title: The association between conduct problems and maltreatment: testing genetic and environmental mediation.
abstract: It is often assumed that childhood maltreatment causes conduct problems via an environmentally mediated process. However, the association may be due alternatively to either a nonpassive gene-environment correlation, in which parents react to children's genetically-influenced conduct problems by maltreating them, or a passive gene-environment correlation, in which parents' tendency to engage in maltreatment and children's conduct problems are both influenced by a hereditary vulnerability to antisocial behavior (i.e. genetic mediation). The present study estimated the contribution of these processes to the association between maltreatment and conduct problems. Bivariate behavior genetic analyses were conducted on approximately 1,650 twin and sibling pairs drawn from a large longitudinal study of adolescent health (Add Health). The correlation between maltreatment and conduct problems was small; much of the association between maltreatment and conduct problems was due to a nonpassive gene-environment correlation. Results were more consistent with the hypothesis that parents respond to children's genetically-influenced conduct problems by maltreating them than the hypothesis that maltreatment causes conduct problems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Colorado, UCB 345, Boulder, CO 80309, USA. jay.schulz-heik@colorado.edu
authors.forename: R Jay
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Schulz-Heik
authors.forename: Soo Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Rhee
authors.forename: Louise E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Silvern
authors.forename: Brett C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Haberstick
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hopfer
authors.forename: Jeffrey M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lessem
authors.forename: John K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Hewitt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics*; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008957:Models, Genetic; D017008:Negotiating; D012107:Research Design; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D035781:Siblings