Exploring the Association Between Anxiety and Conduct Problems in a Large Sample of Twins Aged 2–4

Gregory, Alice M.; Eley, Thalia C.; Plomin, Robert

doi:10.1023/b:jacp.0000019765.29768.1c

Cited by 33 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…At any given assessment time, non-shared environmental factors played a more substantial role than that found in previous studies using general measures of DBD symptoms, where their contribution ranged from 14 to 32% (Deater-Deckard 2000; Derks et al 2004;Gregory et al 2004;Hudziak et al 2005;Schmitz et al 1995). In combination with the finding that environmental sources of variance were largely age-specific, this suggests that young children's disregard for rules fluctuates and may be particularly sensitive to situational changes in the family or in the parent-child relationship.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…These crosssectional (Derks et al 2004;Gregory et al 2004;Hudziak et al 2005) and longitudinal studies (Schmitz et al 1995;van Beijsterveldt et al 2003) suggest that genetic and environmental factors influence DBD symptoms in similar proportions from early to middle childhood. Generally, around half of individual differences in DBD symptoms are explained by additive genetic factors (estimates range from A = 38% to 67%), with a smaller contribution of shared environmental factors (i.e., any environmental factors that make family members similar; C = 14% to 37%) and nonshared environmental factors (i.e., environmental factors that make family members different, including measurement error, E = 14% to 32%) (Derks et al 2004;Gregory et al 2004;Hudziak et al 2005;Schmitz et al 1995;van Beijsterveldt et al 2003).…”

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confidence: 90%

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Genetic and Environmental Etiology of Disregard for Rules

et al. 2010

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Disregard for rules, a key component of oppositional defiant and conduct disorders, is stable during early childhood. This study investigates for the first time the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors underlying this early developmental stability. Maternal reports of child disregard for rules were obtained at four time points from 20 to 64 months of age in a population-based twin sample (N = 597 twin pairs, including 238 monozygotic and 359 dizygotic pairs). Structural equation modeling was conducted using both variance-covariance and latent growth curve approaches. Genetic factors accounted for most of the stability in disregard for rules throughout early childhood. In contrast, most environmental effects were age specific. Developmental stability in early symptoms of disregard for rules is best explained by the stable action of genetic factors, suggesting that preventive interventions should take an intergenerational approach, targeting at-risk families as early as possible.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

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confidence: 90%

Genetic and Environmental Etiology of Disregard for Rules

et al. 2010

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“…This pattern of findings suggests that children characterized by predominant inattentive symptoms, unaccompanied by clinically significant levels of hyperactiveimpulsive symptoms (i.e., the inattentive type), may experience a less severe and less comorbid form of ADHD. The greater prevalence of anxiety disorders found in the ADHD/CT and ADHD/HT groups may also reflect the moderate positive correlation that exists between conduct problems and anxiety (e.g., r≈.35; Gregory et al 2004).…”

Section: External Validation Of the Putative Inattentive-sct Typementioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the Utility of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo in Discriminating Among DSM-IV ADHD Subtypes

Harrington

Waldman

2009

J Abnorm Child Psychol

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The objective of the current study was to evaluate how the inclusion of 3 Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) symptoms in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnostic criteria influences the external validity of the ADHD subtypes. The sample comprised 228 children (166 boys, 62 girls) ranging in age from 5-18 years who were referred to clinics for attentional, behavioral, and/or learning problems and diagnosed with DSM-IV ADHD (124 Combined type, 81 Inattentive type, 23 Hyperactive-Impulsive type). Parent ratings of ADHD symptoms were obtained using the Emory Combined Rating Scale (ECRS), which assesses symptoms of the common DSM-IV childhood psychiatric disorders. Regression analyses incorporating planned comparisons were conducted to examine how the inclusion of SCT symptoms affects differences among ADHD subtypes on several external validity indicators (i.e., gender, age-of-onset, and overlapping conditions). The regression analyses did not yield any significant differences in gender ratios, mean age-The objective of the current study was to evaluate how the inclusion of 3 Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) symptoms in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnostic criteria influences the external validity of the ADHD subtypes. The sample comprised 228 children (166 boys, 62 girls) ranging in age from 5-18 years who were referred to clinics for attentional, behavioral, and/or learning problems and diagnosed with DSM-IV ADHD (124 Combined type, 81 Inattentive type, 23 Hyperactive-Impulsive type). Parent ratings of ADHD symptoms were obtained using the Emory Combined Rating Scale (ECRS), which assesses symptoms of the common DSM-IV childhood psychiatric disorders. Regression analyses incorporating planned comparisons were conducted to examine how the inclusion of SCT symptoms affects differences among ADHD subtypes on several external validity indicators (i.e., gender, age-of-onset, and overlapping conditions). The regression analyses did not yield any significant differences in gender ratios, mean age-of- onset, or overlapping externalizing or internalizing problems when the ADHD Inattentive type was subdivided into high- versus low-SCT groups. In conclusion, the current results suggest that the inclusion of parent-reported SCT symptoms in the ADHD diagnostic criteria has limited utility for isolating diagnostically meaningful subgroups of the Inattentive type or for enhancing the external validity of the ADHD subtypes in clinic-referred samples.

