Suggests that each dimension of perceived family environment appears to be influenced by a different combination of underlying factors: acceptance-rejection by genetic and specific environmental factors and restrictiveness-permissiveness by shared and specific environmental factors. (RH)

Examined the relationship between adolescent sexual activity and mildly deviant behavior. Analyzed data of 1,739 adolescents from the Carolina Population Center's Sexuality Project which contained linkable responses of siblings, best friends, and other friends. Results showed overlap between sexuality and mild deviance but also indicated that the…

Used prospective data to examine the relationship between the family environment and child and adolescent achievement and to determine genetic and environmental contributions to this relationship. Data from 2,108 sibling full- and half-sibling pairs from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth suggest that genetic factors explain about…

Examines the contiguity of siblings within family structure--a concept reflecting how much of the family environment siblings share with one another--in relation to within family IQ scores. Results fail to demonstrate family structure effects. (HOD)

Whether genetic and environmental effects on academic achievement changed as a function of the quality of children's environment was studied with 1664 pairs of full siblings, 366 pairs of half siblings, and 752 pairs of cousins. Little evidence was found of genotype-environment interactions. (SLD)

The authors respond to critiques of their investigation of whether birth order reliably contributes to variance in intelligence, concluding that little in the critiques challenges the original position that cross-sectional data are suspect as evidence for within-family trends in intelligence. When looking inside families and directly comparing the…

It is argued that behavior genetics should be part of social policy deliberations because behavior genetics studies can reveal which traits are more influenced by shared environments and thus are most malleable through environmental change. This is of particular interest in the case of IQ. (SLD)

Investigated genetic and environmental contributions to relationship between family and school environment and depressed mood; also potential sex differences in genetic and environment contributions to variation in and covariation between family connectedness, school connectedness, and depressed mood. Subjects were 2,302 adolescent sibling pairs.…

IQ scores from five kinship categories of 7- to 12-year-olds were analyzed into genetic and environmental components. The common environmental effects were larger for older children than younger children. Overall, the Genetic and Common Environment Sources each accounted for approximately 40% of the IQ variability in the data. (Author/LMO)

Parents who were identical twins, fraternal twins, or adopted siblings completed questionnaires assessing attitudes toward parenting and specific parenting practices, the emotional atmosphere of the home, and parental personality. Model-fitting results implicated modest genetic effects on affect-related aspects of parenting, such as parental…

This book examines socialization science, which is the empirical effort to understand how children acquire traits from their families and cultures. This work proposes that one part of the family influence process--broad differences in family environments, except for those that are neglectful, abusive, or without opportunity--may exert little…

Used a longitudinal sibling research design and a large, nationally representative sample of 15- to 22-year-old siblings to study shared and unshared environmental influences on delinquency. Although no unshared family environmental influences were found for sisters and mixed-sex siblings, they may have existed for brothers. Data suggested…