Family resemblance for neuromuscular performance in a Kansas Mennonite community

Familial phenotypic resemblance for six quantitative neuromuscular performance traits is analyzed by path analysis using data from the Mennonite community of Goessel, Kansas. Of the six traits only one, dominant hand strength, shows no evidence of parent-offspring transmission (t2 = 0.001) and only one, trunk flexibility, shows evidence of a high degree of transmissibility (t2 = 0.662). The four remaining traits display low to moderate levels of transmissibility (t2 = 0.073 to t2 = 0.245). A substantial residual sibling resemblance due to shared environmental effects is seen for all six traits. It is suggested that the high heritabilities found for many of these traits by other methods result from the inability of these methods to account for the shared nongenetic effects.