Stephen A Petrill
Biographic Data
| ID | 2747578 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Stephen A Petrill |
| GIVEN NAMES | Stephen A |
| FAMILY NAME | Petrill |
| SIGNATURE | PETRILL S A |
| AFFILIATIONS | The Ohio State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2508-715X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 47 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1996 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
How relations between early reading skills and third-grade mathematics outcomes vary across distribution: A quantile regression approach
Early reading skills are critical for later academic outcomes, which include mathematics. Yet, these relations may vary by a child's ability level. This study examined how early reading skills relate to different levels of third-grade mathematics. The samples included 105 same-sex twin pairs (210 individuals, 57% female, 43% male) from the ongoing longitudinal Western Reserve Reading and Math Projects, assessed at kindergarten ( M = 6.18, SD = 0.…
The nature of the association between number line and mathematical performance: An international twin study
BackgroundThe number line task assesses the ability to estimate numerical magnitudes. People vary greatly in this ability, and this variability has been previously associated with mathematical skills. However, the sources of individual differences in number line estimation and its association with mathematics are not fully understood.AimsThis large-scale genetically sensitive study uses a twin design to estimate the magnitude of the effects of ge…
Reading self-perceived ability, enjoyment and achievement: A genetically informative study of their reciprocal links over time
Extant literature has established a consistent association between aspects of reading motivation, such as enjoyment and self-perceived ability, and reading achievement, in that more motivated readers are generally more skilled readers. However, the developmental etiology of this relation is yet to be investigated. The present study explores the development of the motivation-achievement association and its genetic and environmental underpinnings. …
Number sense and mathematics: Which, when and how
Individual differences in number sense correlate with mathematical ability and performance, although the presence and strength of this relationship differs across studies. Inconsistencies in the literature may stem from heterogeneity of number sense and mathematical ability constructs. Sample characteristics may also play a role as changes in the relationship between number sense and mathematics may differ across development and cultural contexts…
Predicting individual differences in reading comprehension: A twin study
Approach/Positive Anticipation, Frustration/Anger, and Overt Aggression in Childhood: Approach and Overt Aggression in Childhood
We examined mothers' ratings of children's affective and behavioral aspects of approach tendencies and links with overt aggressive behavior problems while considering the genetic etiology of these processes. Approach/positive anticipation (AP), frustration/anger (FA), and overt aggression in 4-9-year-olds were assessed using mothers' reports in a diverse national sample (n=992) and a sample of same-sex twins (n=195 pairs). AP and FA were positive…
“That Was Smooth, Mom”: Children's Production of Verbal and Gestural Irony
Research suggests that typically developing children begin to understand verbal irony around 5 or 6 years of age. Children's production of verbal irony, however, has not previously been examined. This study was a preliminary investigation of children's irony production, including both verbal and gestural (nonverbal) forms. We coded instances of irony in interactions within 118 family triads, each consisting of 1 parent and 2 children, aged 3 to 1…
Temperament in middle childhood: A behavioral genetic analysis of fathers’ and mothers’ reports
Ready to Adopt: Characteristics and Expectations of Preadoptive Families Pursuing International Adoptions
The present work is a descriptive study of preadoptive characteristics of families pursuing international adoptions. Families were recruited through six adoption agencies and two Internet-based support groups for internationally adopting parents. The sample included 256 prospective parents who responded to a survey assessing various aspects of preadoptive psychological functioning, family demographics and social support, preparation for the adopt…
Mothers’ Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Socialization of Transracially Adopted Asian Children
This study examined maternal and child predictors of White mothers’ cultural socialization/pluralism and preparation for bias of Chinese and Korean adopted children in families participating in the Northeast‐Northwest Collaborative Adoption Project. Mother’s psychological connection to Asian Americans, but not White identity, and children’s age predicted cultural socialization/pluralism and preparation for bias. Birth country was related to cultu…
Maternal Warmth Moderates the Link Between Physical Punishment and Child Externalizing Problems: A Parent - Offspring Behavior Genetic Analysis
