Maternal IQ and home environment as determinants of early childhood intellectual competence: A developmental analysis

Children at risk for sociocultural mental retardation were studied longitudinally from birth to 4 yrs of age. Maternal IQs were assessed before the children's births, and children's IQs and home environments were assessed at regular intervals during the 1st 4 yrs of life. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to separate the contributions of maternal IQ and home environment to child IQ at 24, 36, and 48 mo. When the effect of maternal IQ was controlled, home environment's association with child IQ was significant only at 48 mo. When the effect of home environment was controlled, maternal IQ's association with child IQ was significant only at 24 mo. Taken together, the 2 predictors explained 11, 17, and 29% of the variance in child IQ at the 3 respective times. The overall pattern suggested a monotonic increase in the predictability of child IQ within the context of a shift in the relative importance of maternal IQ and home environment as predictors. The integration of the study of behavioral genetics with the study of the process of intellectual development requires an ontogenetic perspective. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).