The major debate of the triplets versus Louise Wise Services purported to highlight parenting styles. The researchers filmed the triplets from when they were adopted until they were teenagers. Although the research was allegedly aimed at studying parenting styles, the participants’ experiences prove otherwise. The experiences of the triplets suggest that the researchers were studying mental health issues amongst separated twins and triplets. The act of separating the children at birth and recording their life happenings while withholding the fact that they have other siblings indicates the objective of separation. The film discussion implies that the researchers knew the psychological issues of the triplets’ mothers. Thus, they wanted to know whether the children would still inherit the mental illness even when brought up in different homes.
Common encounters of psychiatric episodes amongst the three brothers reveal that mental health was the primary matter of study. Bobby and David attest that they both spent time in the psychiatric ward during their teenage years. Furthermore, they all had problematic teenage experiences where some would grow very aggressive (Three Identical Strangers). Just like their drunkard mothers, Eddy, Bobby, and David were heavy drinkers especially when they were reunited. Eddy’s wife mentions that he became depressed and although he received proper help, he later committed suicide.
Ethical Problems Present in Unwilling Participants’ Research
The act of involving unwilling participants in the study breached several ethical considerations in research. Some of the violated principles include voluntary participation, confidentiality, informed consent, the potential for harm, anonymity, and results communication. The institutional review board responsible for approving research studies expects researchers to follow these codes of conduct when collecting data. The triplets were supposed to voluntarily choose to participate in the research or at least their parents’ choice without coercion or pressure. The confidentiality code demands that all participants’ information be removed from the study report but the triplets’ information was recorded and retained. Contrary to what happened, the code of informed consent entails that the subjects needed to learn all research information, understand, and only then choose whether to continue with the study or not.
Another ethical problem is the potential to harm where the researchers needed to disclose all information about possible harm during the study. In this case, the triplets suffered from trauma, which would have been prevented by disclosing the likely harm. Researchers are also expected to provide anonymity to their subjects by not collecting information that can link data to them. Finally, the triplets were obligated to study results through honest, credible, and reliable communication. All the triplets experiences are ethically problematic because the considerations were not followed hence exposing the subjects to harm. The researchers by separating the triplets caused them separation anxiety and other long-lasting traumatic effects.
Such research-related misconducts are relatable to those committed by Harry Harlow’s monkey research experiment. When the researcher separated the monkeys from their mothers, they suffered from separation anxiety and trauma. In their adulthood, the monkeys were affected by the early childhood experience. When they became parents, the little monkey were less affectionate to their infants. They would smash their face into the floor and then rub them back and forth. In other words, Harlow’s actions of separating monkeys from their mothers are unethical.
Family Dynamics
The goodness of fit is the test to show how the observed data matches with expected data. In this case, the triplets revealed behaviors close to those of their mother. They grew to be heavy drinker and suffered from mental problems. Attachment theory explains that children form a close bond with their parents or caregivers depending on parents’ response. David and his father developed a secure attachment in which the father was available, warm, and loving. Eddy and his father formed an anxious-ambivalent attachment because he felt insecure in his family and never had a close relationship. Bobby on the other hand created an avoidant attachment with his often absent father. Although, he never had a close relationship with his father, Bobby accepted the conditions.
Different forms of child bringing indicates varied parenting styles amongst the triplets. David, raised by a blue-colored father experienced hardship but was given permissive parenting. His father adored and always wanted to be close to him. Eddy was raised by an authoritarian, a judge who was strict on parenting. He set rules and rarely considered Eddy’s emotional or behavioral needs. Bobby’s father was a busy doctor and often neglectful of his parenting duties. He thus provided little nurturing or guidance support to Eddy.
Twin/Triplets Bonding
The film portrays the bond of the twins and triplets to be strong yet easily broken by separation. The triplets had an unstable childhood caused by the separation. The three boys would hit their heads on cribs and cry aggressively. When they reunited, they realized that they had so much in common. They smoked the same brand of cigar, liked older women, and had the same favorite color. The boys had similar moves, and smiles, and were all heavy drinkers in their 19th year. Eddy, Bobby, and David even moved, started living together, and opened a restaurant (Three Identical Strangers). They were so close that they would go out together, fancy similar women, and would often date siblings. Their bond was strong to the extent that when David left their united life, Eddy became depressed.
The film also shows that the triplets would have turned better had they continued to live together for the rest of their lives. Although not mentioned, the siblings had many differences caused by their nature and form of upbringing. Their bonds however grew weaker as the boys matured and grew up. The twin girls analyzed in the film also had a strong bond even after separation. They love the same colors, studied film, and became co-authors in the movie Two Strangers (Three Identical Strangers). After the sisters met, they also lived together and loved doing daily activities together.
David’s Drinking Mother
David was disturbed by the fact that his mother was a heavy drinker and that they had just turned out to be like her. At 19, although not mature enough to tell whether it was their life option, heavy drinking implied an inherited disorder (Three Identical Strangers). David learned that his mother became pregnant during her prom night and could not raise them. He understood that it was hard for her to let go of three children. Although they were not close, David was concerned about his mother’s health. If binge drinking is inheritable in the family, it would mean that David’s children would suffer from the same. David was also afraid of the thought of having his children separated from him. He could not imagine how his mother felt after giving up her triplets for total strangers.
Adverse Childhood Experiences
The incidences of the triplets were highly influenced by their adverse childhood experiences. The brothers experienced separation, problematic behaviors during their teenage and later substance abuse. The separation of the triplets was an adverse childhood experience. The children sharing one DNA already had a strong bond when in the womb. Children naturally have the biological need for a mother’s nurturing care, love, and warmth. The triplets needed breastfeeding and warmth from their biological mother. Indeed, although their adopted mothers provided safety and warmth, it would never match that of their biological mothers. The nurturing experience provided by the biological mother provides children with safety that might not be attained anywhere else.
Separating them at birth traumatized them and the incident might have contributed to the mental illnesses experienced during their teenage. According to Boullier and Mitch, ACEs can lead to health problems, substance abuse in adulthood, and mental illness (132). The traumatic experiences could also result in negative behaviors, especially during teenage and altered responses to stress. All the boys were reported to have a problematic adolescent period in terms of behaviors (Three Identical Strangers). Eddy was never satisfied with the love and care he was given in the adopted home. The separation experiences also changed how he responded to stressful events. When he experienced a reoccurrence of separation when his brother broke their bond, Eddy went into depression. His wife reported that he would behave hysterically and later gave up on his life.
Works Cited
Boullier, Mary, and Mitch Blair. “Adverse Childhood Experiences.” Pediatrics and Child Health vol. 28, no. 3, 2018, pp. 132-137.
Three Identical Strangers. Directed by Tim Wardle, performances by David Kellman, Eddy Galland, and Robert Shafran. Neon, 2018.