Educational experiences of U.S. children during the 2020-2021 school year in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a historic event impacting children around the globe. Prior research on the educational experiences of children during the COVID-19 pandemic focused almost exclusively on spring 2020. This article extends this literature past the initial shock of spring 2020, capturing the first full school year (2020-2021) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This registered report study utilized a national sample of 1,666 United States twins in kindergarten through 12th grade from 43 states to provide the current descriptive report of children's educational experiences during this time, as reported by their parents. Specifically, we reported on school format, parents' role in education, parent-teacher interactions, schoolwork struggles, technology access, and school services. About half of children attended in-person schooling, with many children switching from online to in-person throughout the school year. Parents saw the pandemic as a risk to their children's education. During the 2020-2021 school year of the pandemic, parents felt they had a larger role in their children's education and were less satisfied in their interactions with teachers than what they experienced during the prepandemic part of the 2019-2020 school year. Children experienced more schoolwork struggles than they had in previous years, and this was similar across age groups. For most constructs, results were equivalent across age group, but parents of younger children tended to provide more schoolwork help. Overall, this article highlights the disruptions in their educational environments that children continued to experience through the first full school year (2020-2021) of the COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Daily general discrimination predicts changes in trait negative affectivity: A 30-year cohort longitudinal study using a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model.

OBJECTIVE: Increasing evidence indicates discrimination is an emerging risk factor for reducing psychological well-being. Negative affectivity is a personality trait that has been associated with discrimination. Yet, few studies to date have examined the longitudinal relationship between discrimination and personality. The current study addresses this gap by examining how general discrimination and negative affectivity influence each other longitudinally. METHOD: The Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) dataset was used for the current study. The MIDUS sample (N = 4244) was predominately white (90.7%), 52% female, and had an average age of 46 years old. Individuals completed follow-up measures 10 and 20 years after baseline. Data were analyzed using a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model. RESULTS: Individuals that scored higher on trait negative affectivity also tended to score higher on perceived daily discrimination. We found general perceived discrimination at age 55 unidirectionally predicted changes in negative affectivity around retirement age, but not from age 45 to 55. In contrast, negative affectivity did not significantly predict increases in perceived discrimination at any timepoint. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that perceived discrimination has pernicious impacts on well-being up to a decade later and may do so by increasing an individual's tendency to experience negative emotions (i.e., negative affectivity).

Where you live matters: visualizing environmental effects on reading attainment.

BACKGROUND: The way in which socioeconomic status (SES) moderates the etiology of reading attainment has been explored many times, with past work often finding that genetic influences are suppressed under conditions of socioeconomic deprivation and more fully realized under conditions of socioeconomic advantage: a gene-SES interaction. Additionally, past work has pointed toward the presence of gene-location interactions, with the relative influence of genes and environment varying across geographic regions of the same country/state. METHOD: This study investigates the extent to which SES and geographical location interact to moderate the genetic and environmental components of reading attainment. Utilizing data from 2,135 twin pairs in Florida (mean age 13.82 years, range 10.71-17.77), the study operationalized reading attainment as reading comprehension scores from a statewide test and SES as household income. We applied a spatial twin analysis procedure to investigate how twin genetic and environmental estimates vary by geographic location. We then expanded this analysis to explore how the moderating role of SES on said genetic and environmental influences also varied by geographic location. RESULTS: A gene-SES interaction was found, with heritability of reading being suppressed in lower- (23%) versus higher-SES homes (78%). The magnitude of the moderating parameters were not consistent by location, however, and ranged from -0.10 to 0.10 for the moderating effect on genetic influences, and from -0.30 to 0.05 for the moderating effect on environmental influences. For smaller areas and those with less socioeconomic variability, the magnitude of the genetic moderating parameter was high, giving rise to more fully realized genetic influences on reading there. CONCLUSIONS: SES significantly influences reading variability. However, a child's home location matters in both the overall etiology and how strongly SES moderates said etiologies. These results point toward the presence of multiple significant environmental factors that simultaneously, and inseparably, influence the underlying etiology of reading attainment.

Examining mindset and grit in concurrent and future reading comprehension: A twin study.

