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Updated: May 10, 2026
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Using Cholesky Decomposition to Explore Individual Differences in Longitudinal Relations between Reading Skills
Published on: September 17, 2019
Expanding the environment: gene × school-level SES interaction on reading comprehension
Sara A Hart1, Brooke Soden, Wendy Johnson
1Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA; Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA.
Summary
School socioeconomic status (SES) influences reading comprehension. Higher school SES, indicated by fewer students qualifying for Free and Reduced Lunch Status (FRLS), allows for greater genetic and shared environmental influences on reading skills.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Genetics
- Developmental Psychology
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- Family socioeconomic status (SES) is known to moderate genetic and environmental influences on cognitive outcomes.
- Genetic influences on cognitive abilities are generally greater at higher family SES levels, supporting the bioecological model.
- This study extends previous research by examining school-level SES as a moderator of reading comprehension.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of school-level SES in moderating genetic and environmental influences on reading comprehension.
- To test the bioecological model's predictions in the context of school environments and reading skills.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 577 twin pairs from the Florida Twin Project on Reading, Behavior and Environment.
- Reading comprehension was assessed using the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT) Reading.
- School-level SES was operationalized by the mean Free and Reduced Lunch Status (FRLS) of students within each school.
Main Results:
- A significant gene-environment interaction was found: genetic influences on reading comprehension were stronger in schools with lower proportions of students qualifying for FRLS (higher school-level SES).
- Shared environmental influences on reading comprehension were also found to be greater in higher school-level SES environments.
- The findings support the bioecological model, indicating that environmental conditions, specifically poverty levels within schools, impact the expression of genetic and environmental influences.
Conclusions:
- The study supports the bioecological model, demonstrating that higher school-level SES environments, characterized by less poverty, amplify genetic contributions to reading comprehension.
- Both genetic and shared environmental influences on reading comprehension are more substantial in school settings with lower poverty rates.
- Poverty within school environments appears to suppress the contribution of genetic and shared environmental factors to individual differences in reading comprehension.
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