Sex differences in shared genetic and environmental influences between conduct disorder symptoms and marijuana use in adolescents

Background. To examine the familial associations of overt and covert antisocial behavior within the diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD) in families ascertained by referred children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and to test if these familial associations differed between male and female probands.Method. Subjects were clinically-referred male and female ADHD children (n=273) and their first-degree biological relatives (n=807). Scores for overt and covert conduct problems were calculated by summing the DSM-III-R conduct disorder symptoms, as derived from structured diagnostic interviews. Familial aggregation analyses were conducted with multivariate regression modeling methodology.Results. Proband overt scores significantly predicted the overt scores of their relatives, and proband covert scores significantly predicted the covert scores of their relatives. There was no evidence of covert symptom scores predicting overt scores or vice versa. There was some evidence that the aggregation of covert symptoms was stronger in the families of female probands.Conclusions. These results provide preliminary evidence that overt and covert conduct disorder symptoms are independently transmitted through families and may represent distinct familial syndromes.

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DSM-IV defined conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder: an investigation of shared liability in female twins

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291713001396 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 44 (5) ◽

pp. 1053-1064 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

V. S. Knopik ◽

L. C. Bidwell ◽

C. Flessner ◽

N. Nugent ◽

L. Swenson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Conduct Disorder ◽

Oppositional Defiant Disorder ◽

Hierarchical Structure ◽

Environmental Effects ◽

Genetic Influences ◽

Two Stage ◽

Genetic Studies ◽

Oppositional Defiant ◽

Dsm Iv ◽

Shared Genetic

BackgroundDSM-IV specifies a hierarchal diagnostic structure such that an oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) diagnosis is applied only if criteria are not met for conduct disorder (CD). Genetic studies of ODD and CD support a combination of shared genetic and environmental influences but largely ignore the imposed diagnostic structure.MethodWe examined whether ODD and CD share an underlying etiology while accounting for DSM-IV diagnostic specifications. Data from 1446 female twin pairs, aged 11–19 years, were fitted to two-stage models adhering to the DSM-IV diagnostic hierarchy.ResultsThe models suggested that DSM-IV ODD–CD covariation is attributed largely to shared genetic influences.ConclusionsThis is the first study, to our knowledge, to examine genetic and environmental overlap among these disorders while maintaining a DSM-IV hierarchical structure. The findings reflect primarily shared genetic influences and specific (i.e. uncorrelated) shared/familial environmental effects on these DSM-IV-defined behaviors. These results have implications for how best to define CD and ODD for future genetically informed analyses.

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