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Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Using Cholesky Decomposition to Explore Individual Differences in Longitudinal Relations between Reading Skills
Published on: September 17, 2019
SES and CHAOS as environmental mediators of cognitive ability: A longitudinal genetic analysis
Sara A Hart1, Stephen A Petrill, Kirby Deater Deckard
1Center for Developmental and Health Genetics, The Pennsylvania State University, 101 Amy Gardner House, University Park, PA 16802, United States.
Abstract:
This study examined shared environmental influences on the longitudinal stability of general cognitive ability, as mediated by socioeconomic status and chaos in the home, using 287 pairs of elementary school-age twins drawn from the Western Reserve Reading Project (WRRP). General cognitive ability was evaluated at two annual assessments using the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test. SES was examined using the highest level of education achieved by the mother of the twins, and chaos by a 6-item parent-report questionnaire. Results suggest that SES and CHAOS not only account for independent sources of shared environmental influences related to general cognitive ability at a given measurement occasion, but these effects also account for a portion of the longitudinal stability of general cognitive ability in early childhood.
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