A new study of identical twins has found that early reading
skill might positively affect later intellectual abilities. The study, in the
journal Child Development, was conducted by researchers at the University of
Edinburgh and King's College London.
"Since reading is an ability that can be improved, our
findings have implications for reading instruction," according to Stuart
J. Ritchie, research fellow in psychology at the University of Edinburgh, who
led the study. "Early remediation of reading problems might aid not only
the growth of literacy, but also more general cognitive abilities that are of
critical importance across the lifespan."
Researchers looked at 1,890 identical twins who were part of
the Twins Early Development Study, an ongoing longitudinal study in the United
Kingdom whose participants were representative of the population as a whole.
They examined scores from tests of reading and intelligence taken when the
twins were 7, 9, 10, 12, and 16. Using a statistical model, they tested whether
differences in reading ability between each pair of twins were linked to later
differences in intelligence, taking into account earlier differences in
intelligence. Because each pair of identical twins shared all their genes as
well as a home environment, any differences between them had to be because of
experiences that the twins didn't share, such as a particularly effective
teacher or a group of friends that encouraged reading.
The researchers found that earlier differences in reading
between the twins were linked to later differences in intelligence. Reading was
associated not only with measures of verbal intelligence (such as vocabulary
tests) but with measures of nonverbal intelligence as well (such as reasoning
tests). The differences in reading that were linked to differences in later
intelligence were present by age 7, which may indicate that even early reading
skills affect intellectual development.
"If, as our results imply, reading causally influences
intelligence, the implications for educators are clear," suggests Ritchie.
"Children who don't receive enough assistance in learning to read may also
be missing out on the important, intelligence-boosting properties of
literacy."
Besides having implications for educational intervention,
the study may address the question of why individual children from one family
can score differently on intelligence tests, despite sharing genes,
socioeconomic status, and the educational level and personality of parents with
their siblings.
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