Objective. We estimate the correlation between interviewer-rated harshness of maternal physical discipline and parent-rated child externalizing problems and test whether it varies as a function of maternal warmth or mother - child genetic similarity. Design. Using a parent - offspring behavior genetic design, we included 297 3- to 8-year-old children in 169 biological and adoptive families. Parents completed ratings of child externalizing problem…
Genetic and Environmental Contributions to General Cognitive Ability Through the First 16 Years of Life
The genetic and environmental contributions to the development of general cognitive ability throughout the first 16 years of life were examined using sibling data from the Colorado Adoption Project. Correlations were analyzed along with structural equation models to characterize the genetic and environmental influences on longitudinal stability and instability. Intraclass correlations reflected both considerable genetic influence at each age and …
Nature, nurture and academic achievement: A twin study of teacher assessments of 7‐year‐olds
Background: Twin research has consistently shown substantial genetic influence on individual differences in cognitive ability; however, much less is known about the genetic and environmental aetiologies of school achievement. Aims: Our goal is to test the hypotheses that teacher‐assessed achievement in the early school years shows substantial genetic influence but only modest shared environmental influence when children are assessed by the same t…
The Northeast-Northwest Collaborative Adoption Project: Identifying Family Environmental Influences on Cognitive and Social Development
One of the exciting new directions in family research is the examination of shared and nonshared environmental processes underlying the learning of cognitive, literacy, and social-behavioral skills. The adoption design is a powerful method for testing theories regarding environmental mechanisms. In this paper, we describe the Northeast-Northwest Collaborative Adoption Project (N2CAP), an ongoing adoption study in which we are examining the role o…
Examining Social Behavior and Relationships Using Genetically Sensitive Designs: An Introduction
Exploring the genetic etiology of low general cognitive ability from 14 to 36 months
The genetic and environmental etiology of low general cognitive ability (g) during infancy and early childhood has not previously been investigated. The current study examined the genetic etiology of low cognitive ability at 14, 20, 24, and 36 months with twins from the MacArthur Longitudinal Twin Study. Low g groups were formed from the lowest 10th percentile at each age. Univariate probandwise concordance rates and DeFries-Fulker (J. C. DeFries…
What genetic research on intelligence tells us about the environment
More than a century ago, Francis Galton, the father of behavioural genetics, coined the scientific use of the phrase nature–nurture. He believed that ability, especially individual differences in intelligence, is due primarily to nature rather than nurture, as implied by the title of his earliest and most famous work, Hereditary Genius (1869). In a paper on twins, he declared that ‘there is no escape from the conclusion that nature prevails enorm…
Ready to Adopt: Characteristics and Expectations of Preadoptive Families Pursuing International Adoptions
The present work is a descriptive study of preadoptive characteristics of families pursuing international adoptions. Families were recruited through six adoption agencies and two Internet-based support groups for internationally adopting parents. The sample included 256 prospective parents who responded to a survey assessing various aspects of preadoptive psychological functioning, family demographics and social support, preparation for the adopt…
Maternal Warmth Moderates the Link Between Physical Punishment and Child Externalizing Problems: A Parent - Offspring Behavior Genetic Analysis
Objective. We estimate the correlation between interviewer-rated harshness of maternal physical discipline and parent-rated child externalizing problems and test whether it varies as a function of maternal warmth or mother - child genetic similarity. Design. Using a parent - offspring behavior genetic design, we included 297 3- to 8-year-old children in 169 biological and adoptive families. Parents completed ratings of child externalizing problem…
Reading self-perceived ability, enjoyment and achievement: A genetically informative study of their reciprocal links over time
Extant literature has established a consistent association between aspects of reading motivation, such as enjoyment and self-perceived ability, and reading achievement, in that more motivated readers are generally more skilled readers. However, the developmental etiology of this relation is yet to be investigated. The present study explores the development of the motivation-achievement association and its genetic and environmental underpinnings. …
Genetic and Environmental Contributions to General Cognitive Ability Through the First 16 Years of Life
The genetic and environmental contributions to the development of general cognitive ability throughout the first 16 years of life were examined using sibling data from the Colorado Adoption Project. Correlations were analyzed along with structural equation models to characterize the genetic and environmental influences on longitudinal stability and instability. Intraclass correlations reflected both considerable genetic influence at each age and …
