1
|
Pezzoli P, Pingault JB, Malanchini M, Voronin I, McCrory E, Fearon P, Viding E. Reciprocal Effects Between Negative Parenting and Children's Callous-Unemotional Traits From Mid to Late Childhood. Am J Psychiatry 2024; 181:310-321. [PMID: 38476045 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20230208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The role of negative parenting in the development of callous-unemotional (CU) traits remains unclear. Both negative parenting and CU traits are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. The authors used genetically informed longitudinal cross-lagged models to examine the extent to which reciprocal effects between negative parenting and children's CU traits in mid-to-late childhood are genetic versus environmental in origin. METHODS In 9,260 twin pairs from the Twins Early Development Study, the authors estimated cross-lagged effects between negative parenting (discipline and feelings) and children's CU traits in mid (ages 7-9) and late (ages 9-12) childhood. RESULTS CU traits were strongly heritable and stable. Stability was explained largely by genetic factors. The influence of negative parenting on the development of CU traits was small and driven mostly by genetic and shared environmental factors. In mid childhood, the influence of children's CU traits on subsequent negative parenting (i.e., evoked by children's CU traits) was also small and mostly genetic in origin. In late childhood, CU traits showed no effects on negative parental discipline and small effects on negative parental feelings, which reflected mostly shared environmental factors. CONCLUSIONS In mid-to-late childhood, genetic factors strongly influenced the development of CU traits, whereas environmental effects of negative parenting were small. Negative parenting was also relatively unaffected by CU traits. The small reciprocal effects originated mostly from genetic and shared environmental factors. Therefore, repeated intensive interventions addressing multiple risk factors rather than negative parenting alone may be best positioned to support families of children with CU traits across development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patrizia Pezzoli
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London (Pezzoli, Pingault, McCrory, Fearon, Viding); Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London (Pingault, Malanchini); School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London (Malanchini); École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec (Voronin); Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K. (Fearon)
| | - Jean-Baptiste Pingault
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London (Pezzoli, Pingault, McCrory, Fearon, Viding); Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London (Pingault, Malanchini); School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London (Malanchini); École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec (Voronin); Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K. (Fearon)
| | - Margherita Malanchini
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London (Pezzoli, Pingault, McCrory, Fearon, Viding); Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London (Pingault, Malanchini); School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London (Malanchini); École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec (Voronin); Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K. (Fearon)
| | - Ivan Voronin
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London (Pezzoli, Pingault, McCrory, Fearon, Viding); Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London (Pingault, Malanchini); School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London (Malanchini); École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec (Voronin); Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K. (Fearon)
| | - Eamon McCrory
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London (Pezzoli, Pingault, McCrory, Fearon, Viding); Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London (Pingault, Malanchini); School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London (Malanchini); École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec (Voronin); Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K. (Fearon)
| | - Pasco Fearon
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London (Pezzoli, Pingault, McCrory, Fearon, Viding); Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London (Pingault, Malanchini); School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London (Malanchini); École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec (Voronin); Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K. (Fearon)
| | - Essi Viding
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London (Pezzoli, Pingault, McCrory, Fearon, Viding); Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London (Pingault, Malanchini); School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London (Malanchini); École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec (Voronin); Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K. (Fearon)
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Kevenaar ST, van Bergen E, Oldehinkel AJ, Boomsma DI, Dolan CV. The relationship of school performance with self-control and grit is strongly genetic and weakly causal. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2023; 8:53. [PMID: 38049407 PMCID: PMC10696063 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-023-00198-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
The non-cognitive skills self-control and grit are often considered predictors of school performance, but whether this relationship is causal remains unclear. We investigated the causality of this association using a twin design. Specifically, we evaluated the direct impact of self-control and grit on school performance, while controlling for genetic or environmental influences common to all three traits (i.e., confounding). Teachers of 4891 Dutch 12-year-old twin pairs (of which 3837 were complete pairs) completed a survey about school performance (school grades), self-control (ASEBA self-control scale), and the perseverance aspect of grit. Our analysis aimed to determine the direct impact of self-control and grit on school performance, while simultaneously controlling for genetic or environmental confounding. Establishing the regression relationship corrected for confounding supports the interpretation of the regression relationship as causal. In all analyses, we corrected for sex, rater bias of the teachers, and parental socioeconomic status. Initially, in the standard regression, self-control, and grit explained 28.4% of the school performance variance. However, allowing for genetic confounding (due to genetic pleiotropy) revealed that most of this association could be attributed to genetic influences that the three traits share. In the presence of genetic pleiotropy, the phenotypic regression of school performance on self-control and grit accounted for only 4.4% (i.e., the effect size association with the causal hypothesis). In conclusion, self-control and grit predict school performance primarily due to genetic pleiotropy, with a much smaller causal effect (R2 = 4.4%). This suggests that interventions targeting self-control and grit alone may yield limited improvements in school performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sofieke T Kevenaar
