Genetic and Environmental Etiologies of the Longitudinal Relations Between Prereading Skills and Reading
Publication Date
9-26-2014
Document Type
Article
Organizational Units
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology
Keywords
Environmental and genetic etiologies, Prereading skills, Reading, Spelling, Verbal memory
Abstract
The present study explored the environmental and genetic etiologies of the longitudinal relations between prereading skills and reading and spelling. Twin pairs (n = 489) were assessed before kindergarten (M = 4.9 years), post‐first grade (M = 7.4 years), and post‐fourth grade (M = 10.4 years). Genetic influences on five prereading skills (print knowledge, rapid naming, phonological awareness, vocabulary, and verbal memory) were primarily responsible for relations with word reading and spelling. However, relations with post‐fourth‐grade reading comprehension were due to both genetic and shared environmental influences. Genetic and shared environmental influences that were common among the prereading variables covaried with reading and spelling, as did genetic influences unique to verbal memory (only post‐fourth‐grade comprehension), print knowledge, and rapid naming.
Copyright Date
9-26-2014
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Rights Holder
The Authors
Provenance
Received from author
Language
English (eng)
Extent
20 pgs
Publication Statement
Copyright held by authors. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Publication Title
Child Development
Volume
86
Issue
2
First Page
342
Last Page
361
ISSN
0009-3920
Recommended Citation
Christopher, M. E., Hulslander, J., Byrne, B., Samuelsson, S., Keenan, J. M., Pennington, B., . . . & Olson, R. K. (2015). Genetic and environmental etiologies of the longitudinal relations between prereading skills and reading. Child Development, 86(2), 342-361. DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12295