title: Response to early literacy instruction in the United States, Australia, and Scandinavia: A behavioral-genetic analysis.
abstract: Genetic and environmental influences on early reading and spelling at the end of kindergarten and Grade 1 were compared across three twin samples tested in the United States, Australia, and Scandinavia. Proportions of variance due to genetic influences on kindergarten reading were estimated at .84 in Australia, .68 in the U.S., and .33 in Scandinavia. The effects of shared environment on kindergarten reading were estimated at .09 in Australia, .25 in the U.S., and .52 in Scandinavia. A similar pattern of genetic and environmental influences was obtained for kindergarten spelling. One year later when twins in all three samples had received formal literacy instruction for at least one full school year, heritability was similarly high across country, with estimated genetic influences varying between .79 and .83 for reading and between .62 and .79 for spelling. These findings indicate that the pattern of genetic and environmental influences on early reading and spelling development varies according to educational context, with genetic influence increasing as a function of increasing intensity of early instruction. Longitudinal analyses revealed genetic continuity for both reading and spelling between kindergarten and Grade 1 across country. However, a new genetic factor comes into play accounting for independent variance in reading at Grade 1 in the U.S. and Scandinavia, suggesting a change in genetic influences on reading. Implications for response-to-instruction are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Linköping University, Sweden and Stavanger University, Norway.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Samuelsson
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Byrne
authors.forename: Richard K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hulslander
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wadsworth
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Corley
authors.forename: Erik G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Willcutt
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Defries