The Adopted Offspring of Women Criminal Offenders

Abstract

The first report of a follow-up study is presented on the adopted offspring of a group of women offenders, 90% of whom were felons. There are 52 offspring now ranging from 15 to 45 years of age. These probands were compared with a control group of adoptees on the basis of arrest and traffic records obtained from the state in which the subjects were reared. The probands were more likely to have been arrested, to have repeated arrests, to have received a conviction, and to have been incarcerated for an offense. They also had more moving traffic violations but the difference was not significant. The results suggest a greater amount of antisocial behavior among the probands than among the control group.