The Interplay of Genes and Environment across Multiple Studies (IGEMS) group is a consortium of eight longitudinal twin studies established to explore the nature of social context effects and ...gene-environment interplay in late-life functioning. The resulting analysis of the combined data from over 17,500 participants aged 25-102 at baseline (including nearly 2,600 monogygotic and 4,300 dizygotic twin pairs and over 1,700 family members) aims to understand why early life adversity, and social factors such as isolation and loneliness, are associated with diverse outcomes including mortality, physical functioning (health, functional ability), and psychological functioning (well-being, cognition), particularly in later life.
Studies of adolescent or parent-based twins suggest that gene–environment correlation (rGE) is an important mechanism underlying parent–adolescent relationships. However, information on how parents' ...and children's genes and environments influence correlated parent and child behaviors is needed to distinguish types of rGE. The present study used the novel Extended Children of Twins model to distinguish types of rGE underlying associations between negative parenting and adolescent (age 11–22 years) externalizing problems with a Swedish sample of 909 twin parents and their adolescent offspring and a U.S.-based sample of 405 adolescent siblings and their parents. Results suggest that evocative rGE, not passive rGE or direct environmental effects of parenting on adolescent externalizing, explains associations between maternal and paternal negativity and adolescent externalizing problems.
Previous studies have suggested that parental criticism leads to more somatic symptoms in adolescent children. However, this research has not assessed the direction of causation or whether genetic ...and/or environmental influences explain the association between parental criticism and adolescent somatic symptoms. As such, it is impossible to understand the mechanisms that underlie this association. The current study uses the Extended Children of Twins design to examine whether parents' genes, adolescents' genes, and/or environmental factors explain the relationship between parental criticism and adolescent somatic symptoms. Participants came from 2 twin samples, including the Twin and Offspring Study in Sweden (N = 868 pairs of adult twins and each twin's adolescent child) and from the Twin Study of Child and Adolescent Development (N = 690 pairs of twin children and their parents). Findings showed that environmental influences account for the association between parental criticism and adolescent somatic symptoms. This suggests that parents' critical behaviors exert a direct environmental effect on somatic symptoms in adolescent children. Results support the use of intervention programs focused on parental criticism to help reduce adolescents' somatic symptoms.
Age moderation of genetic and environmental contributions to Digits Forward, Digits Backward, Block Design, Symbol Digit, Vocabulary, and Synonyms was investigated in a sample of 14,534 twins aged 26 ...to 98years. The Interplay of Genes and Environment across Multiple Studies (IGEMS) consortium contributed the sample, which represents nine studies from three countries (USA, Denmark, and Sweden). Average test performance was lower in successively older age groups for all tests. Significant age moderation of additive genetic, shared environmental, and non-shared environmental variance components was observed, but the pattern varied by test. The genetic contribution to phenotypic variance across age was smaller for both Digit Span tests, greater for Synonyms, and stable for Block Design and Symbol Digit. The non-shared environmental contribution was greater with age for the Digit Span tests and Block Design, while the shared environmental component was small for all tests, often more so with age. Vocabulary showed similar age-moderation patterns as Synonyms, but these effects were nonsignificant. Findings are discussed in the context of theories of cognitive aging.
•The etiology of cognitive functioning varied across age and cognitive ability.•Genetic contributions were higher for older ages, but only for verbal tasks.•Processing speed and spatial processing tests had stable heritability across age.•The shared environment had little to no effect on any of the tests we examined.
Aims To ascertain the level of support and training available to paediatric specialist registrars (SpRs) in breaking bad news and their self‐reported confidence in this task.
Study design A ...questionnaire‐based survey.
Participants Paediatric SpRs working in North Thames region.
Methods Specialist registrars (n = 206) were sent a questionnaire relating to the level of support and training available to them in breaking bad news and their attitudes to this task. A repeat questionnaire was sent out 2 weeks later.
