Marissa and Jessica, sisters born two years apart, grew up in an impoverished, violent neighborhood. As adults, Marissa is chronically jobless and is addicted to drugs, while Jessica is a professor of economics at a community college. What might explain their different life outcomes?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The concept of differential susceptibility suggests that individuals may differ in their susceptibility to environmental influences based on innate characteristics such as temperament or genetics. It is possible that Marissa and Jessica have different innate characteristics that influenced how they responded to their impoverished and violent neighborhood, leading to different life outcomes despite growing up in the same environment.

Marissa and Jessica, Sisters Born Two Years Apart, Grew Up