Dr. Laura maintains that a persons personality is part hereditary and not just the result of environment. And while Dr. Laura is not an MD or even a psychologist, I think she has a valid point.

The old school of thinking says that a child is a product of his/her environment. That is to say, a good environment will produce a good child and a bad environment will produce a bad child. Yet, we can all point to the child who was raised in a good environment but turned out bad. Likewise, we can all point to the child that was raised in a bad environment but turned out good. Why is this?

I think that genetics plays a role along with environment. If you have a good environment but the genetics are bad, the child will be bad. And if you have a bad environment but the genetics are good, the child will be good.

I notice this the most in families that have adopted children who are raised along side maternal children. The maternal children turn out good but the adopted children are constantly getting into trouble. Granted, there is the stigma of being adopted but I question if it plays that big of a role in the child’s personality.