DNA vs. adoption

Elizabeth Spiers explores her pre-adoption past, which these days includes DNA testing and pondering nature vs. nurture.

When I think about the differences [between me and my adoptive parents], I wonder if they’re personality traits I cultivated on my own or if they belong to someone else who passed them onto me. Things like a preference for morning or evening hours can often be genetic, and this is part of what I hope the DNA test will tell me.

I know someone who adopted a baby and they have never told her that she’s adopted and don’t plan to (she’s now in her 20s). When DNA testing becomes commonplace in another 5-15 years, I wonder how long that secret will last and what her reaction will be.

• DNA
• Elizabeth Spiers