Strong genetic effects on cross‐situational antisocial behaviour among 5‐year‐old children according to mothers, teachers, examiner‐observers, and twins’ self‐reports

Arseneault, Louise; Moffitt, Terrie E.; Caspi, Avshalom; Taylor, Alan; Rijsdijk, Frühling; Jaffee, Sara R.; Ablow, Jennifer C.; Measelle, Jeffrey R.

doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00168

Cited by 203 publications

(171 citation statements)

References 92 publications

(94 reference statements)

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“…Parents may share with their children genetic characteristics which do not facilitate learning of emotional regulation and inhibition of overt aggression. Genetically informative studies such as twin, adoption, and molecular genetic studies are needed to test the contribution of genetic factors and the likely gene-environment interactions and geneenvironment correlations (e.g., Arseneault et al, 2003;Caspi et al, 2002;Dionne et al, 2003;Weaver et al, 2004) There are limitations to this study. First, the developmental patterns that we observed for PA do not necessarily generalize to other types of aggression.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies have shown that such problematic levels of aggression in adolescence or adulthood can be identified in the preschool years (Keenan & Wakschlag, 2000) and can be traced to events occurring early in life (Arseneault et al, 2003;Caspi et al, 2002;Moffitt, Caspi, Rutter, & Silva, 2001;. However, no studies have mapped the development of PA between toddlerhood and adolescence or adulthood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Development of Physical Aggression from Toddlerhood to Pre-Adolescence: A Nation Wide Longitudinal Study of Canadian Children

Côté

Vaillancourt

LeBlanc

et al. 2006

J Abnorm Child Psychol

511

413

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The objectives of the study were to model the developmental trajectories of physical aggression (PA) from toddlerhood to pre-adolescence and to identify risk factors that distinguish typical (normative) from atypical developmental patterns. Ten cohorts of approximately 1,000 children (n = 10,658) drawn form a nationally representative (Canadian) sample were followed over 6 years. Using a group-based trajectory approach, we identified three groups of children with distinct developmental trajectories between 2 and 11 years of age. One third of the children (31.1%) followed a low desisting trajectory, reflected in infrequent use of PA in toddlerhood and virtually no PA by pre-adolescence. The majority of children (52.2%) followed a moderate desisting trajectory, reflected in occasional use of PA in toddlerhood and infrequent use by pre-adolescence. One sixth of the children (16.6%) followed a high stable trajectory of PA. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that children in the high PA trajectory group were more likely to be boys (OR: 1.67; CI: 1.5-1.87), from low income families (OR: 1.4; CI; 1.27-1.67), from families where the mother had not completed high school (OR: 1.20; CI: 1.05-1.38) and who reported using hostile/ineffective parenting strategies (OR: 1.16; CI: 1.14-1.18). In sum, the results indicate that the typical developmental pattern of PA was one of occasional and declining use over time. However, about one sixth of children, mostly boys from disadvantaged families, exhibited an atypical developmental pattern reflected in more frequent and stable use of PA. The results suggest that most children learned relatively well to inhibit PA by the end of childhood and that a minority failed to do so. Family risks traditionally found to be associated with antisocial behaviors during adolescence appear to interfere with the socialization of PA during early and middle childhood.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Development of Physical Aggression from Toddlerhood to Pre-Adolescence: A Nation Wide Longitudinal Study of Canadian Children

Côté

Vaillancourt

LeBlanc

et al. 2006

J Abnorm Child Psychol

511

413

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…1 Specific measures of antisocial behavior have been analyzed separately and have been reported to yield highly similar parameters in twin ACE models (Arseneault et al, 2003). ADHD-We examined this measure to ascertain whether IQ and antisocial behavior were associated among children who did not have the ADHD diagnosis.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The scale reliability of the combined score was .94 at age 5 years and .95 at age 7 years as calculated according to the formula by Nunnally (1967). Given the young age of the sample and concerns about reliable measurement of antisocial behavior in young children, we created a composite variable of children's antisocial behavior in early childhood by totaling the two age-specific measures, which were correlated at .69, p < .001.1 Specific measures of antisocial behavior have been analyzed separately and have been reported to yield highly similar parameters in twin ACE models (Arseneault et al, 2003). ADHD-We examined this measure to ascertain whether IQ and antisocial behavior were associated among children who did not have the ADHD diagnosis.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One possibility is that genetic factors account for the association. Antisocial behavior is partly heritable throughout the lifespan (Rhee & Waldman, 2002), including in early childhood, particularly if it is pervasive across home and school settings (Arseneault et al, 2003). Genetic influences explain about one third of the variation in IQ in young children, and the amount of variance in IQ explained by genetic influences increases through adulthood (Plomin et al, 2001).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Genetic influences on the overlap between low IQ and antisocial behavior in young children.

