Abstract
This study aimed to examine the relative contribution of genes and environment to psychometrically measured schizotypy and the causes for the covariation between different dimensions of schizotypy in a total of 330 pairs of twins and 36 same-sex sib-pairs aged 12–16 and systematically recruited from junior high schools in Taipei. Twins’ zygosity was determined by a combination of DNA typing and physical similarity. Schizotypy was measured using the Perceptual Aberration Scale (PAS) as well as the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and its three factors (Cognitive-perceptual Dysfunction, Disorganization, and Interpersonal Dysfunction). Univariate analyses of structural equation modeling using Mx program showed that scores on these schizotypal measures were substantially heritable (h 2 ranging from 41 to 49%), with some genetic effects being non-additive. Multivariate analyses revealed common genetic factors linking between various traits of schizotypy, with bivariate heritability ranging from 50 to 65%. The proportion of the genetic contributions not shared with the other measures of schizotypy ranged from 24% for the Disorganization to 49% for the PAS scores. We concluded that there exist both common and specific genetic factors between the various dimensions of schizotypy, and at least half of their correlations were genetic in nature.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Billig JP, Hershberger SL, Iacono WG, McGue M (1996) Life events and personality in late adolescence: genetic and environmental relations. Behav Genet 26:543–554
Carey G (1986) Sibling imitation and contrast effects. Behav Genet 16:319–341
Chang C-J, Chen WJ, Liu S-K, Cheng JJ, Ou Yang W-C, Chang H-J, Lane H-Y, Lin S-K, Yang T-W, Hwu H-G (2002) Morbidity risk of psychiatric disorders among the first degree relatives of schizophrenia patients in Taiwan. Schizophr Bull 28:379–392
Chapman LJ, Chapman JP (1985) Psychosis proneness. In: Alpert M (ed) Controversies in schizophrenia: changes and constancies. Guilford Press, New York, pp 157–172
Chapman LJ, Chapman JP, Kwapil TR, Eckblad M, Zinser MC (1994) Putatively psychosis-prone subjects 10 years later. J Abnorm Psychol 103:171–183
Chapman LJ, Chapman JP, Raulin ML (1978) Body-image aberration in schizophrenia. J Abnorm Psychol 87:399–407
Chen CJ, Lin TM, Chang C, Cheng Y-J (1987) Epidemiological characteristics of twinning rates in Taiwan. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 36:335–342
Chen WJ, Chang HW, Wu MZ, Lin CCH, Chang C, Chiu YN, Soong WT (1999) Diagnosis of zygosity by questionnaire and polymarker polymerase chain reaction in young twins. Behav Genet 29:115–123
Chen WJ, Hsiao CK, Hsiao L-L, Hwu H-G (1998a) Performance of the Continuous Performance Test among community samples. Schizophr Bull 24:163–174
Chen WJ, Hsiao CK, Lin CCH (1997) Schizotypy in community samples: the three-factor structure and correlation with sustained attention. J Abnorm Psychol 106:649–654
Chen WJ, Liu SK, Chang C-J, Lien Y-J, Chang Y-H, Hwu H-G (1998b) Sustained attention deficit and schizotypal personality features in nonpsychotic relatives of schizophrenic patients. Am J Psychiatry 155:1214–1220
Claridge G, Broks P (1984) Schizotypy and hemisphere function: I. Theoretical considerations and the measurement of schizotypy. Person Individ Diffs 5:633–648
Claridge G, Hewitt JK (1987) A biometrical study of schizotypy in a normal population. Person Individ Diffs 8:303–312
Eaves LJ, Silberg JL, Meyer JM, Maes HH, Simonoff E, Pickles A, Rutter M, Neale MC, Reynolds CA, Erikson MT, Heath AC, Loeber R, Truett TR, Hewitt JK (1997) Genetic and developmental psychopathology: 2. The main effects of genes and environment on behavioral problems in the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 38:965–980
Faraone SV, Kremen WS, Lyons MJ, Pepple JR, Seidman LJ, Tsuang MT (1995) Diagnostic accuracy and linkage analysis: how useful are schizophrenia spectrum phenotypes? Am J Psychiatry 152:1286–1290
Gottesman II, Gould TD (2003) The endophenotype concept in psychiatry: etymology and strategic intensions. Am J Psychiatry 160:636–645
Hay DA, Martin NG, Foley D, Treloar SA, Kirk KM, Heath AC (2001) Phenotypic and genetic analyses of a short measure of psychosis-proneness in a large scale Australian twin study. Twin Res 4:30–40
Kendler KS, Hewitt J (1992) The structure of self-report schizotypy in twins. J Person Disord 6:1–17
Kendler KS, McGuire M, Gruenberg AM, O’Hare A, Spellman M, Walsh D (1993) The Roscommon Family Study: III. Schizophrenia-related personality disorders in relatives. Arch Gen Psychiatry 50:781–788
