Academic achievement of twins and singletons: a cross-cultural study

Abstract

In the current paper we present the results of the comparison of academic achievement of twins and single-born schoolchildren of the Russian Federation (429 twin pairs and a 858 singletons) and the Republic of Azerbaijan (1400 twin pairs and 1445 their single-born peers). Objectives of the study: 1) to determine whether there are differences in academic achievement of twins and singletons as secondary school students; 2) to study the influence of the zygosity on scholastic performance in twin pairs; 3) to assess the presence of cultural specificity in relation to the effects of twin situation. It was shown that in both countries the twins do not differ from singletons in academic performance, and the factor of zygosity plays some role only in Azerbaijan (monozygotic twins delay in verbal development). It is assumed that in Azerbaijan, parents and teachers pay less attention to the individual differences in twins and thus impoverish the environment of twins’ development.