang, Q., Yang, J., Zheng, L., Song, W., & Yi, L. (2021). Impact of Home Parenting Environment on Cognitive and Psychomotor Development in Children Under 5 Years Old: A Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in pediatrics, 9, 658094. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2021.658094

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to examine the connection between the home parenting environment and cognitive and psychomotor development. The targeted population is children below five (Yang et al., 2021). The researcher sought literature from Chinese and English databases like PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Wanfang. Twelve articles were selected for review, and the research results showed a strong connection between the home parenting environment and children below 20 months old.

Annotation

This article was chosen to support the idea that parenting influences children’s academic performance. The study will use it to prove that the financial capability of the parent plays a crucial role in the kind of education and lifestyle the child gets (Yang et al., 2021). This study is very different from the rest because it relied on examining literature from the Chinese and English databases only. For this reason, the outcomes concentrated on two ethnic communities. However, it is similar to the other studies of Ramphal et al. (2020) and Dégeilh et al. (2019) because they all look into the parent’s capabilities to provide the necessary atmosphere for the child to develop well and do well in school.