adoption and helpfulness

Hi there,

I was in class and we got into a discussion about these people who rescued a man who was trapped underneath a burning car; the confusion was in the area of shouldn't the bystander effect have kicked in when there were so many people around?

My thoughts wandered into adoptees...sometimes I don't help because I feel in the way...if you're adopted and feel like you're not where you are supossed to be-or at the very least were rescued and that you should feel "lucky" it's really hard not to feel like a burden. Yet the flipside-sometimes I feel like I owe the world something too, I'm always taken on the hardest types of people-my friend, also adopted, rescued all the stuffed animals she knew no one would want when she was a kid;

so my question is....anyone know of any link between adoptees and helping/inability to help or altrusim? I know this is kinda braod, but just curious

Take care,
-obj

i had a son who was adopted due to my young age when he was born. BTW we are now reunited! i researched a lot about how adopted children/adults feel re conflictive feelings. many adoptese feel guillty if they don't feel "lucky".the opposite is also true, they feel abandoned by their birthparents like they're not "good" enough. if you're adopted and feel like you're not where you are supposed to be. this is the phenomenon of "who am i? as for your question re adoptees rescuing ppl, animals, etc. i believe it's a duplication of the adoptee wanting to be rescued, even tho that is what happened to them. they were rescued. also because the adoptee can identify with someone needing to be helped is indicative to their sensitivity and compassion towards others. a very good quality.
i read about the burning car and people helping plus watched the clip. some people, human nature, are more prone to action to help another. the standers by remind me of years ago seeing a person being mugged in NYC and everyone just walking by and not helping. to me this is man's inhumanity to man.