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Research Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Elsje van Bergen
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Research Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Albertine J Oldehinkel
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Dorret I Boomsma
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Reproduction and Development Research Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Conor V Dolan
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Malanchini M, Allegrini AG, Nivard MG, Biroli P, Rimfeld K, Cheesman R, von Stumm S, Demange PA, van Bergen E, Grotzinger AD, Raffington L, De la Fuente J, Pingault JB, Harden KP, Tucker-Drob EM, Plomin R. Genetic contributions of noncognitive skills to academic development. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.03.535380. [PMID: 37066409 PMCID: PMC10103958 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.03.535380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Noncognitive skills such as motivation and self-regulation, are partly heritable and predict academic achievement beyond cognitive skills. However, how the relationship between noncognitive skills and academic achievement changes over development is unclear. The current study examined how cognitive and noncognitive skills contribute to academic achievement from ages 7 to 16 in a sample of over 10,000 children from England and Wales. Noncognitive skills were increasingly predictive of academic achievement across development. Twin and polygenic scores analyses found that the contribution of noncognitive genetics to academic achievement became stronger over the school years. Results from within-family analyses indicated that associations with noncognitive genetics could not simply be attributed to confounding by environmental differences between nuclear families and are consistent with a possible role for evocative/active gene-environment correlations. By studying genetic effects through a developmental lens, we provide novel insights into the role of noncognitive skills in academic development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Margherita Malanchini
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King’s College London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea G. Allegrini
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King’s College London, United Kingdom
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom
| | - Michel G. Nivard
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Pietro Biroli
- Department of Economics, Universita’ di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Kaili Rimfeld
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King’s College London, United Kingdom
- Royal Holloway University of London, United Kingdom
| | - Rosa Cheesman
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Perline A. Demange
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Research Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Mental Health, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Elsje van Bergen
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Research Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Mental Health, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Andrew D. Grotzinger
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, United States
| | - Laurel Raffington
- Max Planck Research Group Biosocial – Biology, Social Disparities, and Development; Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Jean-Baptiste Pingault
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom
| | - K. Paige Harden
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, United States
| | | | - Robert Plomin
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King’s College London, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
van Bergen E, Hart SA, Latvala A, Vuoksimaa E, Tolvanen A, Torppa M. Literacy skills seem to fuel literacy enjoyment, rather than vice versa. Dev Sci 2023; 26:e13325. [PMID: 36101942 PMCID: PMC10008752 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
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 3690 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. The best-fitting direction-of-causation model showed that skills impacted enjoyment, while the influence in the other direction was zero. The genetic influences on skills influenced enjoyment, likely via the skills→enjoyment path. This indicates an active gene-environment correlation: children with an aptitude for good literacy skills are more likely to enjoy reading and 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. HIGHLIGHTS: It's known that how much children enjoy reading and writing and how good they are at it correlates ∼0.30, but causality remains unknown. We tested the direction of causation in 3690 twins aged 12. Literacy skills impacted literacy enjoyment, but not the other way around. Genetics influence children's literacy skills and how much they like and choose to read and write, indicating genetic niche picking.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elsje van Bergen
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Research Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sara A. Hart
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, USA
- Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, USA
| | - Antti Latvala
- Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Eero Vuoksimaa
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Asko Tolvanen
- Methodology Center for Human Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Minna Torppa
- Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Sigmundsson H, Ingebrigtsen JE, Dybendal BH. Well-Being and Perceived Competence in School Children from 1 to 9 Class. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:2116. [PMID: 36767483 PMCID: PMC9915191 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20032116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Motivational aspects in reading, math, science and physical education are often studied on whole samples and not grouped into different classes. In our study we wish to investigate cross-sectional data across classes. Our research question wishes to investigate what class differences are there in school subject-based well-being and perceived competence? A total of 378 Icelandic pupils in classes 1-9 did answer a survey with nine items, focusing on how are you feeling at school, how do you like and how are you doing in reading, math, science and physical education. There were 163 girls (43%), and 202 boys (53%) ranging from 6 to 15 years of age (M = 10.86, SD = 2.57). The findings, for the whole sample, indicate that girls tend to like reading more than boys do. Additionally, girls feel that they are better in science compared to boys, while boys like physical education more than girls. In terms of classes, multiple items, including reading, math and science, indicated class differences, where higher classes (i.e., eighth and ninth class) tend to have lower average scores in how much they liked a certain topic, and how competent they felt. It is also of great interest that the correlation between 'how do you like' and 'how are you doing' are 0.53, 0.71, 0.66 and 0.66 for reading, math, science and physical activity, respectively. Well-being and perceived competence in all subjects correlate with each other, and well-being at school. This shows the importance of seeing the school as a holistic system, where experiences related to individual subjects coincide with the overall experience (and vice versa). The results are discussed in relation to self-perception, motivation and practice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hermundur Sigmundsson
- Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
- Research Center for Education and Mindset, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Jan E. Ingebrigtsen
- Department of Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Benjamin H. Dybendal
- Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Starr A, Riemann R. Common genetic and environmental effects on cognitive ability, conscientiousness, self-perceived abilities, and school performance. INTELLIGENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2022.101664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
|
7
|
Vogt RL, Zheng A, Briley DA, Malanchini M, Harden KP, Tucker-Drob EM. Genetic and Environmental Factors of Non-Ability-Based Confidence. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE 2022; 13:734-746. [PMID: 39006758 PMCID: PMC11244733 DOI: 10.1177/19485506211036610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
Non-ability-based confidence is confidence in one's ability that is not calibrated to actual ability. Here, we examine what psychological factors are associated with possessing more or less confidence relative to one's ability and to what extent genetic and environmental processes contribute to these links. Using data from the Texas Twin Project (N = 1,588 participants, aged 7-15 years), we apply a latent variable residual approach to calculate non-ability-based confidence as self-rated confidence net of ability on standardized cognitive tests. Non-ability-based confidence was modestly heritable (9%-28%) and strongly positively correlated with the need for cognition, mastery goal orientation, grit, openness, and emotional stability. These correlations were partly mediated by genetic factors (57% of the association on average). This widespread pattern of associations between non-ability-based confidence and several other measures of thinking, feeling, and acting suggest that non-ability-based confidence can be conceptualized as a personality attribute.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Anqing Zheng
- University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, IL, USA
| | | | | | - K. Paige Harden
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Elliot M. Tucker-Drob
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Supper W, Guay F, Talbot D. The Relation Between Television Viewing Time and Reading Achievement in Elementary School Children: A Test of Substitution and Inhibition Hypotheses. Front Psychol 2021; 12:580763. [PMID: 34733194 PMCID: PMC8558249 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.580763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Research has focused on the relations between television (TV) viewing time and children’s reading achievement. Two hypotheses have been proposed to explain this relation. The substitution hypothesis proposes that TV viewing distracts students from activities that are important for their learning. The inhibition hypothesis proposes that watching television inhibits important affective/cognitive skills. In this study, we test both hypotheses by estimating the relation between TV viewing time and reading achievement. We use the frequency of students’ leisure reading and the frequency of interactions between students and their parents as potential mediators to test the substitution hypothesis, whereas for the inhibition one, we use students’ intrinsic motivation to read and their level of inattention. Data come from the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD). Designed by the Institut de la statistique du Québec, QLSCD covers a wide range of themes. The QLSCD is representative of children in Québec and contains 2223 participants who were followed from 0 to 21 years old. The four structural models tested are built as follows: the TV viewing time at 6 years old predicts the four mediating variables at 8 years old, which in turn predicts reading achievement at 10 years old. In addition, we have tested models’ gender invariance. Results indicate that TV viewing time is not directly or indirectly associated with reading achievement. Specifically, it is not associated with the mediating variables of child-parent interactions, intrinsic motivation, and inattention. However, the frequency of leisure reading is negatively associated with the time spent watching TV. This association is very small (−0.07) and has no indirect effect on reading achievement. Finally, results do not vary according to the gender of the participants. Our results are in line with those of previous studies in the field and cast some doubts on the potential negative effects of TV viewing time on reading achievement.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wilfried Supper
- Département des fondements et pratiques en éducation, Faculté des sciences de l'éducation, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada
| | - Frédéric Guay
- Département des fondements et pratiques en éducation, Faculté des sciences de l'éducation, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada
| | - Denis Talbot
- Département de médecine sociale et préventive, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
McAdams TA, Rijsdijk FV, Zavos HMS, Pingault JB. Twins and Causal Inference: Leveraging Nature's Experiment. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2021; 11:a039552. [PMID: 32900702 PMCID: PMC8168524 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a039552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
In this review, we discuss how samples comprising monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs can be used for the purpose of strengthening causal inference by controlling for shared influences on exposure and outcome. We begin by briefly introducing how twin data can be used to inform the biometric decomposition of population variance into genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental influences. We then discuss how extensions to this model can be used to explore whether associations between exposure and outcome survive correction for shared etiology (common causes). We review several analytical approaches that can be applied to twin data for this purpose. These include multivariate structural equation models, cotwin control methods, direction of causation models (cross-sectional and longitudinal), and extended family designs used to assess intergenerational associations. We conclude by highlighting some of the limitations and considerations that researchers should be aware of when using twin data for the purposes of interrogating causal hypotheses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tom A McAdams
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom
- Promenta Research Centre, University of Oslo, Oslo 0373, Norway