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“…We have also examined a range of ''family factors'' in order to see which variables were likely to be most important, finding that family chaos and maternal depression were associated with both sleep problems and anxiety and may account for some of the association between these difficulties (e.g., Gregory et al, 2005b). An important role for shared environment has also been found when examining the overlap between anxiety and conduct problems in pre-school aged children (Gregory, Eley, & Plomin, 2004). Longitudinal links between anxiety and eating disorders have also been explored in juvenile twin girls (Silberg & Bulik, 2005)-with some evidence for genetic influences on anxiety and eating disorders throughout development-in addition to other patterns of influences (e.g., there was a shared environmental influence on persistent separation anxiety and eating disorders in late adolescence).…”

Section: Comorbiditymentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Influences on Anxiety in Children: What we’ve Learned and Where we’re Heading

Gregory

Eley

2007

Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev

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161

102

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Anxiety is a common problem, typically beginning early in life. This article explores reasons for individual differences in levels of anxiety among children, by reviewing the genetic literature. The plethora of research to date has demonstrated clearly that both genes and environmental influences play important roles in explaining differences in levels of anxiety of various types among children. This has encouraged researchers to search for specific genes and environmental influences upon anxiety. Despite important progress in identifying links between anxiety and specific genes-including associations between serotonin and dopamine genes and different symptoms of anxiety-overall, progress has been slow because multiple genes of small effect size are likely to influence anxiety. This article explains how the hunt for genes involved in anxiety is likely to benefit from genetically sensitive research, which examines the co-occurrence of symptoms; includes measures of the environment; and examines endophenotypes and risk pathways. KEY WORDS: anxiety; children; environment; genes; twins IntroductionAnxiety is characterized by fear, concern or dread. This may be related to a specific event or situation that is perceived threatening, or may be more pervasive. Individuals with high levels of anxiety may meet criteria for an anxiety disorder, of which there are many types (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV, American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Although anxiety is a common difficulty occurring throughout the life-course it typically begins early in life Kessler, Berglund, Demler, Jin, & Walters, 2005), which suggests that research examining the origins of anxiety may be beneficial in childhood. While most children show at least some symptoms of anxiety, the exact prevalence of anxiety disorders is debatable. For example, a review of epidemiological studies examining rates of anxiety disorders in preadolescent children reported prevalence rates between 2.6 and 41.2% (Cartwright-Hatton, McNicol, & Doubleday, 2006).Given the widespread nature of childhood anxiety, researchers are trying to understand more about why anxiety develops and persists. One research area of rapid growth in this respect is genetics and this type of research has tended to focus upon symptoms of anxiety within the full range as opposed to anxiety disorders. A sceptic may point out that we are stuck with the genes that we are born with and argue that therefore, understanding the way in which genes influence behavior is of little use. However, as will be discussed in the course of this article, it is becoming increasingly clear that although it is true that our genes do not change throughout development, genes may become more or less influential over time; and the environment can influence the way in which our genes impact upon our emotions and behaviors. This article will document the progress that has been made in understanding genetic and environmental influences on childhood anxiety. Although there are numerous reviews of ...

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Exploring the Association Between Anxiety and Conduct Problems in a Large Sample of Twins Aged 2–4

Cited by 33 publications

References 54 publications

Genetic and Environmental Etiology of Disregard for Rules

Genetic and Environmental Etiology of Disregard for Rules

Evaluating the Utility of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo in Discriminating Among DSM-IV ADHD Subtypes

Genetic Influences on Anxiety in Children: What we’ve Learned and Where we’re Heading

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