Genes of experience: explaining the heritability of putative environmental variables through their association with behavioural and emotional traits.
paper
Cited
Public
- Authors
- McAdams, Tom A; Gregory, Alice M; Eley, Thalia C
- Year
- 2013
- Journal
- Behavior genetics
- PMID
- 23519636
- DOI
- 10.1007/s10519-013-9591-0
- PMCID
- PMC3690178
An increasing body of evidence shows that many 'environmental' measures are heritable, indicating genetic involvement in environmental exposure (or gene-environment correlation). In the present study we attempt to clarify why three such 'environmental' measures (maternal negativity, paternal negativity and negative life events) are consistently found to be heritable. Through multivariate genetic analysis of a sample of adolescent twins from the UK we show that the heritability of these putative environmental measures can be explained via their association with five behavioural phenotypes: oppositionality, delinquency, physical aggression, depression and anxiety. This is consistent with the notion that being genetically susceptible to certain behavioural difficulties could lead to exposure to certain life events, and this may account for the reported heritability of 'environmental' measures. Results are discussed in the context of possible active, evocative and passive gene-environment correlations.
Cholesky decomposition model. Going from left to right the first A factor accounts for genetic variance common to all variables, the second A factor accounts for any remaining variance in the latter 5 variables not accounted for by the first factor, and so on. The final factor accounts for residual variance in the final (extreme right) variable not shared with any other variable in the model
Correlated factors solution showing genetic loadings and genetic correlations for the maternal negativity model (95 % confidence intervals)
Correlated factors solution showing genetic loadings and genetic correlations for the paternal negativity model (95 % confidence intervals)
Correlated factors solution showing genetic loadings and genetic correlations for the negative life events model (95 % confidence intervals)
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
| ACE local | cohort |
| Adolescent Genes local | gene |
| adolescents | cohort |
| Adolescent twins local | phenotype |
| age | phenotype |
| aggression | phenotype |
| antisocial personality disorder | phenotype |
| anxiety | phenotype |
| appearance | phenotype |
| behavioral phenotypes | phenotype |
| behaviour | phenotype |
| behavioural and emotional difficulties local | phenotype |
| behavioural and emotional problems local | phenotype |
| Behavioural phenotype local | phenotype |
| bullying victimisation local | phenotype |
| candidate genes | cohort |
| child-based twin datasets local | cohort |
| child-based twin samples local | cohort |
| child twin samples local | cohort |
| cognitive ability | phenotype |
| conduct disorder | phenotype |
| controllable life events local | phenotype |
| delinquency | phenotype |
| delinquent behaviour local | phenotype |
| depression | phenotype |
| deviant peer environment local | phenotype |
| dominance local | phenotype |
| DZ female local | cohort |
| DZ male local | cohort |
| DZ mixed-sex pairs local | cohort |
| emotional and behavioral problems | phenotype |
| Environmental measure local | phenotype |
| environmental variables local | phenotype |
| expulsion from school local | phenotype |
| externalising problems | phenotype |
| family environment | phenotype |
| Fear of physical injury local | phenotype |
| Female DZ twin pairs local | cohort |
| Female MZ twin pairs local | cohort |
| full sample | cohort |
| G1219 local | phenotype |
| G1219 study local | cohort |
| Generalised anxiety local | phenotype |
| genes | gene |
| genetic factors | cohort |
| heritable environmental variable local | phenotype |
| home environment local | phenotype |
| Internalising local | phenotype |
| low self control local | phenotype |
| Male DZ twin pairs local | cohort |
| Male MZ twin pairs local | cohort |
| marital status | phenotype |
| maternal negativity | phenotype |
| Moods and Feelings Questionnaire—short version local | drug |
| MSD local | phenotype |
| MZ female local | cohort |
| MZ male local | cohort |
| nationally representative sample | cohort |
| negative life event local | phenotype |
| negative outcomes | phenotype |
| negative parenting | phenotype |
| negative parenting experiences local | phenotype |
| Negative Sanctions subscale local | drug |
| non-passive rGE local | phenotype |
| non-violent delinquency local | phenotype |
| Non-violent delinquency local | phenotype |
| Obsessive compulsive behaviours local | phenotype |
| Opposite-sex DZ pairs local | cohort |
| oppositionality | phenotype |
| panic disorder | phenotype |
| parental discipline local | phenotype |
| parent-based twin datasets local | cohort |
| Parent–child relationship measure local | drug |
| parenting measures local | phenotype |
| parents | cohort |
| Participants <16 years old local | cohort |
| Participants aged ≥16 local | cohort |
| passive rGE local | phenotype |
| paternal negativity local | phenotype |
| Paternal negativity local | phenotype |
| peer deviance | phenotype |
| personality characteristics local | phenotype |
| personality traits | phenotype |
| popularity | phenotype |
| popularity within the peer group local | phenotype |
| rGE local | phenotype |
| rule-breaking behavior | phenotype |
| second wave local | cohort |
| separation anxiety disorder | phenotype |
| sex | phenotype |
| sex differences | phenotype |
| social phobia | phenotype |
| stressful life events | phenotype |
| stressors | phenotype |
| temperament | phenotype |
| Total anxiety local | phenotype |
| trait anxiety | phenotype |
| Twin cohort | cohort |
| uncontrollable life events local | phenotype |
| wave 2 | cohort |
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