Reading Development in Young Children: Genetic and Environmental Influences

The development of reading skills in typical students is commonly described as a rapid growth across early grades of active reading education, with a slowing down of growth as active instruction tapers. This study examined the extent to which genetics and environments influence these growth rates. Participants were 371 twin pairs, aged approximately 6 through 12, from the Western Reserve Reading Project. Development of word‐level reading, reading comprehension, and rapid naming was examined using genetically sensitive latent quadratic growth curve modeling. Results confirmed the developmental trajectory described in the phenotypic literature. Furthermore, the same shared environmental influences were related to early reading skills and subsequent growth, but genetic influences on these factors were unique.     

Measured Environmental Influences on Early Reading: Evidence From an Adoption Study

Many studies have examined the relationship between environmental processes and literacy outcomes. However, nearly all of this research has examined biologically related family members living together, thus confounding genetic and environmental influences. The purpose of this study was to address this issue using a sample of 262 adopted children and their families. Children were assessed in their homes on a 90-min battery of reading-related outcome measures. Parents reported on their educational attitudes, book reading practices, levels of involvement in homework, and their children's interest in reading-related activities. Multilevel modeling results suggest that aspects of the family environment were associated with child reading-related outcomes, a finding that cannot be attributed to shared genes between parents and their children.     

Understanding Genetic and Environmental Influences on the Development of Reading: Reaching for Higher Fruit

The transition from first-generation to second-generation studies of genetic and environmental influences on the development of reading is underway. The first generation of quantitative genetic studies yielded an extraordinary conclusion: Fifty percent or more of the variance in most constructs, including reading, is attributable to genetic variation. The first generation of molecular genetic studies produced methods for analysis of effects of genetic variation at the molecular level and some tantalizing preliminary results identifying reading-related chromosomal regions. The articles in this special issue provide examples of a second generation of studies that go well beyond heritability estimates and preliminary results. The weak link in the chain for both quantitative and molecular genetic studies remains an uncertain phenotype.     

Explaining Individual Differences in Reading: on the orthographic component of word recognition

This article first presents a conception of word recognition involving both phonological and orthographic processes. Three different explanations about the origin of orthographic processes in word recognition are then discussed. These explanations are: (1) differences in orthographic memory, (2) differences in phonological processes and (3) differences in leisure time reading. In accord with the third explanation, it is argued that automatic orthographic word recognition is directly dependent on children's amount of reading practice in an out‐of‐school setting. Educational implications of this emphasis on leisure time reading effects are also discussed.     

Causal Attributions and Reading Achievement: Individual Differences in Low-Income Families

In this study the development of causal attributions about reading within low-income families was examined. Specifically, relations between children's reading achievement and their causal attributions were investigated as well as relations between the children's attributions about themselves and their parents’ attributions about them. A total 513 students from Grades 3, 6, and 9, and one parent of each student, all from low-income families, participated. Students and parents independently rated the importance of seven causal variables (effort, intellectual ability, liking for reading, the teacher, help at home, difficulty of reading material, and luck) for the students’ good and poor reading outcomes. The major findings were that (a) at each grade, students’ attributions were reliably related to their reading achievement on the Gates–MacGinitie reading comprehension test, with attributions to ability, liking for reading, and help at home especially critical; (b) at each grade, parent attributions were reliably associated with student attributions; and (c) as students’ grade in school increased, they focused more on themselves and less on others as causal determinants of their reading performance. The implications of these findings for research and education are discussed.     

When Is Reading Also Writing: Sources of Individual Differences on the New Reading Performance Assessments

This research examined component processes that contribute to performance on one of the new, standards-based reading tests that have become a staple in many states. Participants were 60 Grade 4 students randomly sampled from 7 classrooms in a rural school district. The particular test we studied employed a mixture of traditional (multiple-choice) and performance assessment approaches (constructed-response items that required written responses). Our findings indicated that multiple-choice and constructed-response items enlisted different cognitive skills. Writing ability emerged as an important source of individual differences in explaining overall reading ability, but its influence was limited to performance on constructed-response items. After controlling for word identification and listening, writing ability accounted for no variance in multiple-choice reading scores. By contrast, writing ability accounted for unique variance in reading ability, even after controlling for word identification and listening skill, and explained more variance in constructed-response reading scores than did either word identification or listening skill. In addition, performance on the multiple-choice reading measure along with writing ability accounted for nearly all of the reliable variance in performance on the constructed-response reading measure.     

Developmental Theories for the 1990s: Development and Individual Differences

Understanding both typical human development and indivdual differences within the same theoretical framework has been difficult because the 2 orientations arise from different philosophical traditions. It is argued that an evolutionary perspective can unite the study of both species-typical development and individual variation. Research on determininants of development from many perspectives can be understood within an evolutionary framework in which organism and environment combine to produce development. Species-normal genes and environments and indidividual variations in genes and environments both affect personality, social, and intellectual development. These domains are used as examples to integrate theories of normal development and individual differences. Within the usual samples of European, North American, and developed Asian countries, the results of family and twin studies show that environments within the normal species range are crucial to normal development. Given a wide range of environmental opportunities and emotional supports, however, most children in these societies grow up to be individually different based on their individual genotypes. Understanding the ways in which genes and environments work together helps developmentalists to identify children in need of intervention and to tailor interventions to their particular needs.     

