Literacy skills seem to fuel literacy enjoyment, rather than vice versa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsje van Bergen ◽  
Sara Ann Hart ◽  
Antti Latvala ◽  
Eero Vuoksimaa ◽  
Asko Tolvanen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Literacy Activities ◽  
Twin Model ◽  
Partial Data ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Direction Of Causation ◽  
Children's Literacy

Children who like to read and write tend to be better at it. This association is typically interpreted as enjoyment impacting engagement in literacy activities, which boosts literacy skills. We fitted direction-of-causation models to partial data of 3,690 Finnish twins aged 12. Literacy skills were rated by the twins’ teachers and literacy enjoyment by the twins themselves. A bivariate twin model showed substantial genetic influences on literacy skills (70%) and literacy enjoyment (35%). In both skills and enjoyment, shared-environmental influences explained about 20% in each. Direction-of-causation modelling showed that skills impacted enjoyment. The influence in the other direction was zero. The genetic influences on skills influenced enjoyment, via the skills--> enjoyment path. This indicates active gene-environment correlation: children with an aptitude for good literacy skills are more likely to seek out literacy activities. To a lesser extent, it was also the shared-environmental influences on children’s skills that propagated to influence children’s literacy enjoyment. Environmental influences that foster children’s literacy skills (e.g., families and schools), also foster children’s love for reading and writing. These findings underline the importance of nurturing children’s literacy skills.

Maternal Writing Support for Kindergartners With Cerebral Palsy and Its Relations to Early Literacy Skills

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori E. Skibbe ◽  
Dorit Aram
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Early Literacy ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Early Literacy Skills ◽  
Literacy Activities ◽  
Children's Writing ◽  
Children's Literacy ◽  
Letter Sound ◽  
Writing Activity

Twenty kindergartners (eight boys) with cerebral palsy (CP) and their mothers engaged in a writing activity that required dyads to compose a grocery list containing four items together. Maternal writing supports were observed, including graphophonemic mediation (i.e., support for letter–sound correspondence) and printing mediation (i.e., guidance on letter choice and form). Mothers described their home literacy practices, and children’s early literacy skills were assessed. Mothers reported engaging in many literacy activities with their children. They also provided variable levels of printing mediation, low levels of graphophonemic mediation, rarely corrected children’s writing errors, and frequently provided physical supports to children during the writing activity. Mothers’ reported literacy activities at home as well the ways in which they helped children choose letters were strongly related to children’s literacy skills. Findings suggest that mothers can bolster their children’s literacy skills through carefully orchestrated writing activities when children have CP.

scholarly journals My Writing: An E-LEA-Based Android Application to Develop Kindergarten Children's Early Literacy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha Christianti ◽  
Rahmatul Irfan ◽  
Nur Cholimah ◽  
Fuad Reza Pahlevi
Keyword(s):  
Early Literacy ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Android Application ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Children And Parents ◽  
Language Experience Approach ◽  
Children's Literacy ◽  
Teacher Opinions ◽  
At Home

My Writing is a tool that preschool children can use to improve their reading and writing skills, which can be used both at school and at home. This tool was developed based on the Language Experience Approach (LEA) and is in the form of an Android application designed for children. It is used to help children understand that the spoken language can be altered into the written one and still retains its meaning. 10 teachers were included in this study and data were collected from teacher opinions and assessments. The findings showed that My Writing is an effective application for developing literacy in young children, and that it is easy to use by children and parents, making it simple for teachers to assess children’s literacy skills while they study at home. Keywords: Language Experience Approach (LEA), Digital LEA, E-LEA, My Writing, early reading and writing

scholarly journals A genetic perspective on the proposed inclusion of cannabis withdrawal in DSM-5

2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (8) ◽  
pp. 1713-1722 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. H. Verweij ◽  
A. Agrawal ◽  
N. O. Nat ◽  
H. E. Creemers ◽  
A. C. Huizink ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
Cannabis Use Disorder ◽  
Cannabis Abuse ◽  
Dsm 5 ◽  
Twin Model ◽  
Cannabis Withdrawal ◽  
Dsm Iv