Koenen¹,

Caspi²,

Moffitt³

et al. 2006

Journal of Abnormal Psychology

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The well-documented relation between the phenotypes of low IQ and childhood antisocial behavior could be explained by either common genetic influences or environmental influences. These competing explanations were examined through use of the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study 1994-1995 cohort (Moffitt & the E-Risk Study Team, 2002) of 1,116 twin pairs and their families. Children's IQ was assessed via individual testing at age 5 years. Mothers and teachers reported on children's antisocial behavior at ages 5 and 7 years. Low IQ was related to antisocial behavior at age 5 years and predicted relatively higher antisocial behavior scores at age 7 years when antisocial behavior at age 5 years was controlled. This association was significantly stronger among boys than among girls. Genetic influences common to both phenotypes explained 100% of the low IQ-antisocial behavior relation in boys. Findings suggest that specific candidate genes and neurobiological processes should be tested in relation to both phenotypes. Keywords IQ; antisocial behavior; young children; behavior geneticsEarly-onset antisocial behavior is a strong risk factor for poor mental health, criminality, unemployment, and a host of other adjustment problems in adult life (Moffitt, Caspi, Harrington, & Milne, 2002;Robins, 1966). Understanding the etiology of antisocial behavior in young children is necessary for informing prevention efforts and, therefore, remains an important public health goal. Low IQ is a consistent risk factor for emergence and continuity of antisocial behavior across the life course in both prospective and cross-sectional studies, even when other relevant risk factors are statistically controlled (Hinshaw, 1992;Moffitt & Lynam, 1994;Nigg & Huang-Pollock, 2003;Simonoff et al., 2004). The effect size of the association between low IQ and antisocial behavior ranges from small to medium, with correlations ranging from .20 to .30 across studies, and comparisons of antisocial groups and control groups show half a standard deviation (approximately 8 points) difference in their IQ scores. These findings have been replicated in cohorts throughout the Western world (Hinshaw, 1992;Nigg & Huang-Pollock, 2003). Although the bulk of studies involve adolescents, the Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Karestan C. Koenen, Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Kresge 613, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail: kkoenen@hsph.harvard.edu. NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript association has been reported for preschool children (Moffitt, Caspi, Harrington, & Milne, 2002;Raine, Yaralian, Reynolds, Venables, & Mednick, 2002). The association between IQ and antisocial behavior is, therefore, robust. It is not an artifact of differential detection, socioeconomic status, race, or children's poor effort on the tests (Lynam, Moffitt, & Stouthamer-Loeber, 1993). This article examines the etiology of the ...

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Etiological and Clinical Features of Childhood Psychotic Symptoms

Polanczyk¹,

Moffitt²,

Arseneault³

et al. 2010

Arch Gen Psychiatry

220

246

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Context It has been reported that childhood psychotic symptoms are common in the general population and may signal neurodevelopmental processes that lead to schizophrenia. However, it is not clear whether these symptoms are associated with the same extensive risk factors established for adult schizophrenia. Objective To examine the construct validity of children’s self-reported psychotic symptoms by testing whether these symptoms share the risk factors and clinical features of adult schizophrenia. Design Prospective, longitudinal cohort study of a nationally representative birth cohort in Great Britain. Participants A total of 2232 twelve-year-old children followed up since age 5 years (retention, 96%). Main Outcome Measure Children’s self-reported hallucinations and delusions. Results Children’s psychotic symptoms are familial and heritable and are associated with social risk factors (eg, urbanicity); cognitive impairments at age 5; home-rearing risk factors (eg, maternal expressed emotion); behavioral, emotional, and educational problems at age 5; and comorbid conditions, including self-harm. Conclusions The results provide a comprehensive picture of the construct validity of children’s self-reported psychotic symptoms. For researchers, the findings indicate that children who have psychotic symptoms can be recruited for neuroscience research to determine the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. For clinicians, the findings indicate that psychotic symptoms in childhood are often a marker of an impaired developmental process and should be actively assessed.

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Strong genetic effects on cross‐situational antisocial behaviour among 5‐year‐old children according to mothers, teachers, examiner‐observers, and twins’ self‐reports

Cited by 203 publications

References 92 publications

The Development of Physical Aggression from Toddlerhood to Pre-Adolescence: A Nation Wide Longitudinal Study of Canadian Children

The Development of Physical Aggression from Toddlerhood to Pre-Adolescence: A Nation Wide Longitudinal Study of Canadian Children

Genetic influences on the overlap between low IQ and antisocial behavior in young children.

Etiological and Clinical Features of Childhood Psychotic Symptoms

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