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Descriptors:
Psychopathology; Risk; Public Health; Diagnostic Tests; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Genetics; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Body Weight; Siblings; Prenatal Influences; Environmental Influences; Correlation; Attribution Theory; Molecular Structure; Autism; Hazardous Materials; Disadvantaged Environment; Intervention; Drug Therapy

Abstract:
Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its possible causes still attract controversy. Genes, pre and perinatal risks, psychosocial factors and environmental toxins have all been considered as potential risk factors. Method: This review (focussing on literature published since 1997, selected from a search of PubMed) critically considers putative risk factors with a focus on genetics and selected environmental risks, examines their relationships with ADHD and discusses the likelihood that these risks are causal as well as some of the main implications. Results: No single risk factor explains ADHD. Both inherited and noninherited factors contribute and their effects are interdependent. ADHD is familial and heritable. Research into the inherited and molecular genetic contributions to ADHD suggest an important overlap with other neurodevelopmental problems, notably, autism spectrum disorders. Having a biological relative with ADHD, large, rare copy number variants, some small effect size candidate gene variants, extreme early adversity, pre and postnatal exposure to lead and low birth weight/prematurity have been most consistently found as risk factors, but none are yet known to be definitely causal. There is a large literature documenting associations between ADHD and a wide variety of putative environmental risks that can, at present, only be regarded as correlates. Findings from research designs that go beyond simply testing for association are beginning to contest the robustness of some environmental exposures previously thought to be ADHD risk factors. Conclusions: The genetic risks implicated in ADHD generally tend to have small effect sizes or be rare and often increase risk of many other types of psychopathology. Thus, they cannot be used for prediction, genetic testing or diagnostic purposes beyond what is predicted by a family history. There is a need to consider the possibility of parents and siblings being similarly affected and how this might impact on engagement with families, influence interventions and require integration with adult services. Genetic contributions to disorder do not necessarily mean that medications are the treatment of choice. We also consider how findings might influence the conceptualisation of ADHD, public health policy implications and why it is unhelpful and incorrect to dichotomise genetic/biological and environmental explanations. It is essential that practitioners can interpret genetic and aetiological research findings and impart informed explanations to families. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Intelligence; Behavior Problems; Genetics; Etiology; Environmental Influences; Preschool Children; Longitudinal Studies; Twins; Attendance; Cognitive Ability; Socioeconomic Status; Minority Groups; Enrollment; Child Care Centers; Economically Disadvantaged; Preschool Education

Abstract:
Background: Preschool involves an array of new social experiences that may impact the development of early externalizing behavior problems over the transition to grade school. Methods: Using longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of over 600 pairs of US twins, we tested whether the genetic and environmental influences on externalizing problems differed between children who did versus did not attend preschool. Results: At age 4, the genetic and environmental etiology of externalizing did not differ by preschool attendance. In contrast, by age 5 years (kindergarten age), the genetic and environmental etiology of externalizing significantly differed by preschool attendance. Among children who did not attend preschool, externalizing at age 5 was predominantly due to environmental influences (52% shared environment, 34% non-shared environment) rather than genetic differences (13%), whereas among children who had attended preschool, externalizing at age 5 was primarily due to genes (67%), and shared environmental influences were negligible (0%). These interactions represented the differential longitudinal persistence of genes and environments that contributed to externalizing at age 4. Sensitivity analyses ruled out confounding due to early mental ability, socioeconomic status, minority status, child age, and prior history of childcare. Conclusions: These results indicate that preschool enrollment is associated with increased genetic and decreased shared environmental influences on the development of early externalizing behavior problems. (Contains 1 table, 3 figures, and 2 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Health Behavior; Smoking; Adolescents; Genetics; Drinking; Peer Influence; Biochemistry; Risk; Longitudinal Studies; Brain Hemisphere Functions; Guidelines; Incidence; Correlation