BackgroundVarious studies support the inclusion of cannabis withdrawal in the diagnosis of cannabis use disorder (CUD) in the upcoming DSM-5. The aims of the current study were to (1) estimate the prevalence of DSM-5 cannabis withdrawal (criterion B), (2) estimate the role of genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in cannabis withdrawal and (3) determine the extent to which genetic and environmental influences on cannabis withdrawal overlap with those on DSM-IV-defined abuse/dependence.MethodThe sample included 2276 lifetime cannabis-using adult Australian twins. Cannabis withdrawal was defined in accordance with criterion B of the proposed DSM-5 revisions. Cannabis abuse/dependence was defined as endorsing one or more DSM-IV criteria of abuse or three or more dependence criteria. The classical twin model was used to estimate the genetic and environmental influences on variation in cannabis withdrawal, along with its covariation with abuse/dependence.ResultsOf all the cannabis users, 11.9% met criteria for cannabis withdrawal. Around 50% of between-individual variation in withdrawal could be attributed to additive genetic variation, and the rest of the variation was mostly due to non-shared environmental influences. Importantly, the genetic influences on cannabis withdrawal almost completely (99%) overlapped with those on abuse/dependence.ConclusionsWe have shown that cannabis withdrawal symptoms exist among cannabis users, and that cannabis withdrawal is moderately heritable. Genetic influences on cannabis withdrawal are the same as those affecting abuse/dependence. These results add to the wealth of literature that recommends the addition of cannabis withdrawal to the diagnosis of DSM-5 CUD.

143 The Shared and Unique Genetic Influences of Pubertal Development and Objective Sleep During Middle Childhood

SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A59-A59
Author(s):  
Emma Lecarie ◽  
Leah Doane ◽  
Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Duration ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Pubertal Development ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Ambulatory Monitoring ◽  
Information Criterion ◽  
Sleep Efficiency ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Twin Model

Abstract Introduction More advanced pubertal development has negative impacts on sleep quality and quantity in adolescents (Foley et al., 2018). Pubertal development and sleep both have high genetic influences, while environmental factors are also evident (Breitenstein et al., 2020; Dick et al., 2001). To elucidate underlying relations between pubertal development and sleep, the present study examined the genetic and environmental influences on the covariation of these health processes using a twin study design. Methods This racially and socioeconomically diverse sample included 596 twin children (Mage=8.41, SD=.69; 51.7% female; 66.3% White; 33.7% Hispanic; 156 monozygotic, 217 same-sex dizygotic, and 179 opposite-sex dizygotic). Children wore wrist-based accelerometers (Motion Logger Micro Watch; Ambulatory Monitoring, Inc, Ardsley, NY USA) on their non-dominant wrist for 7 nights (M= 6.81, SD= .67) to measure their sleep (efficiency, duration). Primary caregivers completed Zygosity Questionnaire for Young Twins (Goldsmith, 1991), as well as the Pubertal Development Scale (Petersen et al., 1988) for each twin, and puberty composite scores for males and females were used (Coleman & Coleman, 2002). Bivariate Cholesky decompositions were fit in OpenMX to estimate genetic and environmental influences on the covariance between pubertal development and sleep (Boker et al., 2011). The -2 log-likelihood chi-square test of fit and the Akaike’s Information Criterion were used to find the most parsimonious solution. Results 261 White (68.9%) and 135 Hispanic (77.1%) participants had initiated puberty. Pubertal development was positively correlated with sleep efficiency (r =.15) and sleep duration (r =.15). Pubertal development, sleep efficiency, and sleep duration were all heritable at 59%, 54%, and 73%, respectively. The AE-A-AE twin model was the best-fitting model for both bivariate models, with additive genetics accounting for 86% and 90% of the shared covariance between pubertal development and sleep efficiency and duration, respectively. Conclusion The genetic association between pubertal development and sleep suggests a third variable influence, and Wang and colleagues (2020) have identified genetic variants that partially explain the association. Future directions include longitudinal analyses across the pubertal transition as environmental demands increase. Support (if any) Supported by the US Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: R01 HD079520 to Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant and Leah Doane.

scholarly journals Parent–child conflict as an etiological moderator of childhood conduct problems: an example of a ‘bioecological’ gene–environment interaction

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 1065-1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. Burt ◽  
K. L. Klump
Keyword(s):  
Conduct Problems ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Child Conduct Problems ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Child Conduct ◽  
Parent Child

