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This study explores the relationship between altruism, personality traits, and the intention to adopt among individuals. Conducted at an adoption fair and involving a small group of participants from Hanover College, the research utilized various measures, including the Big Five personality inventory and altruism scale. Results indicated that higher levels of altruism and certain Big Five traits positively correlated with the intention to adopt. These findings support the hypothesis that altruistic individuals are more likely to consider adoption, highlighting a need for further research in this area.
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Altruism as a Characteristic of Individuals Who Intend to Adopt Heather Buford Hanover College
Introduction: Literature • Possible link between altruism and adoptive parents; e.g, study of adoptive parents of Mother Theresa’s orphanages (Goodman & Kim, 1999) • However, that study • had a limited population • was based on interpretation of open-ended questionnaires and interviews
Introduction: Literature, cont’ • Research on the Big Five personality factors shows a positive correlation between empathy/attachment and agreeableness (Ashton, Paunonen, Helmes, & Jackson; 1998) • Thus, the field of psychology is in need of research on the personality characteristics of adoptive parents
Hypotheses • Individuals with an intention to adopt will be more altruistic, more agreeable, more open to experience, more extraverted, more conscientious, and more emotionally stable
Method: Participants • Volunteers at adoption fair in Louisville • Volunteers from faculty, staff, and students at Hanover College • n=20 • 14 females, 6 males • 21-65 years (M=38.9)
Method: Materials • Demographics questionnaire • 1-item scale for intention to adopt included on demographics • “I intend to adopt a child some day.” • 5-point Likert scale; 1=strongly disagree, 5=strongly agree • Two measures, which were counterbalanced
Method: Materials, cont’ • Altruism scale • 20 items, 5-point Likert scale • “I have done volunteer work for a charity;” 1=never, 5=very often
Method: Materials, cont’ • Big Five Inventory • Measures agreeableness, extraversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and emotional stability • 44 items, 5-point Likert scale • “I see myself as someone who is talkative;” 1=disagree strongly, 5=agree strongly
Method: Procedure • Recruited participants at an adoption fair and on campus • Participants read consent form, filled out demographics and the two measures, and received debriefing sheet • Data were analyzed for relationships using correlations, ANOVAs, and Multiple Regression
Results: Relationships Between Personality Factors and Intention to Adopt • An Analysis of Variance indicated that altruism and the Big Five Factors positively predicted intention to adopt (F(7, 12)=2.53, p<.10) • A Multiple Regression Analysis indicated that altruism significantly predicted intention to adopt (R2=.60, p<.10)
Discussion • Study supported hypothesis that those participants with an intention to adopt would be more altruistic than those participants who do not intend to adopt • Low power • Future research