Genetic and Cultural Transmission of Antisocial Behavior: An Extended Twin Parent Model

2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermine H. Maes ◽  
Judy L. Silberg ◽  
Michael C. Neale ◽  
Lindon J. Eaves
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Antisocial Behavior ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Simultaneous Estimation ◽  
Adoption Studies ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Genes And Environment ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors

AbstractConsiderable evidence from twin and adoption studies indicates that both genetic and shared environmental factors play a substantial role in the liability to antisocial behavior. Although twin and adoption designs can resolve genetic and environmental influences, they do not provide information about assortative mating, parent–offspring transmission, or the contribution of these factors to trait variation. We examined the role of genetic and environmental factors for conduct disorder (CD) using a twin–parent design. This design allows the simultaneous estimation of additive genetic, shared and individual-specific environmental effects, as well as sex differences in the expression of genes and environment in the presence of assortative mating and combined genetic and cultural transmission. A retrospective measure of CD was obtained from twins and their parents or guardians in the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavior Development and its Young Adult Follow up sample. Both genetic and environmental factors play a significant role in the liability to CD. Major influences on individual differences appeared to be additive genetic (38%–40%) and unique environmental (39%–42%) effects, with smaller contributions from the shared environment (18%–23%), assortative mating (~2%), cultural transmission (~2%) and resulting genotype-environment covariance. This study showed significant heritability, which is slightly increased by assortative mating, and significant effects of primarily nonparental shared environment on CD.

scholarly journals Cross-Cultural Comparison of Genetic and Cultural Transmission of Smoking Initiation Using an Extended Twin Kinship Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermine H. Maes ◽  
Kate Morley ◽  
Michael C. Neale ◽  
Kenneth S. Kendler ◽  
Andrew C. Heath ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Smoking Behavior ◽  
Smoking Initiation ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Adoption Studies ◽  
Genes And Environment ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors

Background: Considerable evidence from twin and adoption studies indicates that genetic and shared environmental factors play a role in the initiation of smoking behavior. Although twin and adoption designs are powerful to detect genetic and environmental influences, they do not provide information on the processes of assortative mating and parent–offspring transmission and their contribution to the variability explained by genetic and/or environmental factors. Methods: We examined the role of genetic and environmental factors in individual differences for smoking initiation (SI) using an extended kinship design. This design allows the simultaneous testing of additive and non-additive genetic, shared and individual-specific environmental factors, as well as sex differences in the expression of genes and environment in the presence of assortative mating and combined genetic and cultural transmission, while also estimating the regression of the prevalence of SI on age. A dichotomous lifetime ‘ever’ smoking measure was obtained from twins and relatives in the ‘Virginia 30,000’ sample and the ‘Australian 25,000’. Results: Results demonstrate that both genetic and environmental factors play a significant role in the liability to SI. Major influences on individual differences appeared to be additive genetic and unique environmental effects, with smaller contributions from assortative mating, shared sibling environment, twin environment, cultural transmission, and resulting genotype-environment covariance. Age regression of the prevalence of SI was significant. The finding of negative cultural transmission without dominance led us to investigate more closely two possible mechanisms for the lower parent–offspring correlations compared to the sibling and DZ twin correlations in subsets of the data: (1) age × gene interaction, and (2) social homogamy. Neither of the mechanism provided a significantly better explanation of the data. Conclusions: This study showed significant heritability, partly due to assortment, and significant effects of primarily non-parental shared environment on liability to SI.

Methodology of genetic research in psychiatry

1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-47
Author(s):  
P. McGuffin
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Autosomal Dominant ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Mendelian Inheritance ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Incomplete Penetrance ◽  
Adoption Studies ◽  
Complex Phenotypes ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors

Most forms of behaviour whether normal or abnormal, show a tendency to run in families. However, these can range from symptoms of dementia and movement disorder caused by the comparatively rare autosomal dominant Huntington's disease to common everyday aspects of behaviour such as religious persuasion or career choice. Normal behaviours and most common disorders do not show simple mendelian inheritance but instead have more complex patterns of transmission involving either major genes with incomplete penetrance, multiple genes of small effect, or a combination of the two. In addition, common complex phenotypes usually involve the combination of genetic and environmental factors. Therefore once family studies have shown that a disorder or trait is familial the next stage is to perform twin studies and, if possible adoption studies to investigate whether this results from shared genes, shared environment or a combination of the two.

