Development of Externalizing Behavior Problems: Gene-Environment Interplay

描述(申请人提供)：本研究是一项关于攻击性和反社会行为(ASB)及其社会和生物风险因素(#MH58354)的大型纵向双胞胎研究的继续，在不同的城市样本中。前两个资助期提供了对行为、神经认知、社交和心理生理功能的全面实验室评估，以及在四波调查期间对外化精神病理学的多特征、多评分者评估，当时双胞胎的年龄分别为9-10岁(第一波)、11-13岁(第二波)、14-16岁(第三波)和17-18岁(第四波)。ASB与已知风险因素(社会和生物)的关系得到确认，并确定了新的关系。遗传和环境因素对ASB的影响程度、其风险因素及其关系也已阐明，许多研究结果显示，不同性别、告密者、ASB的定义和年龄不同。我们建议将这项研究扩大到包括19-23岁的成年人评估(第5波)，以获得反社会和攻击性行为及其风险因素的全面衡量标准，在刑事犯罪、反社会人格障碍和药物滥用的风险最高的时期。下一阶段的主要目标是了解环境、遗传和表型在成年期外化行为问题及其生物和社会风险因素方面的连续性，包括根据儿童和青少年措施预测成人结果。添加成人评估将产生在遗传信息设计中获得的关于外部化行为问题的最全面、最具前瞻性的纵向数据。这项历时五波、长达15年的纵向双胞胎研究将提供独特的机会，了解基因和环境如何结合和相互作用，产生从儿童到成年的反社会后果，并将极大地增强我们对外化精神病理学及其不同发展轨迹的理解。了解外化精神病学发展过程中基因-环境的相互作用，对于未来的干预和预防具有重要意义。 公共卫生相关性：将这项纵向双胞胎研究继续进行到成年，将提供独特的机会，揭示在生命的几个关键时期，包括童年、青春期和最终的年轻成年期，行为问题外部化的发展过程。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，并提供机会来确定保护因素，从而有效预防成年期间严重偏差和适应不良行为。考虑到反社会行为--包括犯罪、吸毒和精神病--给个人和社会带来的代价，减少这些行为将为公众健康带来巨大好处。)

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.)