学生个体差异对英语学习的影响

学生的个体差异问题是所有教师需要面对的一个重要问题。作为英语教师,要重视学习者的这些智力和非智力方面的个体差异因素,实行不同方式的教学。本文主要讨论影响学生英语学习的个体差异的各种因素。     

Longitudinal Genetic Analysis of Early Reading: The Western Reserve Reading Project

We examined the genetic and environmental contribution to the stability and instability of reading outcomes in early elementary school using a sample of 283 twin pairs drawn from the Western Reserve Reading Project. Twins were assessed across two measurement occasions. In Wave 1, children were either in kindergarten or first grade. Wave 2 assessments were conducted one year later. Results suggested substantial genetic stability across measurement occasions. Additionally, shared environmental influences also accounted for stability, particularly for variables more closely tied to direct instruction such as phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and word knowledge. There was also evidence for independent genetic and shared environmental effects, suggesting that new sources of variance may emerge as the demands of school change and children begin to acquire early reading skills.     

关于工作记忆的个体差异与阅读理解的关系

工作记忆是执行认知任务时所涉及的一个对所需信息进行临时保持及操作的系统,它能同时储存和加工信息,其工作记忆容量有限。阅读理解是一个复杂的认知过程,是在头脑中形成语言描述的情境,用推理等活动揭示语言材料意义的过程。个体工作记忆阅读广度的差异反映了阅读能力的差异。只有进一步认识工作记忆的个体差异对阅读理解的影响,才能更好地发挥工作记忆对阅读理解的促进作用。     

Long-Term Stability of Individual Differences in Sustained Attention in the Early Years

The goal of this longitudinal study was to explore whether early measures of attention and inattention would be predictive of later attentiveness and whether there was any evidence of stable individual differences in attentiveness. Both full-term and preterm children were observed at 1, 2, and 3.5 years in free play and in more structured situations. For the group as a whole, and for full-terms separately, quantitative measures of inattention at 2 years were predictive of comparable measures at 3.5 years. For preterms separately, quantitative measures of inattention at 1 year were predictive of both behavior and the mothers' rating on the Conners Hyperactivity subscale at 3.5 years. Global, qualitative ratings of attentiveness at 1 and 2 years were predictive of mothers' ratings on the Conners at 3.5 years for the group as a whole and for full-terms separately. For full-terms only, the global ratings of attentiveness at 1 and 2 years were also predictive of 3.5-year quantitative measures of behavior. These data provide an encouraging base for further investigation of early individual differences in attentiveness and of possible early precursors of later attention deficits.     

Individual Differences in Sibling Teaching in Early and Middle Childhood

Research Findings: Sibling teaching and learning behaviors were investigated in 2 studies of children in early and middle childhood. Study 1 addressed individual differences in teaching/learning and associations with dyadic age, age gap, gender, birth order, and relationship quality in 71 middle-class dyads (firstborns M age = 81.54 months; second-borns M age = 56.27 months). Half of the firstborn and half of the second-born siblings were assigned the role of teacher. Regression analyses indicated that dyadic age and age gap made unique contributions to teacher and learner behavior. Few birth order differences in approaches to teaching/learning were revealed. Findings highlight the reciprocal nature of sibling teaching and learning. Study 2 investigated longitudinal associations between sibling relationship quality and teaching in a second sample (at Time 1 firstborns = 46.8 months; second-borns = 14 months). Positive sibling interaction (including play) at Time 1 was associated with teaching/learning behaviors 4 years later. Practice or Policy: Findings are discussed in light of recent social constructivist notions that children's development is facilitated in the context of intimate relationships.     

Evidence for Common Etiological Influences on Early Literacy Skills in Kindergarten

Understanding how the etiology of print awareness and phonological awareness are related to the etiology of decoding can provide insights into the development of word reading. To address this issue, we examined the degree of overlap among etiological influences of prereading skills in 1,252 twin pairs in kindergarten. Genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental factors were significant for all three literacy phenotypes. The majority of genetic and shared environmental influence on decoding was due to common factors that included print awareness and phonological awareness. Notably, only a single genetic factor contributed to all three literacy phenotypes, but there was additional shared environmental influence common to phonological awareness and decoding. Findings suggest commonalities in the etiology of prereading literacy skills that could inform work on the development of reading skill.     