Noncognitive factors have gained attention in recent years as potential intervention targets for academic achievement improvement in students. Two notable facets, intelligence mindset and grit, have been of particular interest. Both have been shown to consistently improve educational outcomes, although little work has focused on reading ability. As such, we examined the relation between both grit and mindset on current, future, and change in reading comprehension ability in a twin sample. We used data from 422 twin pairs (171 monozygotic pairs, 251 dizygotic pairs) drawn from the Florida Twin Project on Reading, Behavior and Environment (Taylor et al., 2019). The racial composition of the sample included 1.00% American Indian or Alaska Native, 2.25% Asian, 13.25% Black or African American, 22.63% Hispanic, 1.00% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 56.13% White, and 3.75% more than 1 race. The household income of the sample at time 1 was 16.15% below $25,000, 18.06% $25,000-49,999, 36.34% $50,000-99,999, and 29.45% $100,000 or more and closely align with the overall composition reported for the state of Florida (United States Census Bureau, 2021). Twins were on average 13 years old when the questionnaire and first reading ability measure were collected, and on average 15 years old when the second reading ability measure was collected. Weak and moderate positive correlations were found between both mindset and grit and with each reading ability score and neither were significantly related to change in reading ability. Twin modeling suggested little to no common genetic or environmental influences between mindset and grit to reading ability. In total, our results do not lend support to the notion of mindset or grit being a mechanism of change for reading ability. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

A comparative study of suicidal and nonsuicidal self-injury characteristics in heterosexual versus sexual minority females.

Sexual minorities are at heightened risk for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidal ideation and attempts. We tested whether sexual minority and heterosexual females differ on these characteristics. Sexual minority females (n = 45) had higher lifetime frequency of NSSI and higher thwarted belonginess compared to heterosexual females (n = 47). These specific factors may contribute to the higher rates of suicide attempts among sexual minorities than heterosexual individuals.

An initial investigation of the association between DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and nonsuicidal self-injury functions.

OBJECTIVE: Despite the well-established link between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), little is known about factors that may lead to self-injury among trauma-exposed individuals. Moreover, no research to date has examined these relations in the context of the newly revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) PTSD criteria. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to explore the associations between DSM-5 PTSD symptom clusters (i.e., intrusion, avoidance, negative alterations in cognitions and mood, alterations in arousal and reactivity) and self-injury functions using a small sample of college students. METHOD: Participants (N = 81) were recruited for a lifetime history of NSSI and trauma exposure. RESULTS: Findings revealed a statistically significant path from PTSD avoidance symptoms to NSSI social functions and from PTSD negative alterations in cognitions and mood symptoms to NSSI intrapersonal functions, even after controlling for relevant covariates. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the current study highlight the importance of assessing for NSSI among trauma-exposed individuals. Considering that NSSI is a risk factor for suicidal behavior and potentially a clinically distinct diagnosis, future research should continue to explore these associations using larger, more diverse clinical samples. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

An investigation of the triarchic model of psychopathy and self-reported Cluster B personality disorder traits.

Cluster B personality traits often co-occur with psychopathic traits. However, few investigations have been conducted to understand the high co-occurrence of antisocial (ASPD), borderline (BPD), narcissistic (NPD), and histrionic (HPD) personality disorder traits and psychopathy. The triarchic model of psychopathy is a framework that focuses on dispositional constructs (meanness, boldness, and disinhibition) with neurobiological and developmental correlates that may be particularly useful in elucidating the overlap between Cluster B personality traits and psychopathy. This study investigated how the triarchic model relates to Cluster B personality traits. Two independent samples completed self-report measures of personality disorder traits. Sample 1 consists of 508 adults, and Sample 2 consists of 529 undergraduate students. Disinhibition positively predicted all Cluster B PDs. Meanness positively predicted ASPD, NPD, and BPD, and negatively predicted HPD. Boldness positively predicted ASPD, NPD, and HPD and negatively predicted BPD. Overall, our study provides insights into how these disorders may fit within new dimensional models of psychopathology and provides information regarding how transdiagnostic features (e.g., boldness) exist among the Cluster B personality disorder traits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Early classroom reading gains moderate shared environmental influences on reading comprehension in adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Reading is important for children's success in school and beyond, yet many adolescents fail to reach expected levels of proficiency. This highlights the need to better understand the factors that influence reading effectiveness over time, including genes and environment. Greater expression of genetic influence on first- and second-grade reading fluency has been observed in higher quality classroom reading environments. To what degree this early environment continues to influence genetic and other environmental influences on later reading is unknown and was tested in this study. METHODS: The quality of the early classroom reading environment was approximated by gains in oral reading fluency (ORF) across the school year among first- or second-grade classmates of 546 MZ and 1,016 DZ twin children (mean age = 7.13 years; SD = 0.45) who had reading comprehension scores from a state-wide mandatory test in school year 2013-2014 when most twin pairs were in seventh to tenth grade (mean age = 14.41; SD = 1.13) in a variable called Class ORF Gain. Biometrical models were fit to the data to assess whether Class ORF Gain moderated the genetic, shared environmental and/or nonshared environmental variance associated with adolescent reading comprehension. RESULTS: Class ORF Gain moderated shared environmental influences on reading comprehension 6-9 years later. When early classroom reading gains were poor, variability in reading comprehension in adolescence was high and was associated largely with shared environmental influences. When early classroom reading gains were good, overall and shared environmentally influenced variability in adolescent reading comprehension was lower so that genetic influences were most relevant in explaining that variability. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggested that classroom reading environment experienced when children were learning to read had a lasting influence on the factors underlying variability in later reading effectiveness.