Temperament in middle childhood: A behavioral genetic analysis of fathers’ and mothers’ reports
Number sense and mathematics: Which, when and how
Individual differences in number sense correlate with mathematical ability and performance, although the presence and strength of this relationship differs across studies. Inconsistencies in the literature may stem from heterogeneity of number sense and mathematical ability constructs. Sample characteristics may also play a role as changes in the relationship between number sense and mathematics may differ across development and cultural contexts…
Nature, nurture and academic achievement: A twin study of teacher assessments of 7‐year‐olds
Background: Twin research has consistently shown substantial genetic influence on individual differences in cognitive ability; however, much less is known about the genetic and environmental aetiologies of school achievement. Aims: Our goal is to test the hypotheses that teacher‐assessed achievement in the early school years shows substantial genetic influence but only modest shared environmental influence when children are assessed by the same t…
The nature of the association between number line and mathematical performance: An international twin study
BackgroundThe number line task assesses the ability to estimate numerical magnitudes. People vary greatly in this ability, and this variability has been previously associated with mathematical skills. However, the sources of individual differences in number line estimation and its association with mathematics are not fully understood.AimsThis large-scale genetically sensitive study uses a twin design to estimate the magnitude of the effects of ge…
Exploring the genetic etiology of low general cognitive ability from 14 to 36 months
The genetic and environmental etiology of low general cognitive ability (g) during infancy and early childhood has not previously been investigated. The current study examined the genetic etiology of low cognitive ability at 14, 20, 24, and 36 months with twins from the MacArthur Longitudinal Twin Study. Low g groups were formed from the lowest 10th percentile at each age. Univariate probandwise concordance rates and DeFries-Fulker (J. C. DeFries…
What genetic research on intelligence tells us about the environment
More than a century ago, Francis Galton, the father of behavioural genetics, coined the scientific use of the phrase nature–nurture. He believed that ability, especially individual differences in intelligence, is due primarily to nature rather than nurture, as implied by the title of his earliest and most famous work, Hereditary Genius (1869). In a paper on twins, he declared that ‘there is no escape from the conclusion that nature prevails enorm…
Exploring the genetic etiology of low general cognitive ability from 14 to 36 months
The genetic and environmental etiology of low general cognitive ability (g) during infancy and early childhood has not previously been investigated. The current study examined the genetic etiology of low cognitive ability at 14, 20, 24, and 36 months with twins from the MacArthur Longitudinal Twin Study. Low g groups were formed from the lowest 10th percentile at each age. Univariate probandwise concordance rates and DeFries-Fulker (J. C. DeFries…
The Northeast-Northwest Collaborative Adoption Project: Identifying Family Environmental Influences on Cognitive and Social Development
One of the exciting new directions in family research is the examination of shared and nonshared environmental processes underlying the learning of cognitive, literacy, and social-behavioral skills. The adoption design is a powerful method for testing theories regarding environmental mechanisms. In this paper, we describe the Northeast-Northwest Collaborative Adoption Project (N2CAP), an ongoing adoption study in which we are examining the role o…
Examining Social Behavior and Relationships Using Genetically Sensitive Designs: An Introduction
Genetic and Environmental Contributions to General Cognitive Ability Through the First 16 Years of Life
The genetic and environmental contributions to the development of general cognitive ability throughout the first 16 years of life were examined using sibling data from the Colorado Adoption Project. Correlations were analyzed along with structural equation models to characterize the genetic and environmental influences on longitudinal stability and instability. Intraclass correlations reflected both considerable genetic influence at each age and …
Nature, nurture and academic achievement: A twin study of teacher assessments of 7‐year‐olds
Background: Twin research has consistently shown substantial genetic influence on individual differences in cognitive ability; however, much less is known about the genetic and environmental aetiologies of school achievement. Aims: Our goal is to test the hypotheses that teacher‐assessed achievement in the early school years shows substantial genetic influence but only modest shared environmental influence when children are assessed by the same t…
Maternal Warmth Moderates the Link Between Physical Punishment and Child Externalizing Problems: A Parent - Offspring Behavior Genetic Analysis
