A study of genetic and environmental effects on the co-occurrence of problem behaviors in three-year-old twins.
The authors examined the genetic and environmental causes of the co-occurrence of problem behaviors in children. The analyses involved mother and father ratings of Oppositional, Withdrawn/Depressed, Aggressive, Anxious, Overactive, and Sleep Problems in 446 monozygotic and 912 dizygotic pairs of 3-year-old twins. Genetic factors contributed on average .150 (37.3%), shared environment .206 (51.2%), and nonshared environment .046 (11.4%) to the phenotypic correlations between the syndromes. Genetic and environmental factors caused different groupings. Internalizing and Externalizing groupings were indicative of nonshared environmental factors; clusters of problem behaviors with either the Aggressive or Anxious symptoms were most suggestive of genetic factors, and high scores on all syndromes indicated shared environmental influences.
Van den Oord
Edwin J C G
EJCG
Utrecht U.
Boomsma
Dorret I
DI
Verhulst
Frank C
FC
D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004200:Diseases in Twins / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012931:Social Environment