| | - Fruhling V Rijsdijk
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom
| | - Helena M S Zavos
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom
| | - Jean-Baptiste Pingault
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom
- Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Toivainen T, Madrid-Valero JJ, Chapman R, McMillan A, Oliver BR, Kovas Y. Creative expressiveness in childhood writing predicts educational achievement beyond motivation and intelligence: A longitudinal, genetically informed study. THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021; 91:1395-1413. [PMID: 34002376 DOI: 10.1111/bjep.12423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Revised: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Creativity is linked with educationally relevant constructs such as achievement, intelligence, and motivation. However, very few studies have explored longitudinal links between the constructs or the aetiology of individual differences in childhood creativity. AIMS The study addresses the gap in the literature of developmental studies on the relationship of creativity with other educationally relevant measures. Additionally, the present study is the first adequately powered genetically informative analysis of childhood creativity. SAMPLE(S) The present study utilized data from 1,306 twins, a subsample from a longitudinal, representative twin sample in the UK. METHODS Creativity was operationalised as a Creative Expressiveness score, using the Consensual Assessment Technique on stories written by 9-year-olds. Intelligence and writing motivation were assessed at age 9. Academic achievement was collected at ages 9, 12, and 16. RESULTS Creative Expressiveness was associated with intelligence and motivation, all measured at age 9. It also predicted variance in English grades at ages 9 and 16. The associations were weak, but significant, over and above intelligence, motivation, and earlier English grades. The variance in Creative Expressiveness was explained by genetic (35%), shared environmental (21%), and non-shared environmental (45%) influences. The phenotypic correlations with other study variables were mainly mediated genetically. CONCLUSIONS The results provide information that can be used for planning educational content. First, creativity can be detected in childhood writing. Second, childhood creativity may be overlooked in early educational assessments. Third, the results from the genetic analyses are important indications on the role of environments in the development of creativity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Teemu Toivainen
- Goldsmiths, Department of Psychology, University of London, UK.,The International Centre for Research in Human Development, Tomsk State University, Russia
| | - Juan J Madrid-Valero
- Department of Health Psychology, Faculty of Health Science, University of Alicante, Spain
| | - Robert Chapman
- Goldsmiths, Department of Psychology, University of London, UK
| | - Andrew McMillan
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Bonamy R Oliver
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, UCL Institute of Education, UK
| | - Yulia Kovas
- Goldsmiths, Department of Psychology, University of London, UK.,The International Centre for Research in Human Development, Tomsk State University, Russia.,Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.,Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
An Z, Wang C, Li S, Gan Z, Li H. Technology-Assisted Self-Regulated English Language Learning: Associations With English Language Self-Efficacy, English Enjoyment, and Learning Outcomes. Front Psychol 2021; 11:558466. [PMID: 33469433 PMCID: PMC7813996 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.558466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigated Chinese university students’ technology-assisted self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies and whether the technology-based SRL strategies mediated the associations between English language self-efficacy, English enjoyment, and learning outcomes. Data were collected from 525 undergraduate students in mainland China through three self-report questionnaires and the performance on an English language proficiency test. While students reported an overall moderate level of SRL strategies, they reported a high level of technology-based vocabulary learning strategies. A statistically significant positive relationship was noted between the use of technology-based SRL strategies and students’ English learning outcomes. English language self-efficacy and English language enjoyment were both related to technology-based SRL strategies. Furthermore, SRL strategies fully mediated the relationship between English enjoyment and English learning outcomes, but the association between English enjoyment and SRL strategies was only partially mediated by English language self-efficacy. Pedagogically, findings of this study suggest that training and instruction aimed at promotion of modern educational technology among students need to give attention to developing their strategic awareness of motivation regulation in optimizing effectiveness of their technology use in learning the target language.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Siying Li
- Chongqing University of Education, Chongqing, China
| | | | - Hong Li
- University of Macau, Taipa, China
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Demange PA, Malanchini M, Mallard TT, Biroli P, Cox SR, Grotzinger AD, Tucker-Drob EM, Abdellaoui A, Arseneault L, van Bergen E, Boomsma DI, Caspi A, Corcoran DL, Domingue BW, Harris KM, Ip HF, Mitchell C, Moffitt TE, Poulton R, Prinz JA, Sugden K, Wertz J, Williams BS, de Zeeuw EL, Belsky DW, Harden KP, Nivard MG. Investigating the genetic architecture of noncognitive skills using GWAS-by-subtraction. Nat Genet 2021; 53:35-44. [PMID: 33414549 PMCID: PMC7116735 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-020-00754-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Little is known about the genetic architecture of traits affecting educational attainment other than cognitive ability. We used genomic structural equation modeling and prior genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of educational attainment (n = 1,131,881) and cognitive test performance (n = 257,841) to estimate SNP associations with educational attainment variation that is independent of cognitive ability. We identified 157 genome-wide-significant loci and a polygenic architecture accounting for 57% of genetic variance in educational attainment. Noncognitive genetics were enriched in the same brain tissues and cell types as cognitive performance, but showed different associations with gray-matter brain volumes. Noncognitive genetics were further distinguished by associations with personality traits, less risky behavior and increased risk for certain psychiatric disorders. For socioeconomic success and longevity, noncognitive and cognitive-performance genetics demonstrated associations of similar magnitude. By conducting a GWAS of a phenotype that was not directly measured, we offer a view of genetic architecture of noncognitive skills influencing educational success.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Perline A Demange
