title: Coordination difficulty and internalizing symptoms in adults: A twin/sibling study.
abstract: Increased anxiety and depression symptoms have been reported in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, and have been found to be associated with motor coordination difficulties, but little is known about the etiology of these associations. This study aimed to assess genetic, shared (making twins/siblings alike) and non-shared (individual-specific) environmental influences on the association between poor coordination and symptoms of anxiety and depressed mood using a sample of adult twin and sibling pairs. Participants were asked about their coordination skill and anxiety and depression symptoms. About half of the variance in coordination difficulty was explained by familial (combined genetic and shared environmental) influences, with the remaining variance explained by non-shared environmental influences. Phenotypic associations between coordination and anxiety (r=.46) and depression symptoms (r=.44) were largely underpinned by shared familial liability for the three traits. Non-shared environment accounted for about a third of the phenotypic association. Results suggest that both familial and non-shared environmental influences play a role in the etiology of coordination difficulty and its association with internalizing symptoms. The current study highlights that both biological and environmental pathways shared between these symptoms should be examined in future research to inform prevention and treatment approaches in clinical settings.
authors.affiliation: King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK.
authors.forename: Monika A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Waszczuk
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Hayley C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Elisabeth L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rowe
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK. Electronic address: a.gregory@gold.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Alice M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gregory
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D001259:Ataxia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D004200:Diseases in Twins / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D035781:Siblings / Q000523:psychology; D012931:Social Environment; D014427:Twins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anxiety; Coordination; Depression; Developmental coordination disorder; Twin study