Behavioral Genetic Analyses of Self-Reported Anxiety at 7 Years of Age

doi:10.1097/00004583-199911000-00015

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Volume 38, Issue 11, November 1999, Pages 1403-1408

https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199911000-00015 Get rights and content

ABSTRACT

Objective

To conduct behavioral genetic analyses of self-reported childhood anxiety at 7 years of age.

Method

Three hundred twenty-six same-sex twin pairs (174 monozygotic, 152 dizygotic) completed the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale at 7 years of age. Behavioral genetic analyses were conducted on the total and subscale scores.

Results

Monozygotic within-pair correlations were higher than dizygotic correlations for physiological and social anxiety symptoms, suggesting heritable influences on these aspects. These results were found to be statistically significant with structural equation modeling.

Conclusion

Certain symptoms of self-reported anxiety in children 7 years of age seem to result, at least in part, from genetic factors. Physiological and social anxiety symptoms, which may be related to behavioral inhibition, appear to be genetically influenced. These results are linked to previous findings in older children and adults.

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: Research support: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Network on Early Childhood Transitions, NIMH project grant MH22803, Research Scientist Award 5 K02 MH36808 to Dr. Emde; NIMH training grant MH15442 to Dr. Warren and Dr. Schmitz; NIMH grants IF32 MH10712-01 and 1 K08 MH01532, Developmental Psychobiology Research Group award and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Eli Lilly pilot award to Dr. Warren.

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ARTICLESBehavioral Genetic Analyses of Self-Reported Anxiety at 7 Years of Age

ABSTRACT

Objective

Method

Results

Conclusion

Psychiatry Res

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Anxiety Disord

J Anxiety Disord

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

Behavioral genetics of early childhood: fears, restlessness, motion sickness and enuresis

Acta Genet Med Gemellol (Roma)

Temperament, emotion, and cognition at 14 months: the MacArthur Longitudinal Twin Study

Child Dev

Inheritance of behavior in infants

Science

Heritability of social anxiety: a brief review

J Clin Psychiatry

Keeping one's distance from sadness: children's self reports of emotional experience

Dev Psychol

A zygosity questionnaire for young twins: a research note

Behav Genet

Origins of variation in behavioral style: a longitudinal study of temperament in young twins

Child Dev

Origins of individual differences in anxiety proneness: a twin/adoption study of the anxiety-related scales from the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP)

Acta Psychiatr Scand

Developmental pathways in depression

Dev Psychopathol

The pictorial scale of perceived competence and social acceptance for young children

Child Dev

A new intellectual framework for psychiatry

Am J Psychiatry

The genetic epidemiology of phobias in women

Arch Gen Psychiatry

A twin-family study of self-report symptoms of panic-phobia and somatization

Behav Genet

ARTICLES
Behavioral Genetic Analyses of Self-Reported Anxiety at 7 Years of Age