Nation : Adoptees’ IQs, Surroundings Linked

A landmark study released today shows that adopted children, no matter what the background of their natural parents, have higher IQs if raised in affluent homes.

But the study goes on to show that in less affluent surroundings, the biological background of adopted children can play an important role in intellectual performance.

Reporting in the British journal Nature, French researchers said they found that the average IQ of adoptees is about 12 points higher when they are reared in a prosperous family than in a poorer home. That finding held true regardless of the socioeconomic status of the child’s natural parents.