BACKGROUND: Individual differences in conduct problems arise in part from proneness to anger/frustration and poor self-regulation of behavior. However, the genetic and environmental etiology of these connections is not known. METHOD: Using a twin design, we examined genetic and environmental covariation underlying the well-documented correlations between anger/frustration, poor attention regulation (i.e., task persistence), and conduct problems in childhood. Participants included 105 pairs of MZ twins and 154 pairs of same-sex DZ twins (4-8 year olds). Independent observers rated child persistence and affect based on behavior during a challenging in-home cognitive and literacy assessment. Teachers and parents provided reports of conduct problems. RESULTS: Persistence, anger/frustration, and conduct problems included moderate heritable and nonshared environmental variance; conduct problems included moderate shared environmental variance as well. Persistence and anger/frustration had independent genetic covariance with conduct problems and nonshared environmental covariance with each other. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate genetically distinct though inter-related influences linking affective and self-regulatory aspects of temperament with behavior problems in childhood.
BACKGROUND: Individual differences in conduct problems arise in part from proneness to anger/frustration and poor self-regulation of behavior. However, the genetic and environmental etiology of these connections is not known. METHOD: Using a twin design, we examined genetic and environmental covariation underlying the well-documented correlations between anger/frustration, poor attention regulation (i.e., task persistence), and conduct problems in childhood. Participants included 105 pairs of MZ twins and 154 pairs of same-sex DZ twins (4-8 year olds). Independent observers rated child persistence and affect based on behavior during a challenging in-home cognitive and literacy assessment. Teachers and parents provided reports of conduct problems. RESULTS: Persistence, anger/frustration, and conduct problems included moderate heritable and nonshared environmental variance; conduct problems included moderate shared environmental variance as well. Persistence and anger/frustration had independent genetic covariance with conduct problems and nonshared environmental covariance with each other. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate genetically distinct though inter-related influences linking affective and self-regulatory aspects of temperament with behavior problems in childhood.
Authors: Stephen A Petrill; Kirby Deater-Deckard; Lee Anne Thompson; Laura S Dethorne; Christopher Schatschneider Journal: J Learn Disabil Date: 2006 Jan-Feb
Authors: Lauren S Wakschlag; Susan B Perlman; R James Blair; Ellen Leibenluft; Margaret J Briggs-Gowan; Daniel S Pine Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 2017-11-17 Impact factor: 18.112