Estimates of shared environmental influence on educational attainment (EA) using the Classical Twin Design (CTD) have been enlisted as genetically sensitive measures of unequal opportunity. However, key assumptions of the CTD appear violated for EA. In this study we compared CTD estimates of shared environmental influence on EA with estimates from…

Behavior genetic methods are useful for examining mechanisms underlying the interaction between genetic and family environmental factors of internalizing problem behavior (INT). Previous twin studies, however, have shown little consistency in interaction patterns, depending on type and operationalization of measured environments. The aim of the…

This article bridges the literature on educational inequality between and within families to test whether high--socioeconomic status (SES) families compensate for low cognitive ability in the transition to secondary education in Germany. The German educational system of early-ability tracking (at age 10) represents a stringent setting for the…

This study investigated the mean-level and individual-level trends as well as the genetic and environmental sources of rank-order continuity and change in temperament traits ("Briskness, Perseveration, Sensory Sensitivity, Emotional Reactivity, Endurance, and Activity"). We analyzed self-reports and peer ratings from 2 adult age groups…

In this first investigation of genetic and environmental influences on children's values, 271 German twin pairs (50.2% boys) reported their values at ages 7-11 years using the Portrait Values Questionnaire (Schwartz & Rubel, 2005). We distinguished between gender-neutral (conservation vs. openness to change) and gender-typed…