Revisiting the Association Between Reading Achievement and Antisocial Behavior: New Evidence of an Environmental Explanation From a Twin Study

• Published in: Child development 2006-01, Vol.77 (1), p.72-88
• Main Authors: Trzesniewski, Kali H., Moffitt, Terrie E., Caspi, Avshalom, Taylor, Alan, Maughan, Barbara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Adolescent; Adult; Anti-social behaviour; Antisocial Behavior; Antisocial behaviour; Antisocial Personality Disorder - genetics; Antisocial Personality Disorder - psychology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - genetics; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Attention Deficit Disorders; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Behavior; Behavior Disorders; Behavioral genetics; Biological and medical sciences; Boys; Child; Child development; Child psychiatry; Child, Preschool; Children; Cohort Studies; Developmental psychology; Diseases in Twins - genetics; Diseases in Twins - psychology; Dyslexia - genetics; Dyslexia - psychology; Educational Status; England; Environmental Influences; Family studies; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gender differences; Genetic Predisposition to Disease - genetics; Genotype; Humans; Hyperactivity; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Intelligence - genetics; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Males; Medical genetics; Mothers; Personality disorders; Phenotype; Pregnancy; Pregnancy in Adolescence; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Reading; Reading Achievement; Reading Difficulties; Reading disabilities; Regression analysis; Risk Factors; Sex Factors; Social Environment; Social psychology; Socioeconomic Factors; Twins; Wales; Young Children; Zygote
• ISSN: 0009-3920; 1467-8624
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00857.x

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.