Objective. We estimate the correlation between interviewer-rated harshness of maternal physical discipline and parent-rated child externalizing problems and test whether it varies as a function of maternal warmth or mother - child genetic similarity. Design. Using a parent - offspring behavior genetic design, we included 297 3- to 8-year-old children in 169 biological and adoptive families. Parents completed ratings of child externalizing problem…
Mothers’ Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Socialization of Transracially Adopted Asian Children
This study examined maternal and child predictors of White mothers’ cultural socialization/pluralism and preparation for bias of Chinese and Korean adopted children in families participating in the Northeast‐Northwest Collaborative Adoption Project. Mother’s psychological connection to Asian Americans, but not White identity, and children’s age predicted cultural socialization/pluralism and preparation for bias. Birth country was related to cultu…
Ready to Adopt: Characteristics and Expectations of Preadoptive Families Pursuing International Adoptions
The present work is a descriptive study of preadoptive characteristics of families pursuing international adoptions. Families were recruited through six adoption agencies and two Internet-based support groups for internationally adopting parents. The sample included 256 prospective parents who responded to a survey assessing various aspects of preadoptive psychological functioning, family demographics and social support, preparation for the adopt…
“That Was Smooth, Mom”: Children's Production of Verbal and Gestural Irony
Research suggests that typically developing children begin to understand verbal irony around 5 or 6 years of age. Children's production of verbal irony, however, has not previously been examined. This study was a preliminary investigation of children's irony production, including both verbal and gestural (nonverbal) forms. We coded instances of irony in interactions within 118 family triads, each consisting of 1 parent and 2 children, aged 3 to 1…
Temperament in middle childhood: A behavioral genetic analysis of fathers’ and mothers’ reports
Predicting individual differences in reading comprehension: A twin study
Approach/Positive Anticipation, Frustration/Anger, and Overt Aggression in Childhood: Approach and Overt Aggression in Childhood
We examined mothers' ratings of children's affective and behavioral aspects of approach tendencies and links with overt aggressive behavior problems while considering the genetic etiology of these processes. Approach/positive anticipation (AP), frustration/anger (FA), and overt aggression in 4-9-year-olds were assessed using mothers' reports in a diverse national sample (n=992) and a sample of same-sex twins (n=195 pairs). AP and FA were positive…
Reading self-perceived ability, enjoyment and achievement: A genetically informative study of their reciprocal links over time
Extant literature has established a consistent association between aspects of reading motivation, such as enjoyment and self-perceived ability, and reading achievement, in that more motivated readers are generally more skilled readers. However, the developmental etiology of this relation is yet to be investigated. The present study explores the development of the motivation-achievement association and its genetic and environmental underpinnings. …
Number sense and mathematics: Which, when and how
Individual differences in number sense correlate with mathematical ability and performance, although the presence and strength of this relationship differs across studies. Inconsistencies in the literature may stem from heterogeneity of number sense and mathematical ability constructs. Sample characteristics may also play a role as changes in the relationship between number sense and mathematics may differ across development and cultural contexts…
The nature of the association between number line and mathematical performance: An international twin study
BackgroundThe number line task assesses the ability to estimate numerical magnitudes. People vary greatly in this ability, and this variability has been previously associated with mathematical skills. However, the sources of individual differences in number line estimation and its association with mathematics are not fully understood.AimsThis large-scale genetically sensitive study uses a twin design to estimate the magnitude of the effects of ge…
How relations between early reading skills and third-grade mathematics outcomes vary across distribution: A quantile regression approach
Early reading skills are critical for later academic outcomes, which include mathematics. Yet, these relations may vary by a child's ability level. This study examined how early reading skills relate to different levels of third-grade mathematics. The samples included 105 same-sex twin pairs (210 individuals, 57% female, 43% male) from the ongoing longitudinal Western Reserve Reading and Math Projects, assessed at kindergarten ( M = 6.18, SD = 0.…
Psychology (17 works) · Developmental psychology (14 works) · Cognitive Abilities and Testing (8 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Cognition (5 works) · Social Psychology (5 works) · Biology (4 works) · Early Childhood Education and Development (4 works) · Heritability (4 works) · Linguistics (4 works)