The Florida State Twin Registry.

The Florida State Twin Registry has existed for nearly two decades, and it grew primarily over 10 years as part of the Florida Learning Disability Research Center at Florida State University. The registry contains 2753 sets of twins and other multiples in Florida. The mean age of the sample currently is 17.96 years (SD = 2.05). The registry is diverse in terms of race and ethnicity (49% White, 19% African American, 24% Hispanic and 8% mixed or other). The characteristics of the samples and measures in the studies that served to build the registry are outlined.

The National Project on Achievement in Twins.

The National Project on Achievement in Twins (NatPAT) began in 2017 as part of the third funding cycle of the Florida Learning Disabilities Research Center, a program project grant funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development. NatPAT will have a nationally representative sample of elementary school-aged twins in the United States. The overall goal of the project is to uncover salient factors, including genetic and environmental influences, which contribute to the co-development of reading and math performance during the critical developmental period of elementary school. Here we present the specific aims, methods and materials, and future directions of the project.

The Developmental Propensity Model Extends to Oppositional Defiant Disorder: a Twin Study.

Previous research has supported the developmental propensity model, which proposes that three socioemotional dispositions (prosociality, negative emotionality, and daring) increase risk for the development of conduct problems through shared genetic and environmental influences. The current study extends this research by examining the model in relation to oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Based on a confirmatory factor analysis, ODD was examined as three separate dimensions (irritable, headstrong, and hurtful) rather than a unitary construct. Parents of 686 same-sex twins (ages 7-13) provided ratings of their twins' dispositions and ODD symptoms. Results from a path model examining phenotypic relationships showed that all dispositions were significantly related to each ODD dimension, except daring was not predictive of the irritable dimension. Preliminary twin analyses showed nonadditive genetic effects only on daring, which limited the appropriateness of evaluating it with the other dispositions. Results from a series of models used to examine etiological associations showed all ODD dimensions had common additive genetic influences with prosociality and negative emotionality. Only headstrong had common additive genetic influences with daring. Irritable and headstrong had common shared environmental influences with respect for rules (an aspect of prosociality), and common nonshared environmental influences with negative emotionality. Hurtful showed no shared environmental influences, but it had common nonshared environmental influences with prosociality and negative emotionality. These findings support the idea that the socioemotional dispositions in the developmental propensity model have some common etiological influences with ODD dimensions, suggesting this model can provide a novel framework for understanding the development of ODD.

