What are Virtual Twins?
Virtual twins are children who are raised together, but have no genetic relationship. They are also very close to each in age, with most researchers defining virtual twins as children less than nine months apart in age. Virtual twins can come into a family in a wide variety of ways, and they are a topic of interest to psychologists and other researchers, as they can be used to delve into the relationship between environment and genetics. In a classic example of virtual twinning, a couple makes arrangements to adopt after struggling to have children, and then becomes pregnant. Rather than backing out of the adoption, the parents may choose to adopt as well as giving birth, giving their birth-child an adopted sibling. Virtual twins can also be created through adoption, with parents adopting two children of different parentage. Many researchers like to focus specifically on virtual twins adopted at a very young age, rather than older children adopted together. For people interested in the
