Behavior Genetics of Temperament and Psychopathology

描述（由申请人提供）：关于童年气质特征与精神症状的界面，有大量的文献。最近的一项荟萃分析表明，情绪的气质特征与内化和外化障碍都有适度的关联。然而，这些关联的病因在很大程度上是未知的。拟议的项目将研究情绪与内化和外化症状之间联系的遗传和环境影响。佐治亚州双胞胎登记处的数据将用于解决几个具体目标，该登记处以人口为基础，抽样了838对4 - 18岁的双胞胎。这些数据将允许情绪和症状学的行为遗传分析，以及情绪和每个症状维度之间的协变分析。先前的研究尚未阐明情绪与内化和外化障碍之间的联系是否是由于共同的潜在遗传或环境影响。通过使用多变量行为遗传模型拟合分析阐明这些关联的性质，本研究将对发展精神病理学文献做出独特的贡献。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is a large body of literature on the interface of childhood temperament characteristics and psychiatric symptoms. A recent meta-analysis indicates that the temperamental characteristic of emotionality is moderately associated with both internalizing and externalizing disorders. The etiology of these associations, however, are largely unknown. The proposed project will examine the genetic and environmental influences underlying the associations between emotionality and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Data from the Georgia Twin Registry, a population-based sample of 838 twins age 4 - 18, will be used to address several specific aims. These data wilt allow for behavior genetic analyses of both emotionality and symptomatology as well as analyses of covariation between emotionality and each symptom dimension. Previous studies have not yet elucidated whether the associations between emotionality and internalizing and externalizing disorders are due to common underlying genetic or environmental influences. The proposed study will make a unique contribution to the development psychopathology literature by elucidating the nature of these associations using multivariate behavior genetic model-fitting analyses.