Does Learning to Read Improve Intelligence? A Longitudinal Multivariate Analysis in Identical Twins From Age 7 to 16

Evidence from twin studies points to substantial environmental influences on intelligence, but the specifics of this influence are unclear. This study examined one developmental process that potentially causes intelligence differences: learning to read. In 1,890 twin pairs tested at 7, 9, 10, 12, an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child development 2015-01, Vol.86 (1), p.23-36
Main Authors: Ritchie, Stuart J., Bates, Timothy C., Plomin, Robert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescents
Child
Child Development
Child Development - physiology
Children
Cognition
Cognitive Development
Correlation
Developmental Stages
Empirical
EMPIRICAL ARTICLES
Environmental Influences
Female
Humans
Intellectual Development
Intelligence
Intelligence - physiology
Learning
Learning - physiology
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Multivariate Analysis
Reading
Reading Ability
Twins
Twins, Monozygotic
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Summary:Evidence from twin studies points to substantial environmental influences on intelligence, but the specifics of this influence are unclear. This study examined one developmental process that potentially causes intelligence differences: learning to read. In 1,890 twin pairs tested at 7, 9, 10, 12, and 16 years, a cross-lagged monozygotic-differences design was used to test for associations of earlier within-pair reading ability differences with subsequent intelligence differences. The results showed several such associations, which were not explained by differences in reading exposure and were not restricted to verbal cognitive domains. The study highlights the potentially important influence of reading ability, driven by the nonshared environment, on intellectual development and raises theoretical questions about the mechanism of this influence.
ISSN:0009-3920
1467-8624
DOI:10.1111/cdev.12272