MPC Member Publications

This database contains a listing of population studies publications written by MPC Members. Anyone can add a publication by an MPC student, faculty, or staff member to this database; new citations will be reviewed and approved by MPC administrators.

Full Citation

Title: Exploring the possibility of parents’ broad internalizing phenotype acting through passive gene–environment correlations on daughters’ disordered eating

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2022

ISSN: 0954-5794

DOI: 10.1017/S0954579422000608

Abstract: Twin studies demonstrate significant environmental influences and a lack of genetic effects on disordered eating before puberty in girls. However, genetic factors could act indirectly through passive gene–environment correlations (rGE; correlations between parents’ genes and an environment shaped by those genes) that inflate environmental (but not genetic) estimates. The only study to explore passive rGE did not find significant effects, but the full range of parental phenotypes (e.g., internalizing symptoms) that could impact daughters’ disordered eating was not examined. We addressed this gap by exploring whether parents’ internalizing symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depressive symptoms) contribute to daughters’ eating pathology through passive rGE. Participants were female twin pairs (aged 8–14 years; M = 10.44) in pre-early puberty and their biological parents (n = 279 families) from the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Nuclear twin family models explored passive rGE for parents’ internalizing traits/symptoms and twins’ overall eating disorder symptoms. No evidence for passive rGE was found. Instead, environmental factors that create similarities between co-twins (but not with their parents) and unique environmental factors were important. In pre-early puberty, genetic factors do not influence daughters’ disordered eating, even indirectly through passive rGE. Future research should explore sibling-specific and unique environmental factors during this critical developmental period.

Url: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/development-and-psychopathology/article/exploring-the-possibility-of-parents-broad-internalizing-phenotype-acting-through-passive-geneenvironment-correlations-on-daughters-disordered-eating/7280DE542F707D5CDF05587DD3EC8339

User Submitted?: No

Authors: O’Connor, Shannon M.; Mikhail, Megan; Anaya, Carolina; Haller, Leora L.; Burt, S. Alexandra; McGue, Matt; Iacono, William G.; Klump, Kelly L.

Periodical (Full): Development and Psychopathology

Issue: 5

Volume: 34

Pages: 1744-1755

Countries:

IPUMS NHGIS NAPP IHIS ATUS Terrapop