Investigating gene–environment interaction as a contributor to language performance.

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Laura E. Simone (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Danielle Crosby

Abstract: This study investigated the potential moderating role of genetic predisposition for language performance on the association between various environmental variables and children’s receptive and expressive language performance. Participants included 1150 preschool-aged monozygotic and dizygotic twins from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study- Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to explore interaction effect between genetic predisposition for language and singular environmental variables, genetic predisposition for language and indices of environmental risk and advantage, and genetic predisposition for language, indices of environmental risk and advantage, and gender. Findings provide tentative support for the interaction of genetic predisposition and environmental factors as a contributor to language performance. Three gene–environment interaction terms were found to be significant predictors of language performance. One two-way interaction and one threeway interaction were found to significantly contribute to their respective models’ ability to account for variance in children’s language performance.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 2010
Keywords
ECLS-B, gene-environment interaction, genetic moderation, hierarchical multiple regression, language, twin study
Subjects
Language acquisition $x Genetic aspects $x Research.
Language acquisition $x Environmental aspects.
Twins $x Research $x Methodology.
Twins $v Longitudinal studies.

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