J N Constantino1, R D Todd. 1. Department of Psychiatry, Washigton University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. constantino@psychiatry.wustl.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The study examined the genetic structure of deficits in reciprocal social behavior in an epidemiologic sample of male twins. METHOD: Parents of 232 pairs of 7-15-year-old male twins completed the Social Reciprocity Scale to provide data on their children's reciprocal social behavior. Scale scores were analyzed by using structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Intraclass (twin-twin) correlations for scores on the Social Reciprocity Scale were 0.73 for monozygotic twins (N=98 pairs) and 0.37 for dizygotic twins (N=134 pairs). The best fitting model of causal influences on reciprocal social behavior incorporated additive genetic influences and unique environmental influences. CONCLUSIONS: For school-age boys in the general population, reciprocal social behavior is highly heritable, with a genetic structure similar to that reported for autism in clinical samples. Continuous measures of reciprocal social behavior may be useful for characterizing the broader autism phenotype and may enhance the statistical power of genetic studies of autism.
OBJECTIVE: The study examined the genetic structure of deficits in reciprocal social behavior in an epidemiologic sample of male twins. METHOD: Parents of 232 pairs of 7-15-year-old male twins completed the Social Reciprocity Scale to provide data on their children's reciprocal social behavior. Scale scores were analyzed by using structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Intraclass (twin-twin) correlations for scores on the Social Reciprocity Scale were 0.73 for monozygotic twins (N=98 pairs) and 0.37 for dizygotic twins (N=134 pairs). The best fitting model of causal influences on reciprocal social behavior incorporated additive genetic influences and unique environmental influences. CONCLUSIONS: For school-age boys in the general population, reciprocal social behavior is highly heritable, with a genetic structure similar to that reported for autism in clinical samples. Continuous measures of reciprocal social behavior may be useful for characterizing the broader autism phenotype and may enhance the statistical power of genetic studies of autism.
Authors: Judith S Nijmeijer; Alejandro Arias-Vásquez; Nanda N J Rommelse; Marieke E Altink; Richard J L Anney; Philip Asherson; Tobias Banaschewski; Cathelijne J M Buschgens; Ellen A Fliers; Michael Gill; Ruud B Minderaa; Luise Poustka; Joseph A Sergeant; Jan K Buitelaar; Barbara Franke; Richard P Ebstein; Ana Miranda; Fernando Mulas; Robert D Oades; Herbert Roeyers; Aribert Rothenberger; Edmund J S Sonuga-Barke; Hans-Christoph Steinhausen; Stephen V Faraone; Catharina A Hartman; Pieter J Hoekstra Journal: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2010-05-20 Impact factor: 8.829
Authors: Jennifer K Lowe; Donna M Werling; John N Constantino; Rita M Cantor; Daniel H Geschwind Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 2014-11-07 Impact factor: 18.112
Authors: Duneesha De Alwis; Arpana Agrawal; Angela M Reiersen; John N Constantino; Anjali Henders; Nicholas G Martin; Michael T Lynskey Journal: J Stud Alcohol Drugs Date: 2014-03 Impact factor: 2.582
Authors: Judith S Nijmeijer; Alejandro Arias-Vásquez; Nanda N J Rommelse; Marieke E Altink; Cathelijne J M Buschgens; Ellen A Fliers; Barbara Franke; Ruud B Minderaa; Joseph A Sergeant; Jan K Buitelaar; Pieter J Hoekstra; Catharina A Hartman Journal: J Autism Dev Disord Date: 2014-07
Authors: Mirko Uljarević; Thomas W Frazier; Jennifer M Phillips; Booil Jo; Sandy Littlefield; Antonio Y Hardan Journal: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2019-08-01 Impact factor: 8.829
Authors: John N Constantino; Anna M Abbacchi; Patricia D Lavesser; Hannah Reed; Leah Givens; Lily Chiang; Teddi Gray; Maggie Gross; Yi Zhang; Richard D Todd Journal: Dev Psychopathol Date: 2009