Strong Genetic Influences on the Stability of Autistic Traits in Childhood
نویسندگان
چکیده
OBJECTIVE Disorders on the autism spectrum, as well as autistic traits in the general population, have been found to be both highly stable across age and highly heritable at individual ages. However, little is known about the overlap in genetic and environmental influences on autistic traits across age and the contribution of such influences to trait stability itself. The present study investigated these questions in a general population sample of twins. METHOD More than 6,000 twin pairs were rated on an established scale of autistic traits by their parents at 8, 9, and 12 years of age and by their teachers at 9 and 12 years of age. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. RESULTS The results indicated that, consistently across raters, not only were autistic traits stable, and moderately to highly heritable at individual ages, but there was also a high degree of overlap in genetic influences across age. Furthermore, autistic trait stability could largely be accounted for by genetic factors, with the environment unique to each twin playing a minor role. The environment shared by twins had virtually no effect on the longitudinal stability in autistic traits. CONCLUSIONS Autistic traits are highly stable across middle childhood. and this stability is caused primarily by genetic factors.
منابع مشابه
Etiological influences on the stability of autistic traits from childhood to early adulthood: evidence from a twin study
BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are persistent and lifelong conditions. Despite this, almost all twin studies focus on childhood. This twin study investigated the stability of autistic traits from childhood to early adulthood and explored the degree to which any stability could be explained by genetic or environmental factors. METHODS Parents of over 2500 twin pairs completed quest...
متن کاملA Genetically Informed Cross-Lagged Analysis of Autistic-Like Traits and Affective Problems in Early Childhood.
A genetically informed cross-lagged model was applied to twin data to explore etiological links between autistic-like traits and affective problems in early childhood. The sample comprised 310 same-sex twin pairs (143 monozygotic and 167 dizygotic; 53 % male). Autistic-like traits and affective problems were assessed at ages 2 and 3 using parent ratings. Both constructs were related within and ...
متن کاملLimited genetic covariance between autistic traits and intelligence: findings from a longitudinal twin study.
Intellectual disability is common in individuals with autism spectrum conditions. However, the strength of the association between both conditions and its relevance to finding the underlying (genetic) causes of autism is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal association between autistic traits and intelligence in a general population twin sample and to examine the etiology o...
متن کاملExploring the relationship between autistic-like traits and ADHD behaviors in early childhood: findings from a community twin study of 2-year-olds.
Behaviors characteristic of autism and ADHD emerge in early childhood, yet research investigating their comorbidity has focused on older children. This study aimed to explore the nature of the relationship between autistic-like traits and ADHD behaviors in a community sample of 2-year-olds. Twins from the Boston University Twin Project (N = 312 pairs) were assessed by their parents on autistic-...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
دوره 53 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2014