It's been known for more than a decade that children with reading problems, particularly boys, also tend to have behavior problems, and vice versa.
Now researchers from King's College London and the University of Wisconsin-Madison find in a new study that the development of reading problems and behavior problems in boys are intertwined: as one changes, so does the other.
Their findings are published in the January/February 2006 issue of the journal, Child Development.
Using a sample of twins, they found, however, that just 27 percent of the overlap was due to common genetic factors, but that 71 percent was due to common environmental factors the twins shared.
Thus, the researchers developed their next hypothesis: that reading and behavior problems were linked to factors in the home environment.
Instead, the findings published in Child Development show that behavior problems and ADHD symptoms should not be considered equal, at least in terms of their connection with reading problems.
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