BackgroundPrior research has suggested that, consistent with the diathesis–stress model of gene–environment interaction (G × E), parent–child conflict activates genetic influences on antisocial/externalizing behaviors during adolescence. It remains unclear, however, whether this model is also important during childhood, or whether the moderation of child conduct problems by negative/conflictive parenting is better characterized as a bioecological interaction, in which environmental influences are enhanced in the presence of environmental risk whereas genetic influences are expressed most strongly in their absence. The current study sought to distinguish between these possibilities, evaluating how the parent–child relationship moderates the etiology of childhood-onset conduct problems.MethodWe conducted a series of ‘latent G by measured E’ interaction analyses, in which a measured environmental variable was allowed to moderate both genetic and environmental influences on child conduct problems. Participants included 500 child twin pairs from the Michigan State University Twin Registry (MSUTR).ResultsShared environmental influences on conduct problems were found to be several-fold larger in those with high levels of parent–child conflict as compared with those with low levels. Genetic influences, by contrast, were proportionally more influential at lower levels of conflict than at higher levels.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that, although the diathesis–stress form of G × E appears to underlie the relationship between parenting and conduct problems during adolescence, this pattern of moderation does not extend to childhood. Instead, results were more consistent with the bioecological form of G × E which postulates that, in some cases, genetic influences may be most fully manifested in the absence of environmental risk.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Early Development

2021 ◽  
pp. 213-264
Author(s):  
Eric Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Fragile X ◽  
Single Gene ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
Behavioural Genetics ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Psychosocial Adversity

This chapter considers the genetic and environmental influences that may lead to the appearance of neurodevelopmental changes in early life. Behavioural genetics considers similarities between individuals in the light of their degree of biological relatedness, and has established high levels of heritability for several problems. Molecular genetics has therefore progressed to identifying individual genes. Single environmental risk factors can be identified and aggregated into a concept of adversity. Defined chromosome and single-gene changes are described for conditions such as Down and fragile-X. They emphasize the power and the complexity of genetic influences. Most complex psychiatric disorders are the result of large numbers of genes of small effect considered individually, but large effect in interactions with each other and with the environment. Environmental influences are considered in this chapter both from the perspectives of gene–environment correlation and interaction, and as known associations that can be causes. Infections, toxins, and deficiencies are described. Challenges from psychosocial adversity are included, together with their possible modes of action.

Paternal and Maternal Cognitive Engagement and Preschoolers’ Literacy Skills Across Six Ethnic Groups in Suriname

2021 ◽  
pp. 009579842110076
Author(s):  
Elif Dede Yildirim ◽  
Jaipaul L. Roopnarine
Keyword(s):  
Early Literacy ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Cognitive Engagement ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Sociodemographic Predictors ◽  
Multiple Indicator ◽  
Children's Literacy ◽  
Cultural Ecological ◽  
Paternal Engagement

Using propositions in cultural-ecological and maternal and paternal engagement models, this study utilized the 2018 UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys to examine which sociodemographic factors were associated with fathers’ and mothers’ cognitive engagement and the associations between parental and maternal cognitive engagement and preschoolers’ literacy skills in Amerindian, Maroon, Creole, Javanese, Hindustani, and Mixed-ethnic families in Suriname ( N = 1,008). After establishing measurement invariance in constructs across ethnic groups, analyses revealed few consistent sociodemographic predictors of paternal and maternal cognitive engagement. Patterns of associations between paternal and maternal cognitive engagement and children’s literacy skills were not uniform across ethnic groups. Data have implications for understanding mothers’ and fathers’ contributions to children’s early literacy skills development and for developing parenting intervention programs in Suriname.

scholarly journals Genetic Influences on the Covariance and Genetic Correlations in a Bivariate Twin Model: An Application to Well-Being

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lianne P. de Vries ◽  
Toos C. E. M. van Beijsterveldt ◽  
Hermine Maes ◽  
Lucía Colodro-Conde ◽  
Meike Bartels
Keyword(s):  
Complex Traits ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
Phenotypic Correlation ◽  
Twin Model ◽  
Twin Models ◽  
Adolescent Twins ◽  
Depressed Symptoms

AbstractThe distinction between genetic influences on the covariance (or bivariate heritability) and genetic correlations in bivariate twin models is often not well-understood or only one is reported while the results show distinctive information about the relation between traits. We applied bivariate twin models in a large sample of adolescent twins, to disentangle the association between well-being (WB) and four complex traits (optimism, anxious-depressed symptoms (AD), aggressive behaviour (AGG), and educational achievement (EA)). Optimism and AD showed respectively a strong positive and negative phenotypic correlation with WB, the negative correlation of WB and AGG is lower and the correlation with EA is nearly zero. All four traits showed a large genetic contribution to the covariance with well-being. The genetic correlations of well-being with optimism and AD are strong and smaller for AGG and EA. We used the results of the models to explain what information is retrieved based on the bivariate heritability versus the genetic correlations and the (clinical) implications.

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