Decker S N, DeFries J C
Dev Med Child Neurol. 1981 Apr;23(2):217-27. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.1981.tb02444.x.
Evidence for the heterogeneity of reading disability was sought in a family study. Psychometric test data on 125 reading-disabled children (probands) and their siblings and parents were used to identify four subtypes of reading disability, each with a distinctive cognitive ability profile. The validity of this profile analysis was then assessed by applying the same classification system to profiles of affected parents and siblings of the probands. Affected siblings of probands in subtype 3 (severely impaired reading ability but normal spatial/reasoning and coding/speed) were more likely to be of the same subtype than would be expected on the basis of chance. However, no such evidence for familial transmission of specific subtypes was found in the parental data. It is suggested that family studies may provide a strong test of the heterogeneity of reading disability, and that such studies should be used to assess the validity of alternative typologies.
在一项家族研究中探寻阅读障碍异质性的证据。利用125名阅读障碍儿童（先证者）及其兄弟姐妹和父母的心理测量测试数据，确定了阅读障碍的四种亚型，每种亚型都有独特的认知能力特征。然后，通过将相同的分类系统应用于先证者受影响的父母和兄弟姐妹的特征，评估这种特征分析的有效性。在3型亚型（阅读能力严重受损，但空间/推理和编码/速度正常）的先证者的受影响兄弟姐妹中，属于同一亚型的可能性高于基于概率的预期。然而，在父母的数据中未发现特定亚型家族传递的此类证据。研究表明，家族研究可能为阅读障碍的异质性提供有力检验，并且此类研究应用于评估替代类型学的有效性。
