| Abstract: | The high rate of school failure in lower-class children has been hypothesized to arise either from genetic social class differences or from cultural/environmental disadvantages. This study sought to evaluate the strength of the incidence of social class on school failure. To separate genetic factors and prenatal environment from postnatal rearing conditions, 87 children relinquished at birth and adopted before the age of 3 yrs into different social classes were studied. School failure was assessed when subjects were in late adolescence. Results indicated that the higher the adoptive parental social class, the fewer were the repeated grades in the adoptees. The most salient finding is a significant correlation (r?=?–.37) between the social class of the adoptive fathers and repetition of grade in the adoptees. In each adoptive social class, the rate of school failures for the adopted children is similar to the school failure rate of the reference group of biological children from the same social class, except for a slight difference in upper-class families. No significant selective placement was observed. Concordances and discrepancies with previous studies are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
