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Background: The effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on the etiology of reading attainment has been explored many times, with past work often finding that genetic influences are suppressed under conditions of socioeconomic deprivation and more fully realized under conditions of socioeconomic advantage: a gene-SES interaction. Additionally, past work has pointed towards the presence of gene-location interactions, with the relative influence of genes and environment varying across geographic regions of the same country/state. Method: This study investigates how socioeconomic status (SES) and geographical location interact to influence the genetic and environmental components of reading attainment. Utilizing data from 2,135 twin pairs in Florida, aged between 10.71-17.77 years, the study operationalized reading attainment as reading comprehension scores from a statewide test and SES as household income. We applied a spatial twin analysis procedure to investigate how twin genetic and environmental estimates vary by geographic location. We then expanded this analysis to explore how the moderating role of SES on said genetic and environmental influences also varied by geographic location. Results:. A gene-SES interaction was found, with heritability of reading being suppressed in lower (23%) versus higher SES homes (78%). The magnitude of the moderating parameters were not consistent by location however, and ranged from -0.10 to 0.10 for the moderating effect on genetic influences, and from -0.30 to 0.05 for the moderating effect on environmental influences. For smaller areas and those with less socioeconomic variability, the magnitude of the genetic moderating parameter was high, giving rise to more fully realized genetic influences on reading there. Conclusions: SES significantly influences reading variability. However, a child’s home location matters in both the overall etiology and how strongly SES moderates said etiologies. These results point towards the presence of multiple significant environmental factors that simultaneously, and inseparably, influence the underlying etiology of reading attainment.

Encouraging children to read extensively has been a widely recommended approach to developing reading. The National Reading Panel published a review study reporting inconclusive findings regarding ...

Reading competence is one of the main gateways to learning and serves as the foundation for nearly all academic subjects, but reading is not a natural skill. For beginning and struggling readers, t...

Research on the question of creative benefit accompanying dyslexia has produced conflicting findings. In this meta-analysis, we determined summary effects of mean and variance differences in creativity between groups with and without dyslexia. Twenty studies were included ( n = 770 individuals with dyslexia, n = 1,671 controls). A random-effects robust variance estimation (RVE) analysis indicated no mean ( g = −0.02, p = .84) or variance ( g = −0.0004, p = .99) differences in creativity between groups. The mean summary effect was moderated by age, gender, and creativity domain. Compared with adolescents, adults with dyslexia showed an advantage over nondyslexic adults in creativity. In addition, a higher proportion of males in the dyslexia group was associated with poorer performance compared with the controls. Finally, the dyslexia group showed a significant performance disadvantage in verbal versus figural creativity. Regarding variance differences, they varied across age and creativity domains. Compared with adults, adolescents showed smaller variability in the dyslexia group. If the creativity task measured verbal versus figural or combined creativity, the dyslexia group exhibited smaller variability. Altogether, our results suggest that individuals with dyslexia as a group are no more creative or show greater variability in creativity than peers without dyslexia.

Behavioral research supports the efficacy of intervention for reading disability, but the brain mechanisms underlying improvement in reading are not well understood. Here, we review 39 neuroimaging studies of reading intervention to characterize links between reading improvement and changes in the brain. We report evidence of changes in activation, connectivity, and structure within the reading network, and right hemisphere, frontal and sub-cortical regions. Our meta-analysis of changes in brain activation from pre- to post- reading intervention in eight studies did not yield any significant effects. Methodological heterogeneity among studies may contribute to the lack of significant meta-analytic findings. Based on our qualitative synthesis, we propose that brain changes in response to intervention should be considered in terms of interactions among distributed cognitive, linguistic and sensory systems, rather than via a “normalized” vs. “compensatory” dichotomy. Further empirical research is needed to identify effects of moderating factors such as features of intervention programs, neuroimaging tasks, and individual differences among participants.

Reading and math attainment develop during elementary grades. Questions remain, though, about the co-developmental nature of the relation between reading and math. This study examined dynamic, longitudinal pathways between reading and math in first through fourth grades. Participants of the study were 554 academically at-risk children (M(age) at the first assessment point = 6.57 years; SD = 0.38) from Texas Project Achieve. Children were assessed utilizing the Woodcock-Johnson-III reading and math measures. Results from dynamic bivariate latent change score models indicated unidirectional longitudinal coupling effects from reading to math. Specifically, average and high levels of reading performance were associated with subsequent gains in math growth, in particular for below average performing children in math. In contrast, low levels of reading performance had negligible or no amplifying influences on change in math growth. The nature of the dynamics was replicated even when controlling for nonverbal cognitive abilities. Results demonstrated that good reading skills pave the way for children to develop their math skills. Such findings underscore the importance of considering reading performance in treating math difficulties.

