Abstract
A recent meta-analysis “Burt (Psychol Bull 135:608–637, 2009)” indicated that shared environmental influences (C) do not contribute to Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Unfortunately, the meta-analysis relied almost exclusively on classical twin studies. Although useful in many ways, some of the assumptions of the classical twin model (e.g., dominant genetic and shared environmental influences do not simultaneously influence the phenotype) can artifactually decrease estimates of C. There is thus a need to confirm that dominant genetic influences are not suppressing estimates of C on ADHD. The current study sought to do just this via the use of a nuclear twin family model, which allows researchers to simultaneously model and estimate dominant genetic and shared environmental influences. We examined two independent samples of child twins: 312 pairs from the Michigan State University Twin Registry and 854 pairs from the PrE School Twin Study in Sweden. Shared environmental influences were found to be statistically indistinguishable from zero and to account for less than 5 % of the variance. We conclude that the presence of dominant genetic influences does not account for the absence of C on ADHD.
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Notes
Wood et al. (2010) also noted that classical twin studies are limited by issues of low statistical power to detect shared environmental influences. While an important point, analyses in Burt (2010) indicated that low power was highly unlikely to explain the meta-analytic results of Burt (2009). Indeed, Burt (2009) had more than 80 % power to detect C as small as 5 %.
Teacher reports of child ADHD were also collected in both samples. These informant-reports were correlated with mother and father reports of child ADHD (rs ranged from 0.24 to 0.35 across samples and informants), magnitudes that are fully consistent with typical cross-informant correlations (Achenbach et al. 1987). Unfortunately, teacher reports of child ADHD were not associated with maternal or paternal reports of their own ADHD in either sample (rs were 0.00 and 0.10, respectively, in sample one, both ns, and 0.02 and −0.01, respectively, in sample two, both ns). They are thus inappropriate for analysis using the nuclear twin family model, as additive genetic effects would be estimated to be zero under this scenario [an implausible result given the findings presented here, the results of prior twin and adoption studies (Burt 2009), and the meta-analytically confirmed association of specific candidate genes with ADHD (e.g., DAT1; Faraone and Khan 2006)]. Future studies should explore the role of informant effects on results obtained from the nuclear twin family model.
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Acknowledgments
Sample one was supported by R01-MH081813 from the National Institute of Mental Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Mental Health or the National Institutes of Health. Sample two was supported by grants from the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research and from the Swedish Research Council. The authors thank all participating twins and their families.
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Burt, S.A., Larsson, H., Lichtenstein, P. et al. Additional Evidence Against Shared Environmental Contributions to Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Problems. Behav Genet 42, 711–721 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-012-9545-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-012-9545-y