Medical abortion with mifepristone and vaginal misoprostol between 64 and 70 days' gestation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate outcomes with mifepristone 200 mg orally followed 24-48 h later by misoprostol 800 mcg vaginally for medical abortion at 64-70 days of gestation. STUDY DESIGN: We reviewed electronic databases and medical records for medical abortion cases at 64-70 days' gestation at British Pregnancy Advisory Service clinics in England and Wales from May 2015 through October 2016. Women selected in-office follow-up or self-evaluation of abortion outcome using a checklist along with low-sensitivity urine pregnancy testing. We excluded cases in which we could not locate records and when women did not proceed with medical abortion, did not use misoprostol following mifepristone if abortion had not occurred and did not attend a scheduled follow-up assessment. We analyzed demographic characteristics, treatment outcomes and significant adverse events. We defined treatment success as complete abortion without surgical evacuation and without continuing pregnancy. RESULTS: Of 2743 cases identified, we could not locate 40 charts and excluded 30 cases, leaving a final sample of 2673. Overall, 2538 (94.9%, 95% CI 94.1-95.8) women had a successful medical abortion. Reasons for failure included continuing pregnancy (n=90, 3.4%, 95% CI 2.7-4.1), retained nonviable pregnancy (n=2, 0.1%, 95% CI 0-0.2) and incomplete abortion (n=43, 1.6%, 95% CI 1.1-2.1). Of those with continuing pregnancies, 81 underwent a uterine aspiration and 9 opted to continue the pregnancy. Thirty-five (1.3%, 95% CI 0.9-1.7) women had significant adverse events; 16 (0.6%, 95% CI 0.3-0.9) underwent an in-hospital aspiration. Pelvic infection (n=4, 0.2%) and transfusion (n=1, 0.03%) occurred rarely. CONCLUSION: Medical abortion from 64 to 70 days with mifepristone and vaginal misoprostol is effective with a low rate of serious adverse events. IMPLICATIONS: Medical abortion between 64 and 70 days of gestation may be offered on an outpatient basis using mifepristone and vaginal misoprostol. Service provision without an in-person follow-up is feasible. Not all women with a continuing pregnancy after medical abortion treatment opt to have an aspiration procedure.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Achievement Outcomes Based on Family History of Learning Disabilities Status.

A risk to develop a learning disability has been shown to run in families. Having a positive family history of learning disability seems to account for mean differences in achievement outcomes (reading, math) in that children with a positive family history score significantly lower compared to their peers with no such family history. However, the role of family history status in explaining etiological (genetic and environmental) differences among these subgroups of children has yet to be established. The present study of 872 twins (Mage = 13.30, SDage = 1.40) from the Florida Twin Project on Reading, Behavior, and Environment utilized a multigroup approach to examine etiological differences on reading, spelling, and math among two subgroups defined by family history status. Results showed significant mean differences on all achievement outcomes, aside from math; however, no significant etiological differences on any achievement outcome were found among the two subgroups. Results support previous literature that the risk for developing a learning disability is transmitted through a family, but this is seemingly not manifested by differential etiology.

Twin Family Registries Worldwide: An Important Resource for Scientific Research.

Much progress has been made in twin research since our last special issue on twin registries (Hur, Y.-M., & Craig, J. M. (2013). Twin Research and Human Genetics, 16, 1-12.). This special issue provides an update on the state of twin family registries around the world. This issue includes 61 papers on twin family registries from 25 countries, of which 3 describe consortia based on collaborations of several twin family registries. The articles included in this issue discuss the establishment and maintenance of twin registries, recruitment strategies, methods of zygosity assessment, research aims and major findings from twin family cohorts, as well as other important topics related to twin studies. The papers amount to approximately 1.3 million monozygotic, dizygotic twins and higher order multiples and their family members who participate in twin studies around the world. Nine new twin family registries have been established across the world since our last issue, which demonstrates that twin registers are increasingly important in studies of the determinants and correlates of complex traits from disease susceptibility to healthy development.

Outcomes of dilation and evacuation with and without feticide by intra-cardiac potassium chloride injection: a service evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: To compare procedure duration, complications, and acceptability of dilation and evacuation (D&E) with and without feticide by intra-cardiac potassium chloride (KCL) injection. STUDY DESIGN: We evaluated outcomes with D&E at 18-24 weeks of gestation in the 6 months before and 6 months after removing feticide with KCL from the guidelines of a national British abortion provider. We extracted demographic and procedure-related data from medical records and electronic databases. We surveyed women undergoing D&E in both time periods about acceptability and side effects. RESULTS: We analyzed 291 cases with and 257 cases without KCL. Unadjusted mean procedure duration was shorter with KCL than without (12.7 vs. 16.1 min, respectively, p<.001). After adjustment for age, parity, Cesarean deliveries, gestational age, body mass index, surgeon, and number or duration of osmotic dilators used, KCL remained associated with a 3.5 min (95% CI 2.4-4.6) reduction in D&E duration. Uterine atony was more common with KCL than without (3% vs. 0%, respectively, p=.004), despite more frequent administration of prophylactic utero-tonics to women who received KCL (82% KCL vs. 73% no-KCL, p=.001). Women who had KCL reported more pain in the period between feticide and dilator placement and the evacuation than women who had not received feticide (49% vs. 25%, respectively, p<.001). Most women in both groups found their procedure very acceptable or acceptable (79% KCL vs. 87% no-KCL, p=.2). CONCLUSIONS: Feticide with intra-cardiac KCL reduced D&E procedure duration, but was associated with more pain and uterine atony. Treatment acceptability was high with and without feticide. IMPLICATIONS: Inducing fetal demise before dilation and evacuation with intra-cardiac potassium chloride may result in shorter operative times but does not appear to improve safety or acceptability. Level I evidence remains needed to support the use of feticide before surgical abortion.

