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Published on: July 10, 2017
Shared genetic and environmental influences on early temperament and preschool psychiatric disorders in Hispanic
Judy L Silberg1, Nathan Gillespie1, Ashlee A Moore1
1Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics,Department of Human and Molecular Genetics,Virginia Commonwealth University,Richmond,VA,USA.
Insights
Genetic and environmental factors influence early childhood psychiatric disorders. Infant temperament is linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and separation anxiety disorder (SAD) in preschoolers.
Area of Science:
- Child psychiatry
- Developmental psychology
- Behavioral genetics
Background:
- Psychiatric disorders can emerge in preschool years, yet early genetic and environmental influences remain understudied.
- Understanding these early risk factors is crucial for timely intervention and prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the genetic and environmental contributions to infant temperament and its association with preschool psychiatric disorders.
- To determine if shared genetic and environmental factors underlie the co-occurrence of early temperament and disorders like ADHD, ODD, and SAD.
Main Methods:
- Assessed infant temperament at age 1 and psychiatric disorders (ADHD, ODD, SAD) in Hispanic twins from ages 3-5.
- Utilized multivariate genetic models (MX software) to estimate genetic, shared, and non-shared environmental effects.
- Examined shared pathways between temperament and psychiatric diagnoses.
Main Results:
- Genetic factors significantly influenced ADHD (61%), ODD (21%), and SAD (28%).
- Shared environment contributed to ODD (34%) and SAD (15%).
- Difficult infant temperament was genetically linked to preschool ADHD, SAD, and ODD; ODD and SAD shared genetic and environmental influences.
Conclusions:
- Distinct genetic and family environmental pathways connect infant temperament to psychiatric diagnoses in Puerto Rican preschoolers.
- Early temperament traits, like resistance to control, are influenced by shared family environments.
Objective:
Despite an increasing recognition that psychiatric disorders can be diagnosed as early as preschool, little is known how early genetic and environmental risk factors contribute to the development of psychiatric disorders during this very early period of development.
Method:
We assessed infant temperament at age 1, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and separation anxiety disorder (SAD) at ages 3 through 5 years in a sample of Hispanic twins. Genetic, shared, and non-shared environmental effects were estimated for each temperamental construct and psychiatric disorder using the statistical program MX. Multivariate genetic models were fitted to determine whether the same or different sets of genes and environments account for the co-occurrence between early temperament and preschool psychiatric disorders.
Results:
Additive genetic factors accounted for 61% of the variance in ADHD, 21% in ODD, and 28% in SAD. Shared environmental factors accounted for 34% of the variance in ODD and 15% of SAD. The genetic influence on difficult temperament was significantly associated with preschool ADHD, SAD, and ODD. The association between ODD and SAD was due to both genetic and family environmental factors. The temperamental trait of resistance to control was entirely accounted for by the shared family environment.
Conclusions:
There are different genetic and family environmental pathways between infant temperament and psychiatric diagnoses in this sample of Puerto Rican preschool age children.
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