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Why do children read more? The influence of reading ability on voluntary reading practices
Author(s) -
Bergen Elsje,
Snowling Margaret J.,
Zeeuw Eveline L.,
Beijsterveldt Catharina E.M.,
Dolan Conor V.,
Boomsma Dorret I.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/jcpp.12910
Subject(s) - reading (process) , psychology , developmental psychology , twin study , heritability , causality (physics) , test (biology) , structural equation modeling , population , causal model , behavioural genetics , demography , genetics , statistics , linguistics , biology , paleontology , philosophy , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , sociology
Background This study investigates the causal relationships between reading and print exposure and investigates whether the amount children read outside school determines how well they read, or vice versa. Previous findings from behavioural studies suggest that reading predicts print exposure. Here, we use twin‐data and apply the behaviour‐genetic approach of direction of causality modelling, suggested by Heath et al. ([Heath, A.C., 1993]), to investigate the causal relationships between these two traits. Method Partial data were available for a large sample of twin children ( N = 11,559) and 262 siblings, all enrolled in the Netherlands Twin Register. Children were assessed around 7.5 years of age. Mothers completed questionnaires reporting children's time spent on reading activities and reading ability. Additional information on reading ability was available through teacher ratings and performance on national reading tests. For siblings reading test, results were available. Results The reading ability of the twins was comparable to that of the siblings and national norms, showing that twin findings can be generalized to the population. A measurement model was specified with two latent variables, Reading Ability and Print Exposure, which correlated .41. Heritability analyses showed that Reading Ability was highly heritable, while genetic and environmental influences were equally important for Print Exposure. We exploited the fact that the two constructs differ in genetic architecture and fitted direction of causality models. The results supported a causal relationship running from Reading Ability to Print Exposure. Conclusions How much and how well children read are moderately correlated. Individual differences in print exposure are less heritable than individual differences in reading ability. Importantly, the present results suggest that it is the children's reading ability that determines how much they choose to read, rather than vice versa.