Adopted children who have grown up in more favourable family environments than their siblings are at lower risk of mental health issues, criminality and social problems – benefits that, in some cases, extend to the next generation. These are the findings of a new study of Swedish siblings published in The BMJ.

A large Swedish study published in The BMJ today suggests that an improved early home environment can have lasting positive effects across generations. Children of parents with psychiatric or behavioural issues who were adopted before age 10 into families with better home environments, showed improved adult psychosocial outcomes, including fewer criminal convictions and higher educational achievements, than their unadopted siblings. 

Natural resources - such as fossil fuels, water, and minerals - are materials found in the environment that are essential for life and highly utilized in production.  Though these resources are viewed as essential to economic development and wealth, many “resource-rich” countries have paradoxically struggled with limited economic growth and unstable political institutions. This phenomenon, known as the “resource curse,” challenges the notion that resource abundance automatically translates into economic prosperity and raises the question of how these regions fall into this trap while other, less resource-rich countries manage to leverage their resources for sustainable development.  

A new study led by Princeton University sheds light on the resource curse, investigating when and how this phenomenon occurs and if it can be avoided or reversed.