Results The response rate was 54.9%. The study sample included 78 females and 34 males. The median year of qualification was 1995 interquartile range (IQR) 1993–1997 and the median year of Calman training was Year 3 (IQR 2–4). Only 15.9% of participants had guidelines where they worked and 91.2% had received training in breaking bad news. Median self‐perceived confidence in breaking bad news was rated as 4 out of 5. Only 21.2% of all respondents had both disclosed a diagnosis of Down syndrome and received feedback on their performance from their seniors. Few SpRs were able to adhere to all evidence‐based recommendations for breaking bad news.
Discussion Most SpRs had received training in breaking bad news and self‐reported confidence in this skill was high, although their hands‐on experience was limited. Recent research shows, however, that parental dissatisfaction with the way in which bad news is broken remains high. The potential discrepancy between self‐reported confidence and actual competence casts doubt on the value of self‐evaluation.
Couples are similar in their pair-bonding behavior, yet the reasons for this similarity are often unclear. A common explanation is phenotypic assortment, whereby individuals select partners with ...similar heritable characteristics. Alternatively, social homogamy, whereby individuals passively select partners with similar characteristic due to shared social backgrounds, is rarely considered. We examined whether phenotypic assortment and/or social homogamy can contribute to mate similarity using a twin–partner design. The sample came from the Twin and Offspring Study in Sweden, which included 876 male and female monozygotic and same-sex dizygotic twins plus their married or cohabitating partners. Results showed that variance in pair-bonding behavior was attributable to genetic and nonshared environmental factors. Furthermore, phenotypic assortment accounted for couple similarity in pair-bonding behavior. This suggests that individuals’ genetically based characteristics are involved in their selection of mates with similar pair-bonding behavior.
This paper reviews behavioral genetic research from the past decade that has moved beyond simply studying the independent influences of genes and environments. The studies considered in this review ...have instead focused on understanding gene—environment interplay, including genotype—environment correlation (rGE) and genotype × environment interaction (G × E). Studies have suggested that rGE is an important pathway through which family relationships are associated with child adjustment. Also important are direct causal influences of family relationships on child adjustment, independent of genetic confounds. Other studies have indicated that genetic and environmental influences on child adjustment are moderated by different levels of family relationships in G × E interactions. Genetically informed studies that have examined family relations have been critical to advancing our understanding of gene—environment interplay.
•First reared-apart twin study of applied creativity.•Applied creativity assessed by judgments of creative aspects of drawings.•Genetic influences on applied creativity detected, but varied by ...drawing type.
Applied creativity involves bringing innovation to real-life activities. The first reared-apart twin study assessing genetic and environmental origins of applied creativity, via Draw-a-House (DAH) and Draw-a-Person (DAP) tasks, is presented. Participants included 69 MZA and 53 DZA twin pairs from the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart. Drawings were evaluated by four artists and four non-artists. Genetic effects were demonstrated for the DAP (.38–.47), but not for the DAH. Creative personality showed genetic effects (.50), and modest, but significant correlations with scores on the two drawings (rs=.17–.26). Both genetic and nonshared environmental influences underlie variance in applied creativity. Individuals concerned with enhancing creativity among students and others may better understand individual differences in performance and training.
Work-family spillover research focuses on how negative and positive moods in one life domain carry over to another. Domain-specific etiologies (e.g., family conflict) are often emphasized to explain ...spillover. Yet, strong correlations exist between spillover variables of the same emotional valence but originating from different domains, suggesting individual differences in the tendencies to prolong mood-states. The current study (
N
=
1143 individuals) examined whether these general tendencies are associated with neuroticism and extraversion and how genetic and environmental effects contribute to these associations. Findings revealed that neuroticism and extraversion are related to these tendencies through both genetic and environmental pathways.
This study investigated whether genetic and environmental influences on global family conflict are explained by parents' personality, marital quality, and negative parenting. The sample comprised 876 ...same-sex pairs of twins, their spouses, and one adolescent child per twin from the Twin and Offspring Study in Sweden. Genetic influences on aggressive personality were correlated with genetic influences on global family conflict. Nonshared environmental influences on marital quality and negative parenting were correlated with nonshared environmental influences on global family conflict. Results suggest that parents' personality and unique experiences within their family relationships are important for understanding genetic and environmental influences on global conflict in the home.
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