01-12-2011 | Original Paper | Uitgave 12/2011
The Nature of Covariation Between Autistic Traits and Clumsiness: A Twin Study in a General Population Sample
- Tijdschrift:
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Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
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Uitgave 12/2011
- Auteurs:
- Sara Moruzzi, Anna Ogliari, Angelica Ronald, Francesca Happé, Marco Battaglia
Abstract
While social impairment, difficulties with communication, and restricted repetitive behaviors are central features of Autism Spectrum Disorders, physical clumsiness is a commonly co-occuring feature. In a sample of 398 twin pairs (aged 8–17 years) from the Italian Twin Registry we investigated the nature of the co-variation between a psychometric index of Clumsiness and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Autistic scale. Bivariate twin analyses showed that a genetic etiological overlap, rather than direct causation, is a plausible explanation for the association between clumsiness and autistic-like traits, as measured by indices derived from the parent-rated CBCL scale. Additive genetic influences that impinge upon clumsiness/motor problem and autistic-like traits coincided remarkably, with a genetic correlation of 0.63.