Kendler KS, Ochs AL, Gorman AM, Hewitt JK, Ross DE, Mirsky AF (1991) The structure of schizotypy: a pilot multitrait twin study. Psychiatry Res 36:19–36
Kety SS, Wender PH, Jacobsen B, Ingraham LJ (1994) Mental illness in the biological and adoptive relatives of schizophrenic adoptees: replication of the Copenhagen study in the rest of Denmark. Arch Gen Psychiatry 51:442–455
Kuo P-H, Lin CCH, Yang H-J, Soong WT, Chen WJ (2004) A twin study of competence and behavioral/emotional problems among adolescents in Taiwan. Behav Genet 34:63–74
Lenzenweger MF, Loranger AW (1989) Detection of familial schizophrenia using a psychometric measure of schizotypy. Arch Gen Psychiatry 46:902–907
Lin CCH (1999) A twin study on schizotypy and sustained attention among adolescents. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, National Taiwan University
Lin HF, Liu Y-L, Liu C-M, Hung S-I, Hwu H-G, Chen WJ (2005) Neuregulin 1 gene and variations in perceptual aberration of schizotypal personality in adolescents. Psychol Med 35:1589–1598
Linney YM, Murray RM, Peters ER, MacDonald AM, Rijsdijk F, Sham PC (2003) A quantitative genetic analysis of schizotypal personality traits. Psychol Med 33:803–816
MacDonald AW III, Pogue-Geile MF, Debski TT, Manuck S (2001) Genetic and environmental influences on schizotypy: a community-based twin study. Schizophr Bull 27:47–58
Martin N, Boomsma D, Machin G (1997) A twin-pronged attack on complex traits. Nat Genet 17:387–392
Meehl PE (1962) Schizotaxia, schizotypy, schizophrenia. Am Psychol 17:827–838
Meehl PE (1990) Toward an integrated theory of schizotaxia, schizotypy and schizophrenia. J Person Disord 4:1–99
Neale MC (1997) Mx: statistical modeling, 4th edn. Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
Neale MC, Cardon LR (1992) Methodology for genetic studies of twins and families. Kluwer Academic, New York
Neale MC, Miller MB (1997) The use of likelihood-based confidence intervals in genetic models. Behav Genet 27:113–119
Plomin R, DeFries J (1979) Multivariate behavioral genetic analysis of twin data on scholastic abilities. Behav Genet 9:505–517
Rado S (1953) Dynamics and classification of disordered behavior. Am J Psychiatry 110:406–416
Raine A (1991) The SPQ: a scale for the assessment of schizotypal personality based on DSM-III-R criteria. Schizophr Bull 17:555–564
Reynolds CA, Raine A, Mellingen K, Venables PH, Mednick SA (2000) Three-factor model of schizophrenia personality: invariance across culture, gender, religious affiliation, family adversity, and psychopathology. Schizophr Bull 26:603–618
Rutter M, Silberg J, O’Connor T, Simonoff E (1999) Genetics and child psychiatry: I. advances in quantitative and molecular genetics. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 40:3–18
SAS Institute Inc. (2000) SAS/STAT User’s Guide, Version 8. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC
Shermans DK, McGue MK, Iacono WG (1997) Twin concordance for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a comparison of teacher’s and mothers’ reports. Am J Psychiatry 154:532–535
Simonoff E, Pickles A, Horvas A, Silberg J, Rutter M, Eaves L (1998) Genetic influences on childhood huperactivity: contrast effects imply parental rating bias, not sibling interaction. Psychol Med 28:825–837
Su C-H, Kuo P-H, Lin CCH, Chen WJ (2005) A school-based twin study of handedness among adolescents in Taiwan. Behav Genet 35:723–733
Thapar A, Hervas A, McGuffin P (1995) Childhood hyperactivity scores are highly heritable and show sibling competition effects: twin study evidence. Behav Genet 25:537–544
Torgersen S, Onstad S, Skre I, Edvardsen J, Kringlen E (1993) “True” schizotypal personality disorder: a study of co-twins and relatives of schizophrenic probands. Am J Psychiatry 150:1661–1667
Acknowledgments
Supported by grants from the National Science Council, Taiwan (NSC86-2314-B002-328, NSC87-2314-B002-290, NSC88-2314-B002-247, and NSC89-2320-B002-106) and MJ Preventive Medicine Research Foundation. The authors thank the Twin Association in Taipei City and principals and teachers of the participating schools for administrative supports. We would also like to acknowledge the hard work of Chang-Ning Chiang and Hao-Jan Yang in collecting data and Huai-Wen Chang in laboratory work for DNA typing.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Edited by Peter McGuffin
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lin, C.C.H., Su, CH., Kuo, PH. et al. Genetic and Environmental Influences on Schizotypy among Adolescents in Taiwan: A Multivariate Twin/sibling Analysis. Behav Genet 37, 334–344 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-006-9104-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-006-9104-5