2010/12/17 by Elliot M. Tucker–Drob, Mijke Rhemtulla, K. Paige Harden +2 · 3 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Cognitive Abilities and Testing #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Early Childhood Education and Development
paper · doi:10.1177/0956797610392926
openalex publication_date 2010/12/17 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/24
Recent research in behavioral genetics has found evidence for a Gene × Environment interaction on cognitive ability: Individual differences in cognitive ability among children raised in socioeconomically advantaged homes are primarily due to genes, whereas environmental factors are more influential for children from disadvantaged homes. We investigated the developmental origins of this interaction in a sample of 750 pairs of twins measured on the Bayley Short Form test of infant mental ability, once at age 10 months and again at age 2 years. A Gene × Environment interaction was evident on the longitudinal change in mental ability over the study period. At age 10 months, genes accounted for negligible variation in mental ability across all levels of socioeconomic status (SES). However, genetic influences emerged over the course of development, with larger genetic influences emerging for infants raised in higher-SES homes. At age 2 years, genes accounted for nearly 50% of the variation in mental ability of children raised in high-SES homes, but genes continued to account for negligible variation in mental ability of children raised in low-SES homes.