Comparing the biological and cultural inheritance of personality and social attitudes in the Virginia 30 000 study of twins and their relatives

Twin Research ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindon Eaves ◽  
Andrew Heath ◽  
Nicholas Martin ◽  
Hermine Maes ◽  
Michael Neale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Family Environment ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Model Fitting ◽  
Family Resemblance ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Cultural Inheritance ◽  
Adoption Studies ◽  
Attitude Measures

AbstractMeasures of four dimensions of personality (Psychoticism, Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Lie scores) and six aspects of social attitudes (to sex, taxation, militarism, politics, religion and a general conservatism scale) were obtained by mailed questionnaire from 29 691 US subjects including adult twins (n = 14 761) their parents (n = 2360), their spouses (n = 4391), siblings (n = 3184) and adult children (n = 4800). After correction for the average effects of age, sex and source of sample, familial correlations were computed for 80 distinct biological and social relationships. The data allow for the estimation of the additive and non-additive effects of genes, assortative mating, vertical cultural inheritance and other non-parental effects of the shared environment on differences in personality and social attitudes. The interaction of genetic and environmental effects with sex may also be analyzed. Model-fitting analyses show that personality and social attitude measures differ markedly in major features of family resemblance. Additive and dominant genetic effects contribute to differences in both personality and attitudes, but the effects of the family environment, including vertical cultural transmission from parent to child, are much more marked for social attitudes than for personality. There is substantial assortative mating for social attitudes and almost none for personality. The causes of family resemblance depend significantly on sex for almost every variable studied. These findings clarify and extend the more tentative findings derived from previous twin, family and adoption studies.

Exploring Genetic and Environmental Influences on Miscarriage Rates: A Twin Study

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea V. Burri ◽  
Lynn Cherkas ◽  
Timothy D. Spector
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Twin Study ◽  
Variance Components ◽  
Model Fitting ◽  
Genetic Influence ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Pair Correlations ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽  
Common Variable

AbstractMiscarriage is the most common type of pregnancy loss, occurring in up to 15% of clinically recognized pregnancies. Our understanding of the etiology is still limited but is believed to be multifactorial, including endocrine and anatomical abnormalities, immunologic, genetic and lifestyle factors. The aim of this study was to explore whether genetic variability in miscarriage is under any genetic influence. 3234 MZ and DZ female twins completed postal self-completion questionnaires on pregnancies. Rates were adjusted for total number of pregnancies. The relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to variation in miscarriage was assessed using twin intra-pair correlations and quantified using a variance components model fitting approach. We found 22.7% of our twins reporting having suffered at least one miscarriage. Current age, age at first pregnancy and higher number of pregnancies all had a significant influence on reported miscarriage. The concordance of miscarriage was similar in identical and non-identical twins, 26% and 27%, respectively. Shared environment and predominantly random error and unique environment rather than genetic factors best explained the total variation of miscarriage. To our knowledge, this is the first large twin study exploring heritability of miscarriage which unlike the vast majority of common variable traits, shows no significant genetic influence. In the absence of clear environmental factors, these results suggest the influence of random factors.

scholarly journals Combat exposure severity as a moderator of genetic and environmental liability to post-traumatic stress disorder

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 1499-1509 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. J. Wolf ◽  
K. S. Mitchell ◽  
K. C. Koenen ◽  
M. W. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Combat Exposure ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundTwin studies of veterans and adults suggest that approximately 30–46% of the variance in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is attributable to genetic factors. The remaining variance is attributable to the non-shared environment, which, by definition, includes combat exposure. This study used a gene by measured environment twin design to determine whether the effects of genetic and environmental factors that contribute to the etiology of PTSD are dependent on the level of combat exposure.MethodThe sample was drawn from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry (VETR) and included 620 male–male twin pairs who served in the US Military in South East Asia during the Vietnam War era. Analyses were based on data from a clinical diagnostic interview of lifetime PTSD symptoms and a self-report measure of combat exposure.ResultsBiometric modeling revealed that the effects of genetic and non-shared environment factors on PTSD varied as a function of level of combat exposure such that the association between these factors and PTSD was stronger at higher levels of combat exposure.ConclusionsCombat exposure may act as a catalyst that augments the impact of hereditary and environmental contributions to PTSD. Individuals with the greatest exposure to combat trauma were at increased risk for PTSD as a function of both genetic and environmental factors. Additional work is needed to determine the biological and environmental mechanisms driving these associations.

The etiologic role of genetic and environmental factors in criminal behavior as determined from full- and half-sibling pairs: an evaluation of the validity of the twin method

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 1873-1880 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. S. Kendler ◽  
S. L. Lönn ◽  
H. H. Maes ◽  
J. Sundquist ◽  
K. Sundquist
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Twin Study ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Complex Disorders ◽  
Twin Method ◽  
Heritability Estimates ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors

BackgroundTwin studies have shown that criminal behavior (CB) is influenced by both genetic and shared environmental factors. Could these results be replicated using full-siblings and half-siblings?MethodIn 911 009 full-siblings reared together (FSRT), 41 872 half-siblings reared together (HSRT) and 52 590 half-siblings reared apart (HSRA), CB was assessed from the Swedish Crime Register. Modeling, including testing for age differences and rearing status, was performed using the OpenMx package.ResultsFive sibling models were fitted examining FSRT and HSRT 0–2 years different in age, and both FSRT and HSRT, and FSRT, HSRT and HSRA 0–10 years different in age with and without a specified shared environment indexing age differences. Heritability estimates for CB ranged from 33 to 55% in females and 39 to 56% in males, similar to those found in our prior twin study on the same population. Estimates for the shared environment varied from 1 to 14% in females and 10 to 23% in males, lower than those estimated in the twin study. The specified shared environment indexed by sibling age differences was significant in all models tested.ConclusionsHeritability estimates for CB from full- and half-siblings closely approximated those found from twins in the same population, validating the twin method. Shared environmental estimates were lower, suggesting the presence of shared environmental factors for CB specific to twins. When rearing status can be assessed, full- and half-siblings offer an additional method for assessing the role of genetic and environmental factors in complex disorders. However, age differences in siblings may need to be included in the models.

