Genetic Influences in Different Aspects of Language Development: The Etiology of Language Skills in 4.5‐Year‐Old Twins
- 13 May 2005
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Child Development
- Vol. 76 (3) , 632-651
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2005.00868.x
Abstract
The genetic and environmental etiologies of diverse aspects of language ability and disability, including articulation, phonology, grammar, vocabulary, and verbal memory, were investigated in a U.K. sample of 787 pairs of 4.5‐year‐old same‐sex and opposite‐sex twins. Moderate genetic influence was found for all aspects of language in the normal range. A similar pattern was found at the low end of the distribution with the exception of two receptive measures. Environmental influence was mainly due to nonshared factors, unique to the individual, with little influence from shared environment for most measures. Genetic and environmental influences on language ability and disability are quantitatively and qualitatively similar for males and females.Keywords
This publication has 51 references indexed in Scilit:
- A Genomewide Scan Identifies Two Novel Loci Involved in Specific Language Impairment**Members of the consortium are listed in the Appendix.American Journal of Human Genetics, 2002
- The structure of language abilities at 4 years: A twin study.Developmental Psychology, 2002
- The Heritability of Language: A Review and Metaanalysis of Twin, Adoption, and Linkage StudiesLanguage, 2001
- Grammatical SLI: A distinct subtype of developmental language impairment?Applied Psycholinguistics, 2000
- The structure of genetic influences on general cognitive, language, phonological, and reading abilities.Developmental Psychology, 1999
- The power of the classical twin study to resolve variation in threshold traitsBehavior Genetics, 1994
- Individual variation and its relevance to a theory of phonological acquisitionJournal of Child Language, 1987
- Hereditary and environmental influences on preschool twins' language skills.Developmental Psychology, 1984
- Hereditary and environmental influences on preschool twins' language skills.Developmental Psychology, 1984
- On Individual Differences in Language Competence and Performance1The Journal of Special Education, 1966