According to the Multiple Deficit Model, comorbidity results when the genetic and environmental risk factors that increase the liability for a disorder are domain-general. In order to explore the role of domain-general etiological risk factors in the co-occurrence of learning-related difficulties, the current meta-analysis compiled 38 studies of third through ninth-grade children to estimate the average genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental correlations between reading and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, and reading and math, as well as their potential moderators. Results revealed average genetic, shared and nonshared environmental correlations between reading and ADHD symptoms of .42, .64, and .20, and reading and math of .71, .90, and .56, suggesting that reading and math may have more domain-general risk factors than reading and ADHD symptoms. A number of significant sources of heterogeneity were also found and discussed. These results have important implications for both intervention and classification of learning disabilities.

An estimated 700 million people learn how to read in English as a foreign language (EFL). This highlights the need to better understand the components influencing EFL reading. We tested to what degree EFL decoding and linguistic comprehension influenced EFL reading comprehension within the realm of three variants of the Simple View of Reading (SVR) model – the multiplicative, the additive, and the combined variants. Moreover, we estimated the extent to which first language reading contributed to EFL reading comprehension over and above EFL components. Participants were 690 Slovenian seventh graders (Mage = 12.76 years; SD = 0.43). Utilizing a latent interaction model, results supported the SVR additive variant. EFL decoding was a stronger contributor than EFL linguistic comprehension. First language reading did not seem to influence EFL reading comprehension. Our findings suggest that EFL instruction should focus on practicing EFL decoding and linguistic comprehension independently.

A fairly recent definition of reading disability (RD) is that in the form of a hybrid model. The model views RD as a latent construct that is manifested through various observable unexpected impairments in reading related skills and through inadequate response to intervention. The current report evaluated this new conceptualization of RD from an etiological perspective. The sample consisted of 2737 twin pairs in first through fourth grade (Mage = 8.52) from the Florida Twin Project on Reading. Using twin analyses, results showed that a substantial proportion of genetic variance, a small proportion of shared environmental, and a small proportion of non-shared environmental variance was attributed to the RD factor. Findings suggest that the etiological architecture of RD closely mirrors the structure of the hybrid model of RD.

The present study investigated the etiology of longitudinal relations among kindergarten pre-reading skills, first grade word level reading skills, and seventh grade reading comprehension in 265 monozygotic and 459 dizygotic twin pairs (M(age) = 6.29 years in kindergarten) from the Florida Twin Project on Reading. Using a quadvariate Cholesky decomposition, results showed genetic, shared, and non-shared environmental overlap between pre-reading skills, word level reading skills, and reading comprehension. In addition, genetic and shared environmental overlap was indicated among word level reading skills and reading comprehension, outside the influence of pre-reading skills. After accounting for overlapping, there remained moderate genetic and non-shared environmental influence specific to reading comprehension. Implications for reading education are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to test the directionality of influence between reading comprehension and print exposure, thereby estimating genetic and environmental effects of this relation. The sample consisted of 910 twins in fourth through ninth grades (M age = 12.33 years, SD = 1.41) from the Florida Twin Project on Reading, Behavior, and Environment. Using direction-of-causation model in a twin design, results supported a direction of influence running from reading comprehension to print exposure. This relation was underpinned by genetic and environmental factors of reading comprehension as well as print exposure. Implications for reading education are discussed.

The Cholesky decomposition method is the gold standard used in the field of behavioral genetics. The method is popular because it is easy to program and solve. Using this method, researchers can explore individual differences in longitudinal relations of different variables across multiple time points. The method allows investigators to decompose variance into (1) unique genetic, shared and non-shared environmental effects that arise at specific time points as well as (2) overlapping genetic, shared and non-shared environmental effects that carry over from one time point to another. However, the method does not identify the mechanisms or origins underlying these effects. The current report focuses on application of the Cholesky decomposition method in the field of educational psychology. Specifically, it discusses individual differences in longitudinal relations between kindergarten letter knowledge, kindergarten phonological awareness, first grade word-level reading skills, and seventh grade reading comprehension.

