ERIC Number: EJ724233
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005
Pages: 19
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0160-2896
EISSN: N/A
Environmental Moderators of Genetic Influence on Verbal and Nonverbal Abilities in Early Childhood
Asbury, Kathryn; Wachs, Theodore D.; Plomin, Robert
Intelligence, v33 n6 p643-661 Nov-Dec 2005
The study of genotype-environment interaction (G x E) has been dominated by two competing hypotheses, one that heritability is greater in high-risk environments (diathesis-stress) and the other that heritability is greater in permissive environments. The current study examined relationships between verbal and nonverbal abilities and 10 measured environments, using a sample of 4-year-old same-sex twins (N=4446 children). Significant G x E emerged for verbal ability with three of the environmental indices, all in the direction of the diathesis-stress model (family chaos, instructive parent-child communication and informal parent-child communication). No significant G x E emerged for nonverbal ability. We conclude that G x E exists for verbal ability in early childhood and tends to be in the direction of greater heritability in high-risk environments.
Descriptors: Nonverbal Ability, Young Children, Verbal Ability, Genetics, Heredity, Permissive Environment, Twins, Environmental Influences, Family Influence
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A