Nature vs. nurture: Identical Twins Raised Apart
Here are some pretty incredible stories that I found in my clinical psychiatry book:
1) Jim L. and Jim S. were first reunited at age 39. They were genetically identical twins, reared apart since infancy by different adoptive families in Ohio and unaware of each other’s existence. As children, each twin had had a dog named Toy. Each bit his fingernails and, since age 18, had suffered from mixed headache syndrome, a combined tension and migraine headache. Each had been married twice, first to a Linda and then to a Betty. One twin had named his son James Alan, and the other, James Allen. Each had put a circular bench around a tree in his garden. Each had worked at a gas station and later part-time in law enforcement as a sheriff. Each chain-smoked Salems and preferred an occasional Miller Lite beer. Each scattered love notes to his wife around the house. Every summer, unbeknownst to the other, each had driven his family in a light blue Chevrolet from Ohio to the Pas-Grille Beach in St. Petersburg, Florida, for their summer vacation. They had similar voices, hand gestures, and mannerisms.
2) Jerry L. and Mark N., identical twins separated in infancy, were first reunited at age 30. Each was nearly bald and had a bushy mustache. Each was a volunteer firefighter and made his living installing safety equipment. Each wore aviator glasses, big belt buckles, and big key rings. Each drank Budweiser with his pinky hooked on the bottom of the can and crushed the can when he finished.
3) Jack Y. and Oskar S., identical twins born in Trinidad in 1933 and separated in infancy by their parents’ divorce, were first reunited at age 46. Oskar was raised by his Catholic mother and grandmother in Nazi-occupied Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia. Jack was raised by his Orthodox Jewish father in Trinidad and spent time on an Israeli kibbutz. Each wore aviator glasses and a blue sport shirt with shoulder plackets, had a trim mustache, liked sweet liqueurs, stored rubber bands on his wrists, read books and magazines from back to front, dipped buttered toast in his coffee, flushed the toilet before and after using it, enjoyed sneezing loudly in crowded elevators to frighten other passengers, and routinely fell asleep at night while watching television. Each was impatient, squeamish about germs, and gregarious.
4) Bessie and Jessie, identical twins separated at 8 months of age after their mother’s death, were first reunited at age 18. Each had had a bout of tuberculosis, and they had similar voices, energy levels, administrative talents, and decision-making styles. Each had had her hair cut short in early adolescence. Jessie had a college-level education, while Bessie had had only 4 years of formal education; yet Bessie scored 156 on intelligence quotient testing, while Jessie scored 153. Each read avidly, which may have compensated for Bessie’s sparse education; she created an environment compatible with her inherited potential.
Sources:
Kaplan & Sadock’s “Synopsis of Psychiatry.” Ninth Edition.
Segal NL. Entwined Lives: Twins and What They Tell Us about Human Behavior. Plume: New York; 1999:116-151.
March 4th, 2009 09:08
this is the most wierdest thing i have ever heard of in my intire life. twins should be able to stay with his or her twin not raised apart. thats just sad in so many ways i cant tell you haow i feel about that cause i feel so 50 50 about it. its so hard to tell you about it. twins desure to live with its twin!!!!! TWINS ARE HUMANS TO YOU KNOW!!! LET THEM LIVE A HAPPY LIFE WITH ITS TWIN!!!!!!!!
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Scott K Reply:
March 4th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
@tinkerbell, Thanks for the comment! I agree that it is best for siblings of any kind to be raised together. However, just to clarify, the twins in the above studies were not separated for purposes of scientific study. The scientists merely sought out identical twins that had been separated at birth for whatever reason and then interviewed them many years after the separation. It would be extremely unethical to separate twins just to study nature-vs-nurture.
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March 4th, 2009 09:16
I HATE THE FACT THAT THEY ALLOW THEM TO SEAPORATE TWINS THAT
A WAY!!!
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April 20th, 2009 10:35
In my opinion, I think it is a very interesting study. However, I also think that it is a shame that these twins were seperated at birth whether it be for scientific reasons, or because they were adopted by different parents. This study shows that our genetic make-up has a lot to do with who we are and what we do in life. It’s absolutely amazing that these twins managed to find one another and had the same mannerisms and personalities.
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October 30th, 2009 14:26
While siblings may do better raised together, lets look at the facts:
A) Neither sibling knew of the other. This means there was little to no attachment before separation. They did not realize they had a twin until whatever forces brought them together and, as such, were fine with the situation, simply because they had never known the scenario of having a sibling beforehand.
B) Most people looking to adopt are only looking into taking one child. If one family is willing to take one child and another family wants to take the other, then the child’s basic needs of shelter, love, food, etc. are provided for, and that’s really all one can ask for when it comes to adoption.
C) This provides an amazing opportunity for personality research and how heredity can impact people in the same ways even though they are in different environments.
D) They’re not separating twins purely for research. Don’t think for a second that science is that conniving. Science wasn’t there in the adoption agency thinking about the future and all the interesting tests they would do in forty years.
E) They’re FINE. I’m sure they got over it. It’s life.
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December 7th, 2009 11:07
i really think this article is incredible im so happy i read this and want to keep on reading til my eyes turn to light blue dogs floating on a spirited sky. i love reading and twins, so this really got my wheels turning!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS A BUNDLE
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February 2nd, 2010 15:03
[...] twins can be so different; we all know that such twins are usually so alike that many share the same quirks and personal [...]
February 18th, 2010 08:51
I’m an identical twin and I think that because my sister and I were raised together makes us very different because we tried to be different yet we are still VERY similar. I don’t think that we would ever be alike like the ones in this article when we leave home. I find that identical twins that are raised seperatly become more alike their twin then twins raised together because twins raised together try to be different…just a thought of mine! I find these stories so interesting!
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Scott K Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
@Elizabeth, What an intriguing idea! Thanks so much for the comment.
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