Choice of Reading Comprehension Test Influences the Outcomes of Genetic Analyses

Vowel representations are particularly difficult for children to learn because most vowel phonemes can be spelled in several different ways. Children in Grades 1, 2, and 3 spelled nonwords with an ambiguous vowel and reported their spelling strategies. Analysis of the children's spellings and strategy reports revealed a shift in relying solely on phonological information to considering orthographic information for making vowel letter choices. Implications for vowel spelling development are discussed.     

Individual and Developmental Differences in Disengagement of Fixation in Early Infancy

The current study investigated whether individual and developmental differences in look duration are correlated with the latency for infants to disengage fixation from a visual stimulus. Ninety-four infants (52 3-month-olds, 42 4-month-olds) were tested in a procedure that measured ocular reaction time to shift fixation from a central target to a peripheral target under conditions in which the central-target either remained present ("competition" condition) or was removed from the display ("noncompetition" condition). Look duration was correlated with disengagement latency; longer-looking infants were slower than shorter-looking infants to shift fixation to the peripheral target on competition trials, but not noncompetition trials. Results were similar for 3- and 4-month-olds, although 3-month-olds showed slower latencies on all trials. Furthermore, long-looking infants were not consistently slower, but rather showed greater variability in their response latencies under conditions that required disengagement of fixation. The results support the position that developmental and individual differences in look duration are linked to the development of the neural attentional systems that control the ability to disengage, or inhibit, visual fixation.     

Components of Reading Ability: Multivariate Evidence for a Convergent Skills Model of Reading Development

The objectives of this series of 3 studies were (a) to evaluate whether French-speaking children mainly use phonological mediation in the first stage of reading acquisition in a silent-reading task and (b) to examine the role of phonological processing in the construction of the orthographic lexicon. Forty-eight French children were followed from kindergarten to the end of Grade 2. Their phonological skills were assessed using a semantic categorization task with homophone and visual foils (Study 1); their orthographic skills were assessed using a choice task involving a correct exemplar, a homophone, and a visual foil (Study 2). In the semantic categorization task, the differences between the visual and homophone foils increased with time, as the homophone foils were more and more likely to be chosen. In the orthographic choice task, performance improved with time, but errors were more likely to involve homophone foils. The results obtained by two subgroups of children who differed in their level of orthographic expertise at the end of Grade 2 (Study 3) indicated that, 1 year earlier (at the end of Grade I), the future "expert" spellers were more likely than the future "poor" spellers to use phonological processing in silent reading (semantic categorization task). Moreover, in Grade 1, future expert spellers' phonological skills in reading aloud and in spelling from dictation (pseudoword tasks) were better than those of future poor spellers, and future expert spellers also had better phonological awareness skills at the beginning of the last year of kindergarten. These results suggest that French-speaking children use phonological mediation in silent-reading tasks and that phonological processing contributes to the construction of the orthographic lexicon.     

Individual Differences in the Communication of Romantic Interest: Development of the Flirting Styles Inventory

Relationship initiation research supports the existence of 5 styles of communicating romantic interest in others: traditional, physical, sincere, playful, and polite. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on a large adult sample (N = 5,020) supported the existence of the styles. Styles predictably corresponded with self-monitoring and a 5-factor personality model. Women scored higher on all styles, except the playful style. Predictive validity was demonstrated by correlating styles to courtship initiation behaviors and past relationship experiences. The physical, sincere, and playful styles correlated with more dating success. The physical and sincere styles correlated with rapid relational escalation of important relationships with more emotional connection and greater physical chemistry.     

推动儿童早期发展——从个体到社会

多项研究成果表明,儿童早期发展对个体的身体发育、大脑发展、心理健康有着长远影响,甚至会影响下一代的健康和福祉。数据显示,全球中低收入国家有近2.5亿儿童处于风险之中(极端贫困或发育滞后),他们的发展是促进经济增长、推动社会公平、实现全人类福祉的关键。母亲孕期及哺乳期的护理和喂养知识的普及、回应式养育照护的实施、对心理健康的关注等措施,能够有效提高孕产妇及婴幼儿的营养及健康状况。本文由儿童早期大脑发育规律及面临的风险开始,从干预内容、政府参与以及干预成本效益等方面,对有效的儿童早期发展干预项目进行了系统描述,并指出政府参与儿童早期发展的重要性,希望为未来各国在该领域的探索提供新的启示。     

Individual Differences in Categorical Perception Are Related to Sublexical/Phonological Processing in Reading

This article examines the relationship between individual differences in speech perception and sublexical/phonological processing in reading. We used an auditory phoneme identification task in which a?/ba/-/pa/?syllable continuum measured sensitivity to classify participants into three performance groups: poor, medium, and good categorizers. A lexical decision task manipulated syllable and word frequency. We found that the two tasks were associated. Poor categorizers did not present the typical syllable frequency effect; however, the other groups were sensitive to phonological information to differing degrees and showed the inhibitory syllable frequency effect only for low-frequency words. These results suggest that auditory phoneme identification efficiency may be related to the sublexical processes involved in reading words.