ERIC Number: EJ1168778
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jan
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: N/A
Longitudinal Study of Language and Speech of Twins at 4 and 6 Years: Twinning Effects Decrease, Zygosity Effects Disappear, and Heritability Increases
Rice, Mabel L.; Zubrick, Stephen R.; Taylor, Catherine L.; Hoffman, Lesa; Gayán, Javier
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v61 n1 p79-93 Jan 2018
Purpose: This study investigates the heritability of language, speech, and nonverbal cognitive development of twins at 4 and 6 years of age. Possible confounding effects of twinning and zygosity, evident at 2 years, were investigated among other possible predictors of outcomes. Method: The population-based twin sample included 627 twin pairs and 1 twin without a co-twin (197 monozygotic and 431 dizygotic), 610 boys and 645 girls, 1,255 children in total. Nine phenotypes from the same comprehensive direct behavioral assessment protocol were investigated at 4 and 6 years of age. Twinning effects were estimated for each phenotype at each age using general linear mixed models using maximum likelihood. Results: Twinning effects decreased from 4 to 6 years; zygosity effects disappeared by 6 years. Heritability increased from 4 to 6 years across all 9 phenotypes, and the heritability estimates were higher than reported previously, in the range of 0.44-0.92 at 6 years. The highest estimate, 0.92, was for the clinical grammar marker. Conclusions: Across multiple dimensions of speech, language, and nonverbal cognition, heritability estimates are robust. A finiteness marker of grammar shows the highest inherited influences in this early period of children's language acquisition.
Descriptors: Longitudinal Studies, Genetics, Twins, Cognitive Development, Language Acquisition, Vocabulary, Grammar, Vocabulary Development, Foreign Countries, Intelligence Tests, Verbal Ability, Maturity (Individuals), Intelligence Quotient, Correlation, Language Skills, Speech Skills, Language Impairments, Preschool Children, Statistical Analysis
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (DHHS)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test; Columbia Mental Maturity Scale; Goldman Fristoe Test of Articulation
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01DC005226; R01DC001803; NIHP30DC005803; R42DC013749; P30HD002528