Cognitive Prediction of Reading, Math, and Attention: Shared and Unique Influences

The current study tested a multiple-cognitive predictor model of word reading, math ability, and attention in a community-based sample of twins ages 8 to 16 years (N = 636). The objective was to identify cognitive predictors unique to each skill domain as well as cognitive predictors shared among skills that could help explain their overlap and thus help illuminate the basis for comorbidity of related disorders (reading disability, math disability, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Results indicated that processing speed contributes to the overlap between reading and attention as well as math and attention, whereas verbal comprehension contributes to the overlap between reading and math. There was no evidence that executive functioning skills help account for covariation among these skill domains. Instead, specific executive functions differentially related to certain outcomes (i.e., working memory to math and inhibition to attention). We explored whether the model varied in younger versus older children and found only minor differences. Results are interpreted within the context of the multiple deficit framework for neurodevelopmental disorders.

[1]  K. Landerl,et al.  Cognitive Risk Factors for Specific Learning Disorder , 2016, Journal of learning disabilities.

[2]  L. Fuchs,et al.  Cognitive and Mathematical Profiles for Different Forms of Learning Difficulties , 2015, Journal of learning disabilities.

[3]  B. Pennington.  Explaining Abnormal Behavior: A Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective , 2014 .

[4]  D. Ansari,et al.  Language, Reading, and Math Learning Profiles in an Epidemiological Sample of School Age Children , 2013, PloS one.

[5]  B. Pennington,et al.  Comorbidity Between Reading Disability and Math Disability , 2013, Journal of learning disabilities.

[6]  Rosemary Tannock,et al.  Validity of DSM-IV attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptom dimensions and subtypes. , 2012, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[7]  Akira Miyake,et al.  Predicting word reading and comprehension with executive function and speed measures across development: a latent variable analysis. , 2012, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[8]  B. Byrne,et al.  Individual prediction of dyslexia by single versus multiple deficit models. , 2012, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[9]  B. Pennington,et al.  A multiple deficit model of reading disability and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: searching for shared cognitive deficits. , 2011, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[10]  D. Boomsma,et al.  A genetic study on attention problems and academic skills: results of a longitudinal study in twins. , 2011, Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent.

[11]  B. Pennington,et al.  Etiology and neuropsychology of comorbidity between RD and ADHD: The case for multiple-deficit models , 2010, Cortex.

[12]  C. Schatschneider,et al.  Exploring How Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Are Related to Reading and Mathematics Performance , 2010, Psychological science.

[13]  B. Byrne,et al.  Genetic and Environmental Influences on Inattention, Hyperactivity-Impulsivity, and Reading: Kindergarten to Grade 2 , 2010, Scientific studies of reading : the official journal of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading.

[14]  Joanna M. Wardlaw,et al.  A General Factor of Brain White Matter Integrity Predicts Information Processing Speed in Healthy Older People , 2010, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[15]  Julia M. Carroll,et al.  Speech and Language Difficulties in Children With and Without a Family History of Dyslexia , 2010 .

[16]  M. Barnes,et al.  Working memory and mathematics: A review of developmental, individual difference, and cognitive approaches. , 2010 .

[17]  Richard K Olson,et al.  Longitudinal Stability of Reading-Related Skills and Their Prediction of Reading Development , 2010, Scientific studies of reading : the official journal of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading.

[18]  Kristina Moll,et al.  Comorbidity of learning disorders: prevalence and familial transmission. , 2010, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[19]  R. J. Gaag.  Diagnosing learning disorders. A neuropsychological framework , 2010 .

[20]  Robert Plomin,et al.  The ABCs of Math: A Genetic Analysis of Mathematics and Its Links With Reading Ability and General Cognitive Ability. , 2009, Journal of educational psychology.

[21]  Scott L. Decker.  Diagnosing Learning Disorders: A Neuropsychological Framework (2nd ed.) , 2009 .

[22]  K. Stanovich.  Matthew Effects in Reading: Some Consequences of Individual Differences in the Acquisition of Literacy , 2009 .

[23]  C. Cornoldi,et al.  Working Memory Failures in Children with Arithmetical Difficulties , 2008, Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence.

[24]  Russell J Schachar,et al.  Mathematical Learning Disorder in School-Age Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder , 2008, Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie.

[25]  M. Järvelin,et al.  Do inattention and hyperactivity symptoms equal scholastic impairment? evidence from three European cohorts , 2007, BMC public health.

[26]  B. Pennington,et al.  Understanding comorbidity: A twin study of reading disability and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder , 2007, American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics.

[27]  R Plomin,et al.  Overlap and specificity of genetic and environmental influences on mathematics and reading disability in 10-year-old twins. , 2007, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[28]  R. Plomin,et al.  Overlap and specificity of genetic and environmental influences on reading and mathematics disability in 10 year-old twins. , 2007 .

[29]  Mary K. Hoard,et al.  Cognitive mechanisms underlying achievement deficits in children with mathematical learning disability. , 2007, Child development.

[30]  Ulf Andersson,et al.  Working memory deficit in children with mathematical difficulties: a general or specific deficit? , 2007, Journal of experimental child psychology.

[31]  M. Barnes,et al.  Cognitive Arithmetic Differences in Learning Difficulty Groups and the Role of Behavioral Inattention , 2007 .

[32]  B. Pennington,et al.  Deficient implicit phonological representations in children with dyslexia. , 2006, Journal of experimental child psychology.

