Learning Disorders in Children: Sibling Studies

Children with adequate intelligence who perform poorly in school were studied (1) to discover whether the characteristics of academically handicapped children could be more precisely identified and described, and (2) to clarify further the causes and familial patterns of learning disorders. Seventy-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 1971-01, Vol.36 (4), p.1-77
Main Authors: Owen, Freya Weaver, Adams, Pauline Austin, Forrest, Thomas, Stolz, Lois Meek, Fisher, Sara
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Altitude
Bender-Gestalt Test
Central Nervous System Diseases - complications
Child
Child Behavior
Child psychology
Child Rearing
Children
Emotions
Female
Handwriting
Humans
Intelligence
Intelligence quotient
Intelligence Tests
Learning disabilities
Learning Disorders - etiology
Learning Disorders - genetics
Male
Mothers
Neurologic Examination
Parent-Child Relations
Parents
Projective Techniques
Reading
School age children
Siblings
Underachievement
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Summary:Children with adequate intelligence who perform poorly in school were studied (1) to discover whether the characteristics of academically handicapped children could be more precisely identified and described, and (2) to clarify further the causes and familial patterns of learning disorders. Seventy-six quartets of children and their parents made up the sample. Included were 76 educationally handicapped (EH) children and their same-sex siblings (EHS) and 76 matched academically successful children and their same-sex siblings (referred to as SA and SAS). The EH children were compared with their matched controls and with their siblings on educational, psychological, and medical variables. The EH and control parents were contrasted on their adult reading ability, their high school transcripts, and their perceptions and attitudes toward their children. Five subgroups within the EH population were identified. Neurological, emotional, and familial factors were not as clearly delineated as has been popularly supposed. Definitive damage to the central nervous system was not an important antecedent for learning disorders in this population; subtle signs of different neurological functioning such as speech disorders and coordination problems were apparent. Familial learning disorders were most clear in the children with markedly high performance discrepancies on the WISC. Sibling concordance on many variables and parental language disabilities emphasized familial factors. Emotional antecedents were critical for the high-IQ and social-deviant groups. Moreover, the emotional climate was frequently more unfavorable for the EH child within the total family constellation.
ISSN:0037-976X
1540-5834
DOI:10.2307/1165746