Genetics and Developmental Psychopathology: 2. The Main Effects of Genes and Environment on Behavioral Problems in the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development

Eaves, Lindon J.; Silberg, Judy L.; Meyer, Joanne M.; Maes, Hermine H.; Simonoff, Emily; Pickles, Andrew; Rutter, Michael; Reynolds, Chandra A.; Heath, Andrew C.; Truett, Kimberly R.; Neale, Michael C.; Erikson, Marilyn T.; Loeber, Rolf; Hewitt, John K.

doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01614.x

Cited by 473 publications

(457 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…To date two CoT articles have examined the association between parental depression and offspring depression (Silberg et al, 2010;Singh, et al, 2011). The first study (Silberg et al, 2010) involved applying SEMs (of the kind shown in Figure 3) to the combined Mid-Atlantic Twin Registry (MATR), a representative US sample of twins with children aged 9-17 years old (Anderson, Beverly, Corey, & Murrelle, 20022002, and the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development (VTSABD), a US sample of adolescent twins and their parents (Hewitt et al, 1997;Eaves et al, 1997). The results of model fitting indicated that the relationship between parental depression and child depression was not significantly inflated by genetic or environmental confounds.…”

Section: Parental Depressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for genetic and environmental confounds in associations between parent and child characteristics: A systematic review of children-of-twins studies.

McAdams

Neiderhiser

Rijsdijk

et al. 2014

Psychological Bulletin

163

139

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Parental psychopathology, parenting style, and the quality of intra-familial relationships are all associated with child mental health outcomes. However, most research can say little about the causal pathways underlying these associations. This is because most studies are not genetically informative and are therefore not able to account for the possibility that associations are confounded by gene-environment correlation. That is, biological parents provide not only a rearing environment for their child but also contribute 50% of their genes. Any associations between parental phenotype and child phenotype are therefore potentially confounded. One technique for disentangling genetic from environmental effects is the Children-of-Twins (CoT) method. This involves using datasets comprising twin parents and their children to distinguish genetic from environmental associations between parent and child phenotypes. The CoT technique has grown in popularity in the last decade and we predict that this surge in popularity will continue. In the present article we explain the CoT method for those unfamiliar with its use. We present the logic underlying this approach, discuss strengths and weaknesses and highlight important methodological considerations for researchers interested in the CoT method. We also cover variations on basic CoT approaches, including the extended-CoT method, capable of distinguishing forms of geneenvironment correlation. We then present a systematic review of all of the behavioral CoT studies published to date. These studies cover such diverse phenotypes as psychosis, substance abuse, internalizing, externalizing, parenting and marital difficulties. In reviewing this literature we highlight past applications, identify emergent patterns, and suggest avenues for future research.Keywords: children-of-twins; gene-environment correlation; intergenerational transmission; parenting; psychiatric epidemiology.Theories of parenting propose that parents impact the development of their children in a variety of ways: At one level parental characteristics are predictive of child characteristics -many traits tend to run in families and this is often interpreted as evidence for the impact of parent behavior on child development. For example, anxious parents often rear anxious children (Murray et al., 2008) and it has been suggested that this is because children learn such behavior from their parents (Murray et al., 2008;Rachman, 1977;. Proponents of social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) might suggest that this learning occurs via processes of imitation and modelling, and evidence also indicates that the learning process can be more direct and involve the verbal transmission of information from parent to child (Field & Purkis, 2011).Although children may learn behaviors through imitating and listening to their parents, parents often seek to influence their children's behavior in more direct ways, through the parenting behaviors that they direct towards their child. For example, the punishment and praise of chil...

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Section: Parental Depressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for genetic and environmental confounds in associations between parent and child characteristics: A systematic review of children-of-twins studies.

McAdams

Neiderhiser

Rijsdijk

et al. 2014

Psychological Bulletin

163

139

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Prior to all analyses, raw scores were ranked and then standardized to unit variances using standard techniques in order to avoid bias due to skewness of scales and age trends (Eaves et al, 1997). The NEAD data were then corrected for child age, child sex, and their interaction, and nontwin sibling scores were also corrected for age differences.…”

Section: Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Mothering of Adolescents: A Comparison of Two Samples.

Neiderhiser¹,

Reiss²,

Pedersen³

et al. 2004

Developmental Psychology

191

294

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This study examined 2 samples of adolescents and mothers using a child-based design (Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development [NEAD] project, N = 395 families) and a parent-based design (Twin Moms [TM] project, N = 236 twin family pairs) to compare genetic and environmental influences on mothering. For both samples, the same measures of positivity, negativity, control, and monitoring were used. The use of matched child-based and parent-based samples enabled passive and nonpassive genotype-environment (GE) correlations to be approximated, providing information about process. Passive GE correlations were suggested for mother's positivity and monitoring. For mother's negativity and control, primarily nonpassive GE correlations were suggested. In several cases, both types of GE correlation were indicated. Finally, observer ratings of negativity and monitoring were influenced only by environmental factors.

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“…3 Twin and adoption studies have demonstrated that the aetiology of ADHD has a large genetic component, with heritability estimates ranging from ෂ0.5 to ෂ0.9. 4 Genetic influences appear to be the same for both males and females, and are consistent from early childhood to adolescence. 5 It is likely that ADHD is determined by the additive action of numerous genes, or quantitative trait loci (QTLs), of relatively small effect.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

The dopamine D4 receptor and the hyperactivity phenotype: a developmental-epidemiological study

et al. 2002

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Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects 2-6% of school-age children and is a precursor of behavioural problems in adolescence and adulthood. Underlying the categorical definition of ADHD are the quantitative traits of activity, impulsivity, and inattention which vary continuously in the population. Both ADHD and quantitative measures of hyperactivity are heritable, and influenced by multiple genes of small effect. Several studies have reported an association between clinically defined ADHD and the seven-repeat allele of a 48-bp tandem repeat polymorphism in the third exon of the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4). We tested this association in a large, unselected birth cohort (n = 1037) using multiple measures of the hyperactivity phenotype taken at multiple assessment ages across 20 years. This longitudinal approach allowed us to ascertain whether or not DRD4 has a general effect on the diagnosed (n = 49) or continuously distributed hyperactivity phenotype, and related personality traits. We found no evidence to support this association.

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Genetics and Developmental Psychopathology: 2. The Main Effects of Genes and Environment on Behavioral Problems in the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development

Cited by 473 publications

References 59 publications

Accounting for genetic and environmental confounds in associations between parent and child characteristics: A systematic review of children-of-twins studies.

Accounting for genetic and environmental confounds in associations between parent and child characteristics: A systematic review of children-of-twins studies.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Mothering of Adolescents: A Comparison of Two Samples.

The dopamine D4 receptor and the hyperactivity phenotype: a developmental-epidemiological study

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