[33]  B. Pennington.  From single to multiple deficit models of developmental disorders , 2006, Cognition.

[34]  B. Pennington,et al.  Processing Speed Deficits in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Reading Disability , 2006, Journal of abnormal child psychology.

[35]  C. Hulme,et al.  Phoneme awareness is a key component of alphabetic literacy skills in consistent and inconsistent orthographies: evidence from Czech and English children. , 2005, Journal of experimental child psychology.

[36]  R. Plomin,et al.  Generalist genes and learning disabilities. , 2005, Psychological bulletin.

[37]  B. Pennington,et al.  Neuropsychological Analyses of Comorbidity Between Reading Disability and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: In Search of the Common Deficit , 2005, Developmental neuropsychology.

[38]  Peter F. de Jong,et al.  Inhibition and shifting in children with learning deficits in arithmetic and reading. , 2004 .

[39]  R. Tannock,et al.  Neuropsychological profiles of adolescents with ADHD: effects of reading difficulties and gender. , 2002, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[40]  R. Kail,et al.  The Role of Speed of Processing, Rapid Naming, and Phonological Awareness in Reading Achievement , 2002, Journal of learning disabilities.

[41]  Donald L. Compton,et al.  Comparing the Relationships Among Two Different Versions of Alphanumeric Rapid Automatized Naming and Word Level Reading Skills , 2002 .

[42]  R. Olson,et al.  Genetic and Environmental Influences on Orthographic and Phonological Skills in Children With Reading Disabilities , 2001, Developmental neuropsychology.

[43]  E. Sonuga-Barke,et al.  Test‐retest reliability of a new delay aversion task and executive function measures , 2001 .

[44]  B. Pennington,et al.  A comparison of the cognitive deficits in reading disability and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. , 2001, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[45]  Kathryn P. Guy,et al.  Rapid Naming Deficits in Children and Adolescents with Reading Disabilities and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder , 2000, Brain and Language.

[46]  M Dennis,et al.  Developmental plasticity in children: the role of biological risk, development, time, and reserve. , 2000, Journal of communication disorders.

[47]  R. Tannock,et al.  Phonological processing, not inhibitory control, differentiates ADHD and reading disability. , 2000, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[48]  N. A. Badian,et al.  Persistent arithmetic, reading, or arithmetic and reading disability , 1999 .

[49]  M. Wolf,et al.  The double-deficit hypothesis for the developmental dyslexias. , 1999 .

[50]  H. Swanson,et al.  Cognitive processing deficits in poor readers with symptoms of reading disabilities and ADHD: More alike than different? , 1999 .

[51]  Rex B. Kline,et al.  Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling , 1998 .

[52]  G. Logan,et al.  Impulsivity and Inhibitory Control , 1997 .

[53]  J. Defries,et al.  Comorbidity of Reading and Mathematics Disabilities , 1995, Journal of learning disabilities.

[54]  R. Kail,et al.  Processing speed, naming speed, and reading. , 1994 .

[55]  D. Bishop,et al.  A prospective study of the relationship between specific language impairment, phonological disorders and reading retardation. , 1990, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[56]  D. Fulker,et al.  Specific Deficits in Component Reading and Language Skills , 1989, Journal of learning disabilities.

[57]  S. N. Decker.  Cognitive processing rates among disabled and normal reading young adults: A nine year follow-up study , 1989 .

[58]  C. Reynolds.  Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT‐R), 1984 Edition , 1986 .

[59]  W. Crump,et al.  Effects of Discourse Mode on the Syntactic Complexity of Learning Disabled Students' Written Expression , 1984 .

[60]  B. Rodgers,et al.  The identification and prevalence of specific reading retardation. , 1983, The British journal of educational psychology.

[61]  P. Bertelson,et al.  Does awareness of speech as a sequence of phones arise spontaneously? , 1979, Cognition.

[62]  M. Denckla,et al.  Rapid ‘automatized’ naming (R.A.N.): Dyslexia differentiated from other learning disabilities , 1976, Neuropsychologia.

[63]  Ruth B. Ekstrom,et al.  MANUAL FOR KIT OF REFERENCE TESTS FOR COGNITIVE FACTORS (REVISED 1963) , 1963 .

[64]  E. Willcutt,et al.  Evidence for shared genetic risk between ADHD symptoms and reduced mathematics ability: a twin study. , 2014, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[65]  Christoph Klein,et al.  Intraindividual variability in ADHD and its implications for research of causal links. , 2012, Current topics in behavioral neurosciences.

[66]  Tapabrata Maiti,et al.  Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling (2nd ed.) , 2006 .

[67]  B. Pennington,et al.  Analyzing comorbidity. , 2005, Advances in child development and behavior.

[68]  J. Fletcher,et al.  Specific reading disability (dyslexia): what have we learned in the past four decades? , 2004, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[69]  Aryan van der Leij,et al.  Effects of phonological abilities and linguistic comprehension on the development of reading. , 2002 .

[70]  R. Barkley.  Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. , 1997, Psychological bulletin.

[71]  J. Defries.  Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center , 1997 .

[72]  Richard K. Olson,et al.  Genes, Environment, and the Development of Orthographic Skills , 1994 .

[73]  Richard K. Olson,et al.  Measurement of word recognition, orthographic, and phonological skills. , 1994 .

[74]  Joseph M. Petrosko,et al.  Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised, 1974. David Wechsler , 1975 .