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Published on: March 17, 2019
The genetic etiology of inhibitory control and behavior problems at 24 months of age
Jeffrey R Gagne1, Kimberly J Saudino, Philip Asherson
1Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1611, USA. jgagne@wisc.edu
Background:
To investigate links between inhibitory control (IC) and behavior problems in early childhood, as well as genetic and environmental covariances between these two constructs.
Methods:
Parent and laboratory ratings of IC and parent ratings of externalizing and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder behaviors were administered at 24 months of age on a sample of 291 same-sex twin pairs (131 monozygotic, 160 dizygotic).
Results:
There were significant phenotypic associations between both IC assessments and the two areas of behavioral maladjustment (correlations ranged from -.13 to -.57). Multivariate analyses revealed that phenotypic covariance between IC and behavior problems could be substantially explained by common genetic influences (genetic correlations ranged from -.30 to -.74). Parent ratings of IC showed higher phenotypic and genetic correlations with behavior problems than lab ratings of IC.
Conclusions:
This study is the first to examine the etiology of the covariance between IC and related behavioral difficulties in toddlerhood. Findings suggest that low levels of IC can be considered a genetic risk factor for the development of early emerging behavior problems.
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