Heritability of Verbal and Performance Intelligence in a Pediatric Longitudinal Sample

I.L.C. van Soelen, R.M. Brouwer, M. van Leeuwen, R.S. Kahn, H.E. Hulshoff Pol, D.I. Boomsma

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The longitudinal stability of IQ is well-documented as is its increasing heritability with age. In a longitudinal twin study, we addressed the question to what extent heritability and stability differ for full scale (FSIQ), verbal (VIQ), and performance IQ (PIQ) in childhood (age 9-11 years), and early adolescence (age 12-14 years). Genetic and environmental influences and correlations over time were evaluated in an extended twin design, including Dutch twins and their siblings. Intelligence was measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children - Third version (WISC III). Heritability in childhood was 34% for FSIQ, 37% for VIQ, and 64% for PIQ, and increased up to 65%, 51%, and 72% in early adolescence. The influence of common environment decreased between childhood and early adolescence from explaining 43% of the phenotypic variance for FSIQ to 18% and from 42% for VIQ to 26%. For PIQ common environmental influences did not play a role, either in childhood or in early adolescence. The stability in FSIQ and VIQ across the 3-year interval (r
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)119-128
JournalTwin Research and Human Genetics
Volume14
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011

Cohort Studies

  • Netherlands Twin Register (NTR)

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