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Research Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Margherita Malanchini
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatric Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Travis T Mallard
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Pietro Biroli
- Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Simon R Cox
- Lothian Birth Cohorts group, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Elliot M Tucker-Drob
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Abdel Abdellaoui
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Louise Arseneault
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatric Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Elsje van Bergen
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Research Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Dorret I Boomsma
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Avshalom Caspi
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatric Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
- Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - David L Corcoran
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Benjamin W Domingue
- Stanford Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Kathleen Mullan Harris
- Department of Sociology and Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Hill F Ip
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Colter Mitchell
- Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Terrie E Moffitt
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatric Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
- Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Richie Poulton
- Department of Psychology and Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Joseph A Prinz
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Karen Sugden
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Jasmin Wertz
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Eveline L de Zeeuw
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Research Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Daniel W Belsky
- Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
- Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - K Paige Harden
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
| | - Michel G Nivard
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
The heritability of reading and reading-related neurocognitive components: A multi-level meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 121:175-200. [PMID: 33246020 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Revised: 11/13/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Reading ability is a complex task requiring the integration of multiple cognitive and perceptual systems supporting language, visual and orthographic processes, working memory, attention, motor movements, and higher-level comprehension and cognition. Estimates of genetic and environmental influences for some of these reading-related neurocognitive components vary across reports. By using a multi-level meta-analysis approach, we synthesized the results of behavioral genetic research on reading-related neurocognitive components (i.e. general reading, letter-word knowledge, phonological decoding, reading comprehension, spelling, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and language) of 49 twin studies spanning 4.1-18.5 years of age, with a total sample size of more than 38,000 individuals. Except for language for which shared environment seems to play a more important role, the causal architecture across most of the reading-related neurocognitive components can be represented by the following equation a² > e² > c². Moderators analysis revealed that sex and spoken language did not affect the heritability of any reading-related skills; school grade levels moderated the heritability of general reading, reading comprehension and phonological awareness.
Collapse
|
14
|
Krebs G, Hannigan L, Gregory A, Rijsdijk F, Eley T. Reciprocal links between anxiety sensitivity and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in youth: a longitudinal twin study. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2020; 61:979-987. [PMID: 31950513 PMCID: PMC7497024 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anxiety sensitivity, the tendency to fear the symptoms of anxiety, is a key risk factor for the development anxiety disorders. Although obsessive-compulsive disorder was previously classified as an anxiety disorder, the prospective relationship between anxiety sensitivity and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) has been largely overlooked. Furthermore, a lack of genetically informative studies means the aetiology of the link between anxiety sensitivity and OCS remains unclear. METHODS Adolescent twins and siblings (N = 1,579) from the G1219 study completed self-report questionnaires two years apart assessing anxiety sensitivity, OCS, anxiety and depression. Linear regression models tested prospective associations between anxiety sensitivity and OCS, with and without adjustment for anxiety and depressive symptoms. A phenotypic cross-lagged model assessed bidirectional influences between anxiety sensitivity and OCS over time, and a genetic version of this model examined the aetiology of these associations. RESULTS Anxiety sensitivity was prospectively associated with changes in OCS, even after controlling for comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms. The longitudinal relationship between anxiety sensitivity and OCS was bidirectional, and these associations were predominantly accounted for by nonshared environmental influences. CONCLUSIONS Our findings are consistent with the notion that anxiety sensitivity is a risk factor for OCS during adolescence, but also suggest that experiencing OCS confers risk for heightened anxiety sensitivity. The reciprocal links between OCS and anxiety sensitivity over time are likely to be largely mediated by nonshared environmental experiences, as opposed to common genes. Our findings raise the possibility that interventions aimed at ameliorating anxiety sensitivity could reduce risk for OCS, and vice versa.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- G. Krebs
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry CentreInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology & NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUK
- National and Specialist OCD, BDD and Related Disorders Clinic for Young PeopleSouth London and Maudsley NHS Foundation TrustLondonUK
| | - L.J. Hannigan
- Nic Waals InstituteLovisenberg Diaconal HospitalOsloNorway
| | - A.M. Gregory
- Department of PsychologyGoldsmiths, University of LondonLondonUK
| | - F.V. Rijsdijk
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry CentreInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology & NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - T.C. Eley
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry CentreInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology & NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUK
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Mak M, de Vries C, Willems RM. The Influence of Mental Imagery Instructions and Personality Characteristics on Reading Experiences. COLLABRA: PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1525/collabra.281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
