Revisiting the association between reading achievement and antisocial behavior: new evidence of an environmental explanation from a twin study.
Previous studies have reported, but not explained, the reason for a robust association between reading achievement and antisocial behavior. This association was investigated using the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative 1994-1995 birth cohort of 5- and 7-year-olds. Results showed that the association resulted primarily from environmental factors common to both reading and antisocial behavior and was stronger in boys. Environmental factors also explained the relation between reading disability and conduct disorder. Leading candidate environmental risk factors weakly mediated the association. For boys the best explanation was a reciprocal causation model: poor reading led to antisocial behavior, and vice versa. In contrast, the relation between reading achievement and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was best explained by common genetic influences.
Trzesniewski
Kali H
KH
Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK. kali@psych.stanford.edu
Moffitt
Terrie E
TE
Caspi
Avshalom
A
Taylor
Alan
A
Maughan
Barbara
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004200:Diseases in Twins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007360:Intelligence / Q000235:genetics; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D011932:Reading; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014852:Wales; D015053:Zygote