Abstract:
We investigate whether the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region ("5HTTLPR"), a gene associated with environmental sensitivity, moderates the association between smoking and drinking patterns at adolescents' schools and their corresponding risk for smoking and drinking themselves. Drawing on the school-based design of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in conjunction with molecular genetic data for roughly 15,000 respondents (including over 2,000 sibling pairs), we show that adolescents smoke more cigarettes and consume more alcohol when attending schools with elevated rates of tobacco and alcohol use. More important, an individual's susceptibility to school-level patterns of smoking or drinking is conditional on the number of short alleles he or she has in "5HTTLPR". Overall, the findings demonstrate the utility of the differential susceptibility framework for medical sociology by suggesting that health behaviors reflect interactions between genetic factors and the prevalence of these behaviors in a person's context. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures and 7 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Grade Point Average; Genetics; Social Environment; Depression (Psychology); Interaction; Body Weight; Twins; Children; Environmental Influences; Correlation; Birth; Nutrition; Delinquency; Prenatal Influences

Abstract:
Numerous studies report gene-environment interactions, suggesting that specific alleles have different effects on social outcomes depending on environment. In all these studies, however, environmental conditions are potentially endogenous to unmeasured genetic characteristics. That is, it could be that the observed interaction effects actually reflect underlying genetic tendencies that lead individuals into certain environments. What is critical to move this literature forward is random environmental variation that we know is not correlated with innate characteristics of subjects. We exploit a natural experiment that randomizes a particular stressor--birth weight discordance within twin pairs--to address this challenge and ask: Do random differences in early environment (prenatal nutrition) moderate genetic effects on depression, delinquency, or GPA? Using Add Health data, the only consistently significant allele-birth weight interaction we reveal works in the opposite direction of Caspi et al.'s classic finding regarding the interaction of maltreatment with genetic variation in the serotonin transporter promoter. Less robust interactions found for "DRD2" and "MAOA" are consistent with this pattern that reverses prior findings. These results do not necessarily overturn existing research but support our methodological point that gene-environment research must address endogeneity. (Contains 6 tables, 1 figure and 9 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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African American Community; Genetics; Ethnic Diversity; Racial Differences; Human Body; Classification; Educational Research; Persuasive Discourse; Social Attitudes; Value Judgment; Aesthetics; Social Sciences

Abstract:
Although previous authors have offered persuasive arguments about the salience of race in the scholastic enterprise, colorism remains a relatively underexplored concept. This article augments considerations of social forces by exploring how color classifications within racial arrangements frame pathways for communities of color and, therefore, must inform educational inquiries. Consistent with the rich tradition of ethnic studies, I draw on sources in the humanities, legal profession, and social sciences to demonstrate how colorism surfaces in lived experiences. The African American community is used as an exemplar for illustrating historical foundations of color bias, discussing implications of complexion difference, and offering suggestions for scholarship that advances educational research agendas. (Contains 9 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
College Students; Scientific Concepts; Visual Aids; Evolution; Thinking Skills; Inferences; Pattern Recognition; Relationship; Genetics; Classification; Prior Learning; Sciences; Textbooks; Scientific Literacy

Abstract:
Tree thinking involves using cladograms, hierarchical diagrams depicting the evolutionary history of a set of taxa, to reason about evolutionary relationships and support inferences. Tree thinking is indispensable in modern science. College students' tree-thinking skills were investigated using tree (much more common in professional biology) and ladder (somewhat more common in textbooks) cladogram formats. Students' responses to questions assessing five tree-thinking skills provided evidence for several perceptual and conceptual factors that impact reasoning (e.g., the Gestalt principles of good continuation and spatial proximity, prior knowledge). Instructional implications of the results include using the tree format for initial instruction and clarifying that most recent common ancestry determines evolutionary relatedness. Broader implications for designing scientific diagrams and promoting diagrammatic literacy are considered. (Contains 7 figures, 4 tables, and 6 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Foreign Countries; Transformative Learning; Adult Education; Environmental Education; Science History; Ecology; Group Behavior; Social Change; Case Studies; Biographies; Reputation; North Americans; Scientists; Wildlife; Death; Conservation (Environment); Poisoning; Consciousness Raising; Genetics; Racial Discrimination; Change Agents