The Heritability of Mortality Due to Heart Diseases: A Correlated Frailty Model Applied to Danish Twins

Twin Research ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 266-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Wienke ◽  
Niels V. Holm ◽  
Axel Skytthe ◽  
Anatoli I. Yashin
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Parametric Analysis ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Frailty Model ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors

AbstractData of the Danish Twin Registry on monozygotic and dizygotic twins are used to analyse genetic and environmental influences on susceptibility to heart diseases for males and females, respectively. The sample includes 7955 like-sexed twin pairs born between 1870 and 1930. Follow-up was from 1 January 1943 to 31 December 1993 which results in truncation (twin pairs were included in the study if both individuals were still alive at the beginning of the follow-up) and censoring (nearly 40% of the study population was still alive at the end of the follow-up). We use the correlated gamma-frailty model for the genetic analysis of frailty to account for this censoring and truncation. During the follow-up 9370 deaths occurred, 3393 deaths were due to heart diseases in general, including 2476 deaths due to coronary heart disease (CHD). Proportions of variance of frailty attributable to genetic and environmental factors were analyzed using the structural equation model approach. Different standard biometric models are fitted to the data to evaluate the magnitude and nature of genetic and environmental factors on mortality. Using the best fitting model heritability of frailty (liability to death) was found to be 0.55 (0.07) and 0.53 (0.11) with respect to heart diseases and CHD, respectively, for males and 0.52 (0.10) and 0.58 (0.14) for females in a parametric analysis. A semi-parametric analysis shows very similar results. These analyses may indicate the existence of a strong genetic influence on individual frailty associated with mortality caused by heart diseases and CHD in both, males and females. The nature of genetic influences on frailty with respect to heart diseases and CHD is probably additive. No evidence for dominance and shared environment was found.

Quantitative genetics

2012 ◽  
pp. 212-222
Author(s):  
Anita Thapar ◽  
Peter McGuffin
Keyword(s):  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Quantitative Genetics ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Adoption Studies ◽  
Risk Effects ◽  
Genetics Research ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors

In this chapter the authors consider the theoretical basis of inheritance and possible sources of phenotypic variation and familial resemblance. The investigation of the genetic basis of psychiatric disorders first requires us to examine to what extent genes and environment contribute to a given disorder or trait. Secondly, we need to know how genes and environmental influences exert their risk effects and finally we have to investigate the genetic basis of disorders at a molecular level. Traditional methods in psychiatric genetics research include family, twin, and adoption studies. Family studies enable us to examine to what extent a disorder or trait aggregates in families. Familiality of a disorder can of course by explained by shared environmental influences as well as by shared genes. Twin and adoption studies allow us to disentangle the effects of genes and shared environment. The statistical methods used in quantitative genetics may seem complex, the principles are straightforward. Here the authors consider the methods of analyses that are most commonly used for examining the contribution of genetic and environmental factors, to psychiatric disorders and traits. Finally, they discuss gene mapping, and molecular genetic studies investigating gene–environment interplay and intermediate phenotypes.

A Swedish national twin study of criminal behavior and its violent, white-collar and property subtypes

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (11) ◽  
pp. 2253-2262 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. S. Kendler ◽  
H. H. Maes ◽  
S. L. Lönn ◽  
N. A. Morris ◽  
P. Lichtenstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Environmental Influence ◽  
Familial Aggregation ◽  
Property Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Criminal Convictions ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors

BackgroundWe sought to clarify the etiological contribution of genetic and environmental factors to total criminal behavior (CB) measured as criminal convictions in men and women, and to violent (VCB), white-collar (WCCB) and property criminal behavior (PCB) in men only.MethodIn 21 603 twin pairs from the Swedish Twin Registry, we obtained information on all criminal convictions from 1973 to 2011 from the Swedish Crime Register. Twin modeling was performed using the OpenMx package.ResultsFor all criminal convictions, heritability was estimated at around 45% in both sexes, with the shared environment accounting for 18% of the variance in liability in females and 27% in males. The correlation of these risk factors across sexes was estimated at +0.63. In men, the magnitudes of genetic and environmental influence were similar in the three criminal conviction subtypes. However, for violent and white-collar convictions, nearly half and one-third of the genetic effects were respectively unique to that criminal subtype. About half of the familial environmental effects were unique to property convictions.ConclusionsThe familial aggregation of officially recorded CB is substantial and results from both genetic and familial environmental factors. These factors are moderately correlated across the sexes suggesting that some genetic and environmental influences on criminal convictions are unique to men and to women. Violent criminal behavior and property crime are substantially influenced respectively by genetic and shared environmental risk factors unique to that criminal subtype.

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