Genetic and Environmental Etiologies of Adolescent Dysfunctional Attitudes: A Twin Study

Abstract

Despite the importance of dysfunctional attitudes in the development and maintenance of depression, little is known about the etiological origin of dysfunctional attitudes. The Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale for Children was administered to 674 adolescent twins derived from the Beijing Twin Study (BeTwiSt). Four hundred and thirty-nine monozygotic and 235 same-gender dizygotic twin pairs were included. Approximately 54% were females. The age range of the twins was 11-17 years. Model-fitting analyses were conducted. Biometric genetic model-fitting estimates indicated that additive genetic factors accounted for 31% (95% CI: 11%, 45%) of variance in adolescent dysfunctional attitude. The influence of shared environmental factors was small and negligible (9% [95% CI: 0%, 27%]). Non-shared environmental factors explained 60% (95% CI: 55%, 66%) of variance. Equating the estimate parameters across gender or age groups resulted in a non-significant difference of model fit, but there were trends suggesting higher heritability in females and older adolescents. Our results provide evidence for moderate heritability of dysfunctional attitudes in adolescents. Dysfunctional attitudes can be used as an endophenotype to identify risk genes for depression.

Genetic Correlates of Maladaptive Beliefs: COMT VAL158MET and Irrational Cognitions Linked Depending on Distress

“…In line with this result, past research has indicated that maladaptive beliefs have a moderate heritable component as it has been evidenced in a sample of 674 adolescent twins, where nonshared environmental factors explained 60% of variance in maladaptive beliefs (Chen & Li, 2014).…”

Associations of the A118G OPRM1 polymorphism with sociotropy and interpersonal sensitivity

“…Our results indicating significant effects of the OPRM1 genotype on sociotropy and interpersonal sensitivity are in line with the results of previous twin studies on these personality traits. Namely, genetic factors accounted for 31% of variation in a group of 22 self‐schemas (Chen & Li, 2014 ), while they accounted for 27% of variation in interpersonal sensitivity (Gillespie et al., 2001 ). Incidentally, in the former study (Chen & Li, 2014 ) self‐schemas were not classified according to their contents.…”

“…Namely, genetic factors accounted for 31% of variation in a group of 22 self‐schemas (Chen & Li, 2014 ), while they accounted for 27% of variation in interpersonal sensitivity (Gillespie et al., 2001 ). Incidentally, in the former study (Chen & Li, 2014 ) self‐schemas were not classified according to their contents. Therefore, the possibility that genetic factors had a strong effect on a cluster of interpersonal schemas (i.e., sociotropic schemas), but a weak or no effect on a cluster of impersonal schemas (i.e., autonomic schemas) cannot be excluded.…”

“…A meta‐analysis on longitudinal data shows that interpersonal sensitivity is a vulnerable factor to depression (Gao et al., 2017 ). Twin studies suggest that 31% of variance in sociotropy‐related personality (Chen & Li, 2014 ) and 27% of variance in interpersonal sensitivity (Gillespie et al., 2001 ) are explained by genetic factors. It is also reported that genetic polymorphism of the brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is associated with interpersonal sensitivity (Suzuki et al., 2012 ), while there have been no genetic association studies on sociotropy and autonomy.…”

Genetic influences on resting‐state functional networks: A twin study

“…A similar degree of heritability has also been used to define endophenotypes in others studies. For instance, using a twin design Chen and Li showed that the additive genetic factor accounted for 31% (i.e., A = 0.31) of variance in the endophenotype of adolescent dysfunctional attitude [Chen and Li, ]. In another study using a mother‐offspring design, the heritability of delusional‐like experiences was estimated to be 0.35 (standard error 0.04), and these experiences were considered to represent a quantitative endophenotype for genetic studies of common mental disorders [Varghese et al, ].…”