Abstract:
This historical study identifies catalysts for transformative learning in the lives of three scientist-environmentalists important to the 20th-century environmental movement: Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, and David Suzuki. Following a brief review of theoretical perspectives on transformative learning, the article argues that transformative learning for these scientists was catalyzed by certain "disorienting dilemmas" and was both rational and emotional. Moreover, the personal transformative learning of each scientist helped provoke a process of transformative learning in society at large: Leopold's contribution to the founding of the disciplines of wildlife conservation and restoration ecology, and his "land ethic" fostered the development an ecological consciousness in the 1940s; Carson's "Silent Spring" helped provoke the environmental consciousness of the 1960s; and Suzuki's public environmental education and activism from the 1970s to the present-day played an influential role in North American environmental movement. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Measurement; Achievement Tests; Genetics; Word Recognition; Reading Comprehension; Phonological Awareness; Environmental Influences; Handwriting; Error of Measurement; Language Skills; Reading Skills; Correlation; Statistical Analysis; Writing Skills; Twins; Duplication; Reading Writing Relationship; Writing Tests

Abstract:
Identical and fraternal twins (N = 540, age 8 to 18 years) were tested on three different measures of writing (Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement--Writing Samples and Writing Fluency; Handwriting Copy from the Group Diagnostic Reading and Aptitude Achievement Tests), three different language skills (phonological awareness, rapid naming, and vocabulary), and three different reading skills (word recognition, spelling, and reading comprehension). Substantial genetic influence was found on two of the writing measures, writing samples and handwriting copy, and all of the language and reading measures. Shared environment influences were generally not significant, except for Vocabulary. Non-shared environment estimates, including measurement error, were significant for all variables. Genetic influences among the writing measures were significantly correlated (highest between the speeded measures writing fluency and handwriting copy), but there were also significant independent genetic influences between copy and samples and between fluency and samples. Genetic influences on writing were significantly correlated with genetic influences on all of the language and reading skills, but significant independent genetic influences were also found for copy and samples, whose genetic correlations were significantly less than 1.0 with the reading and language skills. The genetic correlations varied significantly in strength depending on the overlap between the writing, language, and reading task demands. We discuss implications of our results for education, limitations of the study, and new directions for research on writing and its relations to language and reading. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Academic Achievement; Achievement Tests; Students; Anxiety; Classroom Environment; Scientific Concepts; Constructivism (Learning); Grade 10; Well Being; Interests; Secondary School Students; Experiments; Genetics; Correlation; Scores; Science Education; Foreign Countries

Abstract:
We examined selected situational emotions (interest, well-being and anxiety) experienced by 291 secondary school tenth graders during a hands-on gene technology lesson. Two different instruction groups (I-1, I-2) participated in the same teaching unit, in which four basic gene technology experiments were performed. Using a modified "constructivist teaching sequence", a teacher confronted group I-2 with the alternative conceptions of their peers regarding central issues and processes of gene technology in addition to providing the scientific concepts. The pupils within the I-2 group scored higher in the positive emotions of interest and well-being. The negative emotion anxiety was almost absent in both instruction groups. Furthermore, our results indicate a potential influence of interest and well-being upon learning success. Pupils who felt fine and worked with interest in the experimental lessons scored significantly higher on the cognitive achievement test. Eliciting pupils' alternative conceptions and using them in a wide variety of teaching contents is therefore advisable. By doing so, teachers could help create a classroom environment where pupils feel safe and confident. Also, a pupil's interest regarding the choice of material needs to be taken into account if positive emotions need strengthening and the learning achievement needs improvement. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Developmental Stages; Genetics; Biology; Animals; Laboratories; Undergraduate Students; Higher Education; Undergraduate Study; Science Education

Abstract:
We developed laboratory exercises using zebrafish ("Danio rerio") and nematodes ("Caenorhabditis elegans") for a sophomore-level Integrative Biology Laboratory course. Students examined live wildtype zebrafish at different stages of development and noted shifts occurring in response to "fgf8a" deficiency. Students were introduced to development in other fish species to demonstrate how variation in developmental systems affects phenotype. Finally, students cultured "glp-1(bn18ts) C. elegans" mutants under different conditions to illustrate how the environment and genetics act concurrently to modulate development. Undergraduate students responded positively to both the fish and "C. elegans" laboratory modules. These novel laboratory exercises are intended to promote an integrative view of biology and to help prepare undergraduate students for independent research with faculty. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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