Preschool social and cognitive behaviors: the Southern Illinois Twins

The Southern Illinois Twins registry consists of a small group of twins from the southern Illinois area and some areas in Missouri and Kentucky, as well as siblings of twins and singletons who have been involved in the study. The current project has as its primary focus the identification of variables that predict aggressive and prosocial behaviors in preschoolers, especially to explore the etiology of individual differences in aggressive and prosocial behaviors from a behavior genetic perspective. Twins are tested yearly within months of their birthdays, from ages 1 year to 5 years. Siblings are tested at 5 years of age. At ages 1-4 years, children are tested on a cognitive battery and mother-child interactions are videotaped. At 5 years, children engage in a peer play situation in the lab. Results thus far suggest that aggression during play in the lab shows genetic influence, corroborating earlier parent rating studies.