It is well established that readers form mental images when reading a narrative. However, the consequences of mental imagery (i.e. the influence of mental imagery on the way people experience stories) are still unclear. Here we manipulated the amount of mental imagery that participants engaged in while reading short literary stories in two experiments. Participants received pre-reading instructions aimed at encouraging or discouraging mental imagery. After reading, participants answered questions about their reading experiences. We also measured individual trait differences that are relevant for literary reading experiences. The results from the first experiment suggests an important role of mental imagery in determining reading experiences. However, the results from the second experiment show that mental imagery is only a weak predictor of reading experiences compared to individual (trait) differences in how imaginative participants were. Moreover, the influence of mental imagery instructions did not extend to reading experiences unrelated to mental imagery. The implications of these results for the relationship between mental imagery and reading experiences are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marloes Mak
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Erasmusplein, Nijmegen, NL
| | - Clarissa de Vries
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Erasmusplein, Nijmegen, NL
| | - Roel M. Willems
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Erasmusplein, Nijmegen, NL
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Kapittelweg, Nijmegen, NL
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Wundtlaan, Nijmegen, NL
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Malanchini M, Rimfeld K, Allegrini AG, Ritchie SJ, Plomin R. Cognitive ability and education: How behavioural genetic research has advanced our knowledge and understanding of their association. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 111:229-245. [PMID: 31968216 PMCID: PMC8048133 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Revised: 11/30/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive ability and educational success predict positive outcomes across the lifespan, from higher earnings to better health and longevity. The shared positive outcomes associated with cognitive ability and education are emblematic of the strong interconnections between them. Part of the observed associations between cognitive ability and education, as well as their links with wealth, morbidity and mortality, are rooted in genetic variation. The current review evaluates the contribution of decades of behavioural genetic research to our knowledge and understanding of the biological and environmental basis of the association between cognitive ability and education. The evidence reviewed points to a strong genetic basis in their association, observed from middle childhood to old age, which is amplified by environmental experiences. In addition, the strong stability and heritability of educational success are not driven entirely by cognitive ability. This highlights the contribution of other educationally relevant noncognitive characteristics. Considering both cognitive and noncognitive skills as well as their biological and environmental underpinnings will be fundamental in moving towards a comprehensive, evidence-based model of education.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Margherita Malanchini
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom; Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom; Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, United States.
| | - Kaili Rimfeld
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea G Allegrini
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom
| | - Stuart J Ritchie
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Plomin
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Olivier E, Galand B, Hospel V, Dellisse S. Understanding behavioural engagement and achievement: The roles of teaching practices and student sense of competence and task value. BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 90:887-909. [PMID: 31999841 DOI: 10.1111/bjep.12342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2018] [Revised: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Different teaching practices, such as autonomy support and structure, provide students with a positive learning context supporting their engagement, which can operate through their underlying motivation, including sense of competence and task value. AIMS This study aims at investigating the best configuration (unique or synergistic) between autonomy support and structure to support student behavioural engagement, including compliance, participation, and misbehaviour, and reading achievement. A second objective is to assess students' sense of competence and task value as mediators linking teaching practices to student engagement and achievement. SAMPLE The samples included 1,666 7th-grade students and their 85 teachers. Students answered questionnaires and tests at the beginning and the end of the school year. METHODS Students' perceptions of the use of autonomy support and structure by their Language Arts teacher were aggregated at the classroom level. Students rated their sense of competence and task value in Language Arts class. Twice during the school year, they also reported three facets of their behavioural engagement (compliance, participation, and misbehaviour) and answered a reading comprehension test. Multilevel path analyses using Mplus7 allowed accounting for the nested structure of data. RESULTS Student sense of competence mediated the association of student classroom-aggregated perceptions of teacher structure and autonomy support with self-reported participation in the classroom. Task value mediated the association between both teaching practices and student misbehaviour and compliance, as reported by students. Sense of competence was directly associated with later reading achievement, but the indirect effect of teaching practices was not significant. We found no significant interaction (synergistic effect) between teacher autonomy support and structure. CONCLUSION Student classroom-aggregated perception of teacher autonomy support and structure is important to nurture behavioural engagement. However, we found no extra benefit of combining these two dimensions of teaching practices. The processes linking these teaching practices to the three facets of student behavioural engagement were different. As such, to support the various aspects of student engagement, the actions of teachers, as reported by their students, should tap into the mechanisms that are most strongly related to each type of behaviour.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Olivier
- Substantive-Methodological Synergy Research Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Benoit Galand
- Université catholique de Louvain, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Virginie Hospel
- Université catholique de Louvain, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | | |
Collapse
|
18
|
