The present study focussed on a specific type of rare genetic condition: chromosome 14 deletions. Children with this genetic condition often show developmental delays and brain and neurological problems, although the type and severity of symptoms varies depending on the size and location of the deleted genetic material. The specific aim of the…

Although creative achievement is a subject of much attention to lay people, the origin of individual differences in creative accomplishments remain poorly understood. This study examined genetic and environmental influences on creative achievement in an adult sample of 338 twins (mean age = 26.3 years; SD = 6.6 years). Twins completed the Creative…

While social impairment, difficulties with communication, and restricted repetitive behaviors are central features of Autism Spectrum Disorders, physical clumsiness is a commonly co-occurring feature. In a sample of 398 twin pairs (aged 8-17 years) from the Italian Twin Registry we investigated the nature of the co-variation between a psychometric…

The present study was intended to provide perspective, albeit less than unequivocal, on the research of Lynn (2010) who reported higher IQs in the northern than southern Italian regions. He attributes this to northern Italians having a greater genetic similarity to middle Europeans and southern Italians to Mediterranean people. Higher regional IQ…

Although dyslexia runs in families, several putative risk factors that cannot be immediately identified as genetic predict reading disability. Published studies analyzed one or a few risk factors at a time, with relatively inconsistent results. To assess the contribution of several putative risk factors to the development of dyslexia, we conducted…

Criticisms advanced by Felice and Giugliano (2011) of the thesis that IQs in Italy are higher in the north than in the south are answered and new data confirming the thesis are given from the PISA 2009 study and for math and reading abilities in the recent INVALSI study. New genetic data are given showing higher frequency of blond hair the…

Recent results of international assessment programs (e.g., PISA) have shown a large difference in high school students' performance between northern and southern Italy. On this basis, it has been argued that the discrepancy reflects differences in average intelligence of the inhabitants of regions and is associated with genetic factors ( and ).…

Regional differences in IQ are presented for 12 regions of Italy showing that IQs are highest in the north and lowest in the south. Regional IQs obtained in 2006 are highly correlated with average incomes at r = 0.937, and with stature, infant mortality, literacy and education. The lower IQ in southern Italy may be attributable to genetic…

The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) has been used to define the "broader" (BAP), "medium" (MAP) and "narrow" autism phenotypes (NAP). We used a new Italian version of the AQ to test if difference on AQ scores and the distribution of BAP, MAP and NAP in autism parents (n = 245) versus control parents (n = 300) were…

In his article "In Italy, North-South differences in IQ predict differences in income, education, infant mortality, stature, and literacy," Richard Lynn claims to have found the reason causing the divergence between the Northern and the Southern regions of Italy. This article identifies the four main hypotheses formulated in his paper…

Background: Both genetic and psychosocial risk factors influence the risk for depression in development. While the impacts of family structure and of serotonergic polymorphisms upon individual differences for affective problems have been investigated separately, they have never been considered together in a gene-environment interplay perspective.…

When a self-report instrument includes a balanced number of positively and negatively worded items, factor analysts often use method effect factors to aid model fitting. One of the most widely investigated sources of method effects stems from the respondent tendencies to agree with an item regardless of its content. The nature of these effects,…

The study aimed at exploring the effectiveness of cognitive intervention with the new "Instrumental Enrichment Basic" program (IE-basic), based on Feuerstein's theory of structural cognitive modifiability that contends that a child's cognitive functioning can be significantly modified through mediated learning intervention. The IE-basic…

This article is divided into two parts: in the first one, after mentioning episodes of violence against immigrants, the author discusses the issues of "race" and racism within the debate on immigration and diversity taking place in Italy. Pointing out a number of relevant indications and reflections that qualify such debate, she argues…

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are more frequently associated with tic disorders than expected by chance. Variable rates of comorbidity have been reported and common genetic and neurobiological factors are probably involved. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of tic disorders in a clinical sample (n = 105) of children and…