Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T06:22:07.708Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Eight-Year Follow-up of Cognitive Development in 33 Twin Pairs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

B. Alin Åkerman
B. Alin Åkerman*
Affiliation:
Department of Special Education, Institute of Education, Stockholm, Sweden
*
Institute of Special Education, P.O Box 47308, 100 74 Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This is a follow-up study of twins, including 33 twinpairs from the Stockholm area, aiming to study the cognitive development of twins at eight years of age. The twins have been followed at different ages from birth onwards. All children were tested with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children in a Swedish translation (WISC). The WISC test consists of a Verbal and a Performance Scale. There were no significant differences between twin girls and twin boys on these Scales. On the Performance subtests Block Design, Object Assembly, and Coding, however, the twin girls performed significantly better than the twin boys. In comparing cognitive development for twins and singletons, the twin group had somewhat lower average scores than the singletons. Prematurity and low birth weight continued to be related to cognitive development at eight years of age. Also at this age the school teacher completed a questionnaire about the twins social behaviour and some personality traits. There was a relation between one questionnaire factor, a low score of assertiveness, and the mother's negative or ambivalent expectations concerning the twin pregnancy. The twin group with the mother's negative expectations also had significantly lower results on the subtests Comprehension and Coding. Negative mothers had more premature twins than mothers who were positive toward the twin pregnancy.

Keywords

TwinsCognitive developmentMental developmentPrematurityBirthweight
Type
Research Article
Information
Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae: twin research , Volume 44 , Issue 3-4 , October 1995 , pp. 179 - 188
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Twin Studies 1995

References

REFERENCES

1. Alin Åkerman, B (1987): The expectation and parentage of twins. A study on the language development of twin infants. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 36: 225–232.Google Scholar
2. Alin Åkerman, B, Fischbein, F (1991): Twins: Are They at Risk? A longitudinal study of Twins and Nontwins from Birth to 18 Years of Age. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 40: 29–40.Google Scholar
3. Alin Åkerman, B, Thomassen, PA (1991): Four-year follow-up of locomotor and language development in 34 twin pairs. Acta Genet Med Gemellol: 36: 225–232.Google Scholar
4. Alin Åkerman, B, Thomassen, PA (1992): The Fate of “small twins”: A Four-year Follow-up Study of Low Birthweight and Prematurely Born Twins. Acta Genet Med Gemellol: 41: 97–104.Google Scholar
5. Andersson, B-E (1989): Effects of Public Day-Care: A Longitudinal Study. Child Development. 60: 857–866.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6. Bjerre, I, Hansen, E (1976): Psychomotor development and school-adjustment of 7- year-old children with low birthweight. Acta Pediatrica Scand. 65: 88–96.Google Scholar
7. de Chateau, P (1989): Det ofödda barnets upplevelse (The experiences of the nonborn baby). Psykisk hälsa 3: 213–227.Google Scholar
8. Clark, PM, Dicman, Z (1984): Features of Interaction in Infant Twins. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 33: 165–171.Google ScholarPubMed
9. Day, E (1932): The development of language in twins. A comparison of twins and single children. Child Dev 3: 179–199.Google Scholar
10. Drillien, CM, Thomson, AJM, Burgoyne, K (1980): Low-birthweight children at early school-age: A longitudinal study. Develop Med Child Neurolog 22.Google Scholar
11. Fischbein, S (1978): School Achievement and Test Results for Twins and Singletons in Relation to Social Background. Twin Research: Psychology and Methodology. Alan R. Liss, Inc. N.Y. 101–109.Google Scholar
12. Fitzhardinge, PM (1976): Follow-up studies on the low birth weight infant. Clin Perinatol 3: 503–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13. Goodenough, F (1954): Measurement of intelligence by drawings. New York and Burlingame. Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. Google Scholar
14. Lagerström, M, Bremme, K, Eneroth, P, Faxelius, et al. (1991): WISC-test scores at the age of 10 for children born to women with risk pregnancies. J Perinat. Med. 19: 269–283.Google Scholar
15. Mittler, P (1979): Biological and social aspects of language development in twins. Dev Med Child Neurol 12: 741–757.Google Scholar
16. Neligan, GA, Kolvin, I, McScott, D, Garside, R-F (1976): Born too soon or born too small. Clin Dev Med No 61. London. Heinemann.Google Scholar
17. Sonnander, K (1990): Prevalence of mental retardation: An empirical study of an unselected school population. In: Fraser, WI: Key issues in mental retardation research. Proceedings of the Eighth Congress of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
18. Wechsler, D (1992): Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Third Edition. Manual. The Psychological Corporation. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Pub. Google Scholar
19. Wilson, RS (1975): Twins. Patterns of cognitive development as measured on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence. Dev. Psychol 11: 126–134.Google Scholar
20. Wilson, RS (1983): Developmental Synchronies in Behaviour. The Louisville Twin Study. Child Development 54: 298–316.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21. Wilson, RS (1984): Twins and Chronogenetics: Correlated Pathways of Development. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 33: 149–157.Google Scholar