Malanchini M, Rimfeld K, Wang Z, Petrill SA, Tucker-Drob EM, Plomin R, Kovas Y. Genetic factors underlie the association between anxiety, attitudes and performance in mathematics. Transl Psychiatry 2020; 10:12. [PMID: 32066693 PMCID: PMC7026074 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-0711-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2018] [Revised: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 08/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Students struggling with mathematics anxiety (MA) tend to show lower levels of mathematics self-efficacy and interest as well as lower performance. The current study addresses: (1) how MA relates to different aspects of mathematics attitudes (self-efficacy and interest), ability (understanding numbers, problem-solving ability, and approximate number sense) and achievement (exam scores); (2) to what extent these observed relations are explained by overlapping genetic and environmental factors; and (3) the role of general anxiety in accounting for these associations. The sample comprised 3410 twin pairs aged 16-21 years, from the Twins Early Development Study. Negative associations of comparable strength emerged between MA and the two measures of mathematics attitudes, phenotypically (~ -0.45) and genetically (~ -0.70). Moderate negative phenotypic (~ -0.35) and strong genetic (~ -0.70) associations were observed between MA and measures of mathematics performance. The only exception was approximate number sense whose phenotypic (-0.10) and genetic (-0.31) relation with MA was weaker. Multivariate quantitative genetic analyses indicated that all mathematics-related measures combined accounted for ~75% of the genetic variance in MA and ~20% of its environmental variance. Genetic effects were largely shared across all measures of mathematics anxiety, attitudes, abilities and achievement, with the exception of approximate number sense. This genetic overlap was not accounted for by general anxiety. These results have important implications for future genetic research concerned with identifying the genetic underpinnings of individual variation in mathematics-related traits, as well as for developmental research into how children select and modify their mathematics-related experiences partly based on their genetic predispositions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Margherita Malanchini
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King's College London, London, UK.
- Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
| | - Kaili Rimfeld
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Zhe Wang
- Department of Human Development and Family studies, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
| | | | - Elliot M Tucker-Drob
- Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Robert Plomin
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Yulia Kovas
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, London, UK
- International Centre for Research in Human Development, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Willems YE, Laceulle OM, Bartels M, Finkenauer C. Investigating the association between family connectedness and self-control in adolescence in a genetically sensitive design. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2020; 29:1683-1692. [PMID: 32025959 PMCID: PMC7641933 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-020-01485-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Family connectedness is key for the development of self-control in early and middle childhood. But is family connectedness still important during the transitional phase of adolescence, when adolescents demand more independence from their parents and rely more on their peers? The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between family connectedness and self-control, and whether it still holds in adolescence using a genetically sensitive design. Data were used from a large sample of twins aged 14 (N = 11,260) and aged 16 (N = 8175), all enrolled in the Netherlands Twin Register. We applied bivariate twin models and monozygotic twin difference models to investigate the association between family connectedness and self-control and to unravel to what extent genetic and environmental factors explain this association. The results showed that more family connectedness is significantly related to better self-control in adolescence, albeit with a small effect size. Twin analyses revealed that this association was mainly explained by common genetic factors and that the effects of environmental factors were small. The current findings confirm the role of family connectedness in adolescent self-control. Importantly, however, the results demonstrate that phenomena we see within families seem the product of parent and children sharing the same genes rather than being exclusively attributable to environmental processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yayouk E Willems
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Boechorststraat 7-9, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Universiteit Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Odilia M Laceulle
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Universiteit Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Meike Bartels
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Boechorststraat 7-9, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Catrin Finkenauer
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Boechorststraat 7-9, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Universiteit Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Raffington L, Czamara D, Mohn JJ, Falck J, Schmoll V, Heim C, Binder EB, Shing YL. Stable longitudinal associations of family income with children's hippocampal volume and memory persist after controlling for polygenic scores of educational attainment. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2019; 40:100720. [PMID: 31678692 PMCID: PMC6974918 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Revised: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite common notion that the correlation of socioeconomic status with child cognitive performance may be driven by both environmentally- and genetically-mediated transactional pathways, there is a lack of longitudinal and genetically informed research that examines these postulated associations. The present study addresses whether family income predicts associative memory growth and hippocampal development in middle childhood and tests whether these associations persist when controlling for DNA-based polygenic scores of educational attainment. Participants were 142 6-to-7-year-old children, of which 127 returned when they were 8-to-9 years old. Longitudinal analyses indicated that the association of family income with children's memory performance and hippocampal volume remained stable over this age range and did not predict change. On average, children from economically disadvantaged background showed lower memory performance and had a smaller hippocampal volume. There was no evidence to suggest that differences in memory performance were mediated by differences in hippocampal volume. Further exploratory results suggested that the relationship of income with hippocampal volume and memory in middle childhood is not primarily driven by genetic variance captured by polygenic scores of educational attainment, despite the fact that polygenic scores significantly predicted family income.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laurel Raffington
