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PMID: 16465480 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Twin Study

Genetic and environmental contributions to common psychopathologies of childhood and adolescence: a study of twins and their siblings.

Journal of abnormal child psychology ·Vol. 34 ·No. 1 ·2006-02-00 ·Pages 1-17

Ehringer MA, Rhee SH, Young S, Corley R, Hewitt JK

Abstract

We report findings based on analyses of self-reports of six common adolescent psychopathologies (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ADHD; conduct disorder, CD; oppositional defiant disorder, ODD; generalized anxiety disorder, GAD; separation anxiety disorder, SAD; and major depressive disorder, MDD) in a sample of 1,162 male and female adolescent (12-19 years) twin pairs and 426 siblings. Prevalence statistics for past year and lifetime reports confirm differences between genders for CD, GAD, SAD, and MDD, and a lack of differences between twins and their non-twin siblings. Biometrical modeling was conducted to ascertain the relative influences of genes, and shared and non-shared environments contributing to these disorders. A more robust estimate of these parameters was obtained by including non-twin siblings. Age-specific thresholds were integrated into the analyses to appropriately model the developmental patterns of behavior. We found evidence for both genetic and non-shared environmental influences for all disorders. Shared environmental influences also seem to be important for MDD and lifetime GAD.

MeSH Terms
Adolescent Adult Biometry/methods Child Colorado/epidemiology Female Genetic Predisposition to Disease/psychology Humans Internal-External Control Male Mental Disorders/epidemiology,genetics,psychology Prevalence Psychology, Adolescent/methods Psychology, Child/methods Self Disclosure Sex Factors Siblings/psychology Social Environment
Authors & Affiliations
5 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Ehringer Marissa A
Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado at Boulder, 80309, USA. [email protected]
Rhee Soo Hyun
Young Susan
Corley Robin
Hewitt John K
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Article Info
Journal
Journal of abnormal child psychology
Abbr.
J Abnorm Child Psychol
ISSN
0091-0627
DOI
10.1007/s10802-005-9000-0
Email
[email protected]
Published
2006-02-00
Epub
2006-00-08
Pages
1-17
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
0364547
Subset
IM
Grants
NIDA NIH HHS · DA011015 · United States
NICHD NIH HHS · HD010333 · United States
NIMH NIH HHS · MH43899 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1007/s10802-005-9000-0
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