The Neubauer study
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the child psychiatrist Peter Neubauer conducted a study which involved an estimated number of eight sets of twins and one set of triplets.
The study consisted in separating the twins from birth, without informing their adoptive parents that they came from a set of twins or triplets. Ultimately, the purpose of this study was to establish a more concrete answer to the nature-nurture debate, as each twin was strategically placed in a family with different social statuses and ideologies.
The documentary movie “Three Identical Strangers” tells the story of a set of triplets who unconsciously were study subjects—Bobby, Eddie and David. They found each other unexpectedly. Each of them had a family of different background: one came from a high-class one, another from a middle-class one, and the third from a blue collar family. They were nineteen when they found each other, and the similarities in their gestures, clothing style and even cigarette brand were subject to a huge amount of media attention.
To some extent, this story was a heartwarming one—the triplets were alike in so many ways, and they were undoubtedly happy around each other. They were, in fact, inseparable after their encounter. However, questions soon started to be raised—is it that the parents didn’t know about the background of their child’s provenance when they adopted him? Normally, these are some pieces of information that must be given to an adoptive family.
The famous story of the triplets soon awakened curiosities and questions, and people who came from the same adoption centre started to also discover their long-lost twins.
This was one side of the story—siblings discovering each other, the wonder of their similarities despite their different backgrounds. Everyone was fascinated when hearing their story. However, the impending question of how and why this happened never left anyone’s thoughts—especially the twins and their parents.
Soon enough, it was found that their separation was not an accident, and neither was the failure to provide the information to their adoptive families. In fact, it was all part of a study conducted by Peter Neubauer, focusing upon developmental psychology, parenting methods and the nature-nurture debate. Apparently, nothing was an accident or coincidence.
This discovery was not taken well by the twins and their families, and with good reason: they claimed that they felt like “lab rats”, with their fate controlled. Furthermore, it was also affirmed that they were frequently visited, tested through puzzles and equations, and filmed. The parents were told that it was a part of a study following the development of adopted children, when in fact the differences between the twins and triplets were secretly tracked and written down.
As more and more shocking discoveries emerged, it was also observed that many of the separated children dealt with mental issues in adolescence and as adults. A set of twins found that they both suffered from depression. Moreover, of the at least fifteen children partaking in the study, three have committed suicide.
Why did this happen? Were they bound to have these mental imbalances? Was it due to their separation from birth? The triplets’ parents did state that, as babies, the three were all either violent, indulgent in self-harm or heavy criers. However, who would have ever suspected that it was due to a separation anxiety from their siblings, when said siblings were unknown by each of the childrens’ families?
This raised many questions regarding the ethics and morals of this study. Using people as test subjects was not taken well by anyone, as the entire perception of what we know as “freewill” was threatened and altered.
Under today’s standards, this study wouldn’t even be allowed to go forward. However, at the time when it was conducted, those ethical standards were not put in place. In fact, back then there weren’t any rules governing research on human beings until decades after.
This has raised many uncertainties regarding the issue of ethical research and studies. Questions emerged addressing all the other separated twins that could be out there without being aware of each other’s existence, and all the efforts taken with the goal of receiving the study materials resulted in a part of it being offered to some of the more insistent twins. However, the complete study results shall remain sealed in the Yale archives until 2065.
sources:
Hoffman L, Oppenheim L. Three Identical Strangers and The Twinning Reaction-Clarifying History and Lessons for Today From Peter Neubauer's Twins Study. JAMA. 2019 Jul 2;322(1):10-12. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.8152. PMID: 31265078.
Hogenboom, M. (2022, August 22). The identical twins who discovered their secret sibling. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220817-the-twins-who-were-split-up-at-birth
McCormack, W. (2018, October 2). Records from controversial twin study sealed at Yale until 2065 - Yale Daily News. Yale Daily News. https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2018/10/01/records-from-controversial-twin-study-sealed-at-yale-until-2065/
