Development of Externalizing Behavior Problems: Gene-Environment Interplay

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究是在多样化城市样本中对攻击和反社会行为（ASB）及其社会和生物风险因素（#MH58354）进行的一项主要纵向双胞胎研究的延续。前两个资助期提供了行为，神经认知，社会和心理生理功能的综合实验室评估，以及在四波调查期间对外在精神病理学的多特质，多评估者评估，当时双胞胎年龄为9-10岁（第1波），11-13岁（第2波），14-16岁（第3波）和17-18岁（第4波）。ASB与已知的风险因素（社会和生物）的关系得到了确认，并确定了新的关系。遗传和环境因素影响ASB的程度，其风险因素及其关系也已阐明，许多研究结果显示，在性别，知情人，ASB的定义和年龄之间存在差异。 我们建议将这项研究扩展到包括19-23岁（第5波）的成人评估，以获得反社会和攻击性行为及其风险因素的综合措施，在刑事犯罪，反社会人格障碍和药物滥用风险最大的时期。下一阶段的主要目标是了解环境，遗传和表型的连续性，通过成年期外化行为问题及其生物和社会风险因素，包括从儿童和青少年的措施预测成人的结果。增加成人评估将产生最全面的，前瞻性的纵向数据外化行为问题以往任何时候都获得了遗传信息设计。这项为期15年的五波纵向双胞胎研究将提供一个独特的机会，了解基因和环境如何联合收割机和相互作用，从童年到成年产生反社会的结果，并将大大提高我们对外在精神病理学及其异质性发展轨迹的理解。了解基因-环境相互作用的发展外化精神病理学是至关重要的未来的干预和预防。 公共卫生相关性：将这种纵向双胞胎研究持续到成年期将提供独特的机会，以揭示在生命的几个关键时期（包括儿童期、青春期和最终的青年期）外化行为问题的发展过程。了解外化问题的发展及其潜在机制将有助于从儿童早期预测成人精神病理学，并提供机会来识别保护因素，从而有效预防成年期的严重偏差和适应不良行为。考虑到反社会行为（包括刑事犯罪、物质使用和精神变态）给个人和社会带来的代价，减少这些行为将为公共卫生带来巨大好处。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The present study is a continuation into adulthood of a major longitudinal twin study of aggression and antisocial behavior (ASB) and its social and biological risk factors (#MH58354) in a diverse urban sample. The first two funding periods provided comprehensive laboratory assessments of behavioral, neurocognitive, social and psychophysiological function, and multi-trait, multi-rater assessments of externalizing psychopathology during four waves of investigation when the twins were ages 9-10 (Wave 1) 11-13 (Wave 2), 14-16 (Wave 3) and 17-18 years old (Wave 4). Relationships of ASB with known risk factors (social and biological) were confirmed, and new relationships identified. The extent to which genetic and environmental factors affect ASB, its risk factors and their relationships has also been elucidated, with many findings shown to vary across gender, informant, definition of ASB, and age. We propose to extend the study to include an adult assessment at ages 19-23 (Wave 5), to obtain comprehensive measures of antisocial and aggressive behavior and their risk factors during a period of greatest risk for criminal offending, antisocial personality disorder and substance abuse. The primary aim of the next phase is to understand environmental, genetic, and phenotypic continuities in externalizing behavior problems and their biological and social risk factors through adulthood, including the prediction of adult outcomes from childhood and adolescent measures. Adding the adult assessment will yield the most comprehensive, prospective longitudinal data on externalizing behavior problems ever obtained in a genetically informative design. This five-wave, 15 year longitudinal twin study will provide the unique opportunity to understand how genes and environment combine and interact to produce antisocial outcomes from childhood to adulthood, and will greatly enhance our understanding of externalizing psychopathology and its heterogeneous developmental trajectories. Understanding gene-environment interplay in the development of externalizing psychopathology is of key importance to future intervention and prevention. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Continuation of this longitudinal twin study into adulthood will provide the unique opportunity to unravel the developmental course of externalizing behavior problems across several critical periods of the lifespan, including childhood, adolescence, and ultimately young adulthood. Understanding the development of externalizing problems and their underlying mechanisms will enable prediction of adult psychopathology from early childhood, and provide opportunities to identify protective factors and thus effective prevention of seriously deviant and maladaptive behavior during adulthood. Given the costs of antisocial behavior-including criminal offending, substance use, and psychopathy--to both individuals and society, the reduction of these behaviors will provide enormous benefits to public health.)