Heritability of smoking, alcohol use, and psychological characteristics among adolescent twins in Qingdao, China.
BACKGROUND
Previous studies of genetic and environmental influences on adolescent substance use have been limited to Western samples.


METHODS
This study assesses genetic and environmental contributions to cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and psychological variables (depression, anxiety, aggression, hostility) among 602 pairs of adolescent twins, 11 to 19 years old, in Qingdao, China.


RESULTS
Heritable influences were more pronounced for alcohol use than cigarette smoking. In univariate analyses, no heritable effects were found for depression or aggression, and modest heritability was found for anxiety. Hostility was relatively more heritable in girls than boys. Bivariate associations between substance use and psychological measures could be attributed to a combination of common genetic and environmental factors.


CONCLUSIONS
Among Chinese adolescents, experimentation with tobacco is familial, and experimentation with alcohol is heritable. The genetic and environmental architecture of hostility differs by gender. Consistency of univariate results with Western adolescent samples appears limited to the alcohol use measures.
Unger
Jennifer B
JB
Claremont Graduate University, 180 E. Via Verde, San Dimas, CA 91773, USA. jenniferbethunger@gmail.com
Lessov-Schlaggar
Christina N
CN
Pang
Zengchang
Z
Guo
Qian
Q
Ning
Feng
F
Gallaher
Peggy
P
Lee
Liming
L
Cao
Weihua
W
Conti
David
D
Johnson
C Anderson
CA
D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006293:Health Promotion; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011634:Public Health; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D014427:Twins / Q000523:psychology*