The development of Addiction-Prone Personality traits in biological and adoptive families

• The predictors of Addiction-Prone Personality (APP) characteristics were examined.
• Familial care influences in biological and adoptive families were compared cross-sectionally and longitudinally.
• Parents’ APP scores predicted offspring’s APP scores.
• Familial care was the consistent predictor of adopted offspring’s APP over time.

This project investigated the predictors of Addiction-Prone Personality (APP) scores in youth and young adults from biological (N = 328, 53% female) and adoptive (N = 77, 53% female) families. The development of offspring’s APP traits was examined from three different angles: (1) patterns in biological and adoptive families, (2) offspring’s vs. parent’s perceptions of familial environment, and (3) different points in the life span. The offspring’s APP scores were found to be significantly predicted by parents’ APP scores in both biological and adoptive families. Parents’ APP scores and offspring’s gender consistently showed significant direct influences on offspring’s APP scores in biological families. The familial care factor (maternal and paternal care, family cohesion, and family adaptability) was found to be the consistent significant predictor of offspring’s APP scores in adoptive families even when offspring became older. These results are consistent in showing that the social environment plays an important role in the development of Addiction-Prone Personality traits.