Examining the Etiology of Reading Disability as Conceptualized by the Hybrid Model.

A fairly recent definition of reading disability (RD) is that in the form of a hybrid model. The model views RD as a latent construct that is manifested through various observable unexpected impairments in reading related skills and through inadequate response to intervention. The current report evaluated this new conceptualization of RD from an etiological perspective. The sample consisted of 2737 twin pairs in first through fourth grade (Mage = 8.52) from the Florida Twin Project on Reading. Using twin analyses, results showed that a substantial proportion of genetic variance, a small proportion of shared environmental, and a small proportion of non-shared environmental variance was attributed to the RD factor. Findings suggest that the etiological architecture of RD closely mirrors the structure of the hybrid model of RD.

Longitudinal Associations Among Reading-Related Skills and Reading Comprehension: A Twin Study.

This study investigated the etiology of longitudinal relations among kindergarten prereading skills, first-grade word level reading skills, and seventh-grade reading comprehension in 265 monozygotic and 459 dizygotic twin pairs (Mage  = 6.29 years in kindergarten) from the Florida Twin Project on Reading. Using a quadvariate Cholesky decomposition, results showed genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental overlap among prereading skills, word level reading skills, and reading comprehension. In addition, genetic and shared environmental overlap was indicated among word level reading skills and reading comprehension, outside the influence of prereading skills. After accounting for overlapping, there remained moderate genetic and nonshared environmental influence specific to reading comprehension. Implications for reading education are discussed.

The Effects of Genetic and Environmental Factors on Writing Development.

Researchers have identified sources of individual differences in writing across beginning and developing writers. The aim of the present study was to further clarify the sources of this variability by investigating the extent to which there are differences in genetic and environmental factors underlying the associations between lexical diversity, syntactic knowledge, and semantic cohesion knowledge in relation to writing. Differences were examined across two developmental phases of writing: beginning (i.e., elementary school) and developing (i.e., middle school). Participants included 262 twin pairs (Mage = 10.88 years) in elementary school and 247 twin pairs (Mage = 13.21 years) in middle school. Twins were drawn from the Florida Twin Project on Reading, Behavior, and Environment. Biometric models were conducted separately for subgroups defined by phase of writing development. Results indicated significant etiological differences in writing components across the two phases, such that effects associated with genes and non-shared environment were greater while effects associated with shared environment were lower in developing writers as compared to beginning writers. Furthermore, results showed that child-specific environment was the largest contributor to individual differences in writing components and their covariation for both beginning and developing writers. These results imply that even direct instruction about writing in schools may be having different effects on children based on their unique experiences.

Home Environmental and Behavioral Risk Indices for Reading Achievement.

The goal of this study was to identify home environmental and temperament/behavior variables that best predict standardized reading comprehension scores among school-aged children. Data from 269 children aged 9-16 (M = 12.08; SD = 1.62) were used in discriminant function analyses to create the Home and Behavior indices. Family income was controlled in each index. The final Home and Behavior models each classified around 75% of cases correctly (reading comprehension at grade level vs. not). Each index was then used to predict other outcomes related to reading. Results showed that Home and/or Behavior accounted for 4-7% of the variance in reading fluency and spelling and 20-35% of the variance in parent-rated problems in math, social anxiety, and other dimensions. These metrics show promise as environmental and temperament/behavior risk scores that could be used to predict and potentially screen for further assessment of reading related problems.