The Longitudinal Israeli Study of Twins (LIST) Reaches Adolescence: Genetic and Environmental Pathways to Social, Personality and Moral Development

Vertsberger, Dana; Abramson, Lior; Knafo‐Noam, Ariel

doi:10.1017/thg.2019.94

Cited by 21 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(62 reference statements)

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“…Families participated as part of the Longitudinal Israeli Study of Twins (LIST), a study focusing on children's social development as influenced by genetics, abilities, and socialization (Vertsberger et al, 2019). Families of Hebrew-speaking twins born in Israel in 2004-2005 were contacted by mail after researchers received a list of twin births that occurred during 2004-2005 from the Israeli Ministry of the Interior.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Side by side”: Development of twin relationship dimensions from early to middle childhood and the role of zygosity and parenting

Segal

Knafo‐Noam

2021

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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Twin relationships have a significant effect on the twins’ life and their families. In the first comprehensive study of this topic, our purpose was to examine the developmental courses of four dyadic dimensions of twins’ relationships: closeness, dependence, conflict and rivalry, and the impact of zygosity and parenting on their relationships. Parents reported on their twins’ relationships ( N = 1547 mothers and 536 fathers with data from at least one of four measurement points from 3 to 8–9 years of age). The sample included 322 monozygotic twin dyads (sharing virtually 100% of their genes), and 1194 dizygotic twin dyads (sharing 50% of their genetic variance, on average). Our findings indicated that closeness and dependence decreased while rivalry increased through childhood. Dependence and rivalry also presented quadratic change. The twins’ conflict increased only for dizygotic twins. As expected, we found that the twins’ closeness and dependence were highly associated, as did the associations between conflict and rivalry. The mostly nonsignificant associations of closeness with conflict and rivalry reinforced the notion that they are not bi-polar opposites. However, dependence was positively related to the twins’ conflict and rivalry. A zygosity effect was also evident as monozygotic twins had higher levels of closeness and dependence than dizygotic twins through childhood, but there was no significant difference in the levels of their conflict and rivalry. In congruence with family system theories, parental positivity predicted the twins’ closeness and dependence, and parental negativity predicted the twins’ dependence, conflict and rivalry. The results were discussed in light of an evolutionary perspective and the twins’ developmental challenges through childhood.

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Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since only 19 fathers participated in all measurement points, fathers' reports only served to reinforce the findings in each measurement point separately, rather than the developmental findings. Detailed information about sampling, measures and zygosity assessment in the LIST can be viewed in Vertsberger et al (2019).…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Side by side”: Development of twin relationship dimensions from early to middle childhood and the role of zygosity and parenting

Segal

Knafo‐Noam

2021

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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“…Families in this study were participants in the Longitudinal Israeli Study of Twins (LIST), a study of social development, in which parents of all Hebrew-speaking families of twins born in Israel during 2004-2005 were invited to participate (Avinun & Knafo, 2013; Vertsberger, Abramson, & Knafo-Noam, 2019). The protocol for the experiment was approved by the ethics committee of the local hospital and informed consent was obtained from all participating parents.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The General Psychopathology Factor from Early to Middle Childhood: Longitudinal Genetic and Risk Analyses

Avinun

Knafo‐Noam

Israel

2021

Preprint

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Background: Accumulating research suggests the structure of psychopathology is best represented by continuous higher-order dimensions, including a general dimension, p-factor, and more specific dimensions, such as externalizing and internalizing factors. Here, we aimed to 1) replicate the p-factor in early childhood; 2) externally validate the dimensions with measures relating to mental health; 3) examine stability and change of the genetic and environmental influences on the dimensions of psychopathology from early- to mid-childhood; and 4) test the links between the factors and pregnancy, obstetric, and neonatal measures. Methods: The Longitudinal Israeli Study of Twins from age 3 to 9 was used for the analyses. Data was available for 2770 children at age 3, 1908 at age 5, 1020 at age 6.5, and 973 at age 8-9. Mothers reported on developmental problems, pregnancy, obstetric, and neonatal conditions, and filled in questionnaires on each twin's externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Possible correlates of psychopathology, as reported by the twins or assessed in the lab, were also included. Results: A bi-factor model that included the p-factor and specific/residualized externalizing and internalizing factors fit the data best at each wave. Longitudinal twin analyses indicated that shared environmental influences do not contribute to psychopathology and that the p-factor is highly heritable (64-73%) with a substantial proportion of the genetic influences already present at age 3. When the p-factor is accounted for, the internalizing factor was also highly heritable, while the externalizing factor was mostly explained by non-shared environmental influences. Higher p-factor scores were associated with more developmental problems and lower self-esteem. Pregnancy, obstetric, and neonatal measures were not strongly associated with psychopathology. Conclusion: Our study suggests that a general psychopathology factor is discernible in early childhood and highly heritable, with genetic factors contributing to continuity and change during childhood.

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“…Classic twin models can be extended to multivariate models to quantify the shared genetic influence on multiple variables, including environmental measures [ 85 , 86 ]. This way, rGEs can be quantified.…”

Section: Onwards: Quantifying and Using Gene-environment Correlationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The P-factor and its genomic and neural equivalents: an integrated perspective

2021

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Different psychiatric disorders and symptoms are highly correlated in the general population. A general psychopathology factor (or “P-factor”) has been proposed to efficiently describe this covariance of psychopathology. Recently, genetic and neuroimaging studies also derived general dimensions that reflect densely correlated genomic and neural effects on behaviour and psychopathology. While these three types of general dimensions show striking parallels, it is unknown how they are conceptually related. Here, we provide an overview of these three general dimensions, and suggest a unified interpretation of their nature and underlying mechanisms. We propose that the general dimensions reflect, in part, a combination of heritable ‘environmental’ factors, driven by a dense web of gene-environment correlations. This perspective calls for an update of the traditional endophenotype framework, and encourages methodological innovations to improve models of gene-brain-environment relationships in all their complexity. We propose concrete approaches, which by taking advantage of the richness of current large databases will help to better disentangle the complex nature of causal factors underlying psychopathology.

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The Longitudinal Israeli Study of Twins (LIST) Reaches Adolescence: Genetic and Environmental Pathways to Social, Personality and Moral Development

Cited by 21 publications

References 50 publications

“Side by side”: Development of twin relationship dimensions from early to middle childhood and the role of zygosity and parenting

“Side by side”: Development of twin relationship dimensions from early to middle childhood and the role of zygosity and parenting

The General Psychopathology Factor from Early to Middle Childhood: Longitudinal Genetic and Risk Analyses

The P-factor and its genomic and neural equivalents: an integrated perspective

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