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA
| | - Darina Czamara
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Johannes Julius Mohn
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Johannes Falck
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Vanessa Schmoll
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Christine Heim
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Institute of Medical Psychology, Berlin, Germany; Pennsylvania State University, Department of Biobehavioral Health, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Elisabeth B Binder
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Yee Lee Shing
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany; Institute of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Zheng A, Briley DA, Malanchini M, Tackett JL, Harden KP, Tucker-Drob EM. Genetic and Environmental Influences on Achievement Goal Orientations Shift with Age. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY 2019; 33:317-336. [PMID: 34083874 PMCID: PMC8171310 DOI: 10.1002/per.2202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Students engage in learning activities with different achievement goal orientations. Some students pursue learning for learning sake (i.e. mastery goal orientation), some are driven by gaining favorable judgement of their performance (i.e. performance approach goal orientation), and others focus on avoiding negative judgement (i.e. performance avoidance goal orientation). These goal orientations are linked with academic achievement, and troublingly, students report decreasing levels of goal orientations across the school years. However, little is known concerning the mechanisms that drive this decline. In a large (N = 891 twin pairs) cross-sectional genetically informative sample (age = 8 to 22 years), we found that older students reported lower goal orientations. Then, we identified shifts in the magnitude of genetic and environmental variance in each goal orientation. For example, variance in mastery goal orientation was primarily associated with environmental factors during the elementary school years. As students entered high school, genetic influences increased, replacing shared environmental influences. Finally, we situated these findings in the larger nomological network by testing associations with psychological constructs (e.g. personality and cognitive ability) and contextual variables (e.g. parents, schools, and peers). The development of academic motivation is complex with many interconnecting factors that appear to shift with age.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anqing Zheng
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
| | - Daniel A Briley
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
| | | | | | - K Paige Harden
- Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin
| | - Elliot M Tucker-Drob
- Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Malanchini M, Engelhardt LE, Grotzinger AD, Harden KP, Tucker-Drob EM. "Same but different": Associations between multiple aspects of self-regulation, cognition, and academic abilities. J Pers Soc Psychol 2018; 117:1164-1188. [PMID: 30550329 DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Self-regulation describes the ability to control both behaviors and internal states against a backdrop of conflicting or distracting situations, drives, or impulses. In the cognitive psychology tradition, individual differences in self-regulation are commonly measured with performance-based tests of executive functioning, whereas in the personality psychology tradition, individual differences in self-regulation are typically assessed with report-based measures of impulse control, sustained motivation, and perseverance. The goal of this project was (a) to comprehensively examine the structure of associations between multiple self-regulatory constructs stemming from the cognitive and personality psychology traditions; (b) to estimate how these constructs, individually and collectively, related to mathematics and reading ability beyond psychometric measures of processing speed and fluid intelligence; and (c) to estimate the extent to which genetic and environmental factors mediated the observed associations. Data were available for 1,019 child participants from the Texas Twin Project (M age = 10.79, range = 7.8-15.5). Results highlighted the differentiation among cognitive and personality aspects of self-regulation, both at observed and genetic levels. After accounting for processing speed and fluid intelligence, EF remained a significant predictor of reading and mathematics ability. Educationally relevant measures of personality-particularly an openness factor representing curiosity and intellectual self-concept-incrementally contributed to individual differences in reading ability. Collectively, measures of cognition, self-regulation, and other educationally relevant aspects of personality accounted for the entirety of genetic variance in mathematics and reading ability. The current findings point to the important independent role that each construct plays in academic settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
|
23
|
Rimfeld K, Malanchini M, Krapohl E, Hannigan LJ, Dale PS, Plomin R. The stability of educational achievement across school years is largely explained by genetic factors. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2018; 3:16. [PMID: 30631477 PMCID: PMC6220264 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-018-0030-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2017] [Revised: 07/10/2018] [Accepted: 07/18/2018] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Little is known about the etiology of developmental change and continuity in educational achievement. Here, we study achievement from primary school to the end of compulsory education for 6000 twin pairs in the UK-representative Twins Early Development Study sample. Results showed that educational achievement is highly heritable across school years and across subjects studied at school (twin heritability ~60%; SNP heritability ~30%); achievement is highly stable (phenotypic correlations ~0.70 from ages 7 to 16). Twin analyses, applying simplex and common pathway models, showed that genetic factors accounted for most of this stability (70%), even after controlling for intelligence (60%). Shared environmental factors also contributed to the stability, while change was mostly accounted for by individual-specific environmental factors. Polygenic scores, derived from a genome-wide association analysis of adult years of education, also showed stable effects on school achievement. We conclude that the remarkable stability of achievement is largely driven genetically even after accounting for intelligence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kaili Rimfeld
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Margherita Malanchini
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA
| | - Eva Krapohl
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Laurie J. Hannigan
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Philip S. Dale
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA
| | - Robert Plomin
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
|