BACKGROUND. Reading is important for children’s success in school and beyond yet many adolescents fail to reach expected levels of proficiency. This highlights the need to better understand the factors that influence reading effectiveness over time, including genes and environment. Greater expression of genetic influence on first and second grade reading fluency has been observed in higher quality classroom reading environments. To what degree this early environment continues to influence genetic and other environmental influences on later reading is unknown and was tested in this study. METHODS. The quality of the early classroom reading environment was approximated by gains in oral reading fluency (ORF) across the school year among first- or second-grade classmates of 546 MZ and 1,016 DZ twin children (mean age = 7.13 years; SD = 0.45) who had reading comprehension scores from a state-wide mandatory test in school year 2013–14 when most twin pairs were in seventh to tenth grade (mean age = 14.41; SD = 1.13) in a variable called Class ORF Gain. Biometrical models were fit to the data to assess whether Class ORF Gain moderated the genetic, shared environmental, and/or non-shared environmental variance associated with adolescent reading comprehension. RESULTS. Class ORF Gain moderated shared environmental influences on reading comprehension 6–9 years later. When early classroom reading gains were poor, variability in reading comprehension in adolescence was high and was associated largely with shared environmental influences. When early classroom reading gains were good, overall and shared environmentally influenced variability in adolescent reading comprehension was lower so that genetic influences were most relevant in explaining that variability. CONCLUSIONS. Our findings suggested that classroom reading environment experienced when children were learning to read had a lasting influence on the factors underlying variability in later reading effectiveness.

A risk to develop a learning disability has been shown to run in families. Having a positive family history of learning disability seems to account for mean differences in achievement outcomes (reading, math) in that children with a positive family history score significantly lower compared to their peers with no such family history. However, the role of family history status in explaining etiological (genetic and environmental) differences among these subgroups of children has yet to be established. The present study of 872 twins ( Mage = 13.30, SDage = 1.40) from the Florida Twin Project on Reading, Behavior, and Environment utilized a multigroup approach to examine etiological differences on reading, spelling, and math among two subgroups defined by family history status. Results showed significant mean differences on all achievement outcomes, aside from math; however, no significant etiological differences on any achievement outcome were found among the two subgroups. Results support previous literature that the risk for developing a learning disability is transmitted through a family, but this is seemingly not manifested by differential etiology.

Researchers have identified sources of individual differences in writing across beginning and developing writers. The aim of the present study was to further clarify the sources of this variability by investigating the extent to which there are differences in genetic and environmental factors underlying the associations between lexical diversity, syntactic knowledge, and semantic cohesion knowledge in relation to writing. Differences were examined across two developmental phases of writing: beginning (i.e., elementary school) and developing (i.e., middle school). Participants included 262 twin pairs ( M age = 10.88 years) in elementary school and 247 twin pairs ( M age = 13.21 years) in middle school. Twins were drawn from the Florida Twin Project on Reading, Behavior, and Environment. Biometric models were conducted separately for subgroups defined by phase of writing development. Results indicated significant etiological differences in writing components across the two phases, such that effects associated with genes and non-shared environment were greater while effects associated with shared environment were lower in developing writers as compared to beginning writers. Furthermore, results showed that child-specific environment was the largest contributor to individual differences in writing components and their covariation for both beginning and developing writers. These results imply that even direct instruction about writing in schools may be having different effects on children based on their unique experiences.

CEPS Journal 2 (2012) 3, S. 119-139, This study examined the difference between less-skilled and skilled L1 Slovene English as foreign language (EFL) students in foreign language (L2) fluency and L2 orthographic skills; 93 less-skilled Grade 7 L1 Slovene students and 102 skilled Grade 7 L1 Slovene students participated in the study. The results showed that skilled readers performed better in all fluency and orthographic skills tasks, as the differences between groups were statistically significant. The correlations among all variables showed that L2 fluency and L2 orthographic skills are positively interrelated among both groups, suggesting that higher L2 fluency scores are associated with higher L2 orthography scores. This outcome implies that less-skilled readers need to be greatly exposed to L2 language and be ensured necessary opportunities in- or outside the classroom in L2 learning. (DIPF/Orig.)