Journal
BEHAVIOR GENETICS
Volume 41, Issue 2, Pages 192-200Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10519-010-9393-6
Keywords
Behavioral genetics; Oppositional defiant disorder; Conduct disorder; Disregard for rules; Twins; Early childhood development
Funding
- National Health Research Development Program (NHRDP)
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
- Canada Research Chair Program
- Fonds Quebecois de Recherche sur la Societe et la Culture (FQRSC)
- Fonds de Recherche en Sante du Quebec (FRSQ)
- Behavior, Gene and Environment Training Program
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Disregard for rules, a key component of oppositional defiant and conduct disorders, is stable during early childhood. This study investigates for the first time the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors underlying this early developmental stability. Maternal reports of child disregard for rules were obtained at four time points from 20 to 64 months of age in a population-based twin sample (N = 597 twin pairs, including 238 monozygotic and 359 dizygotic pairs). Structural equation modeling was conducted using both variance-covariance and latent growth curve approaches. Genetic factors accounted for most of the stability in disregard for rules throughout early childhood. In contrast, most environmental effects were age specific. Developmental stability in early symptoms of disregard for rules is best explained by the stable action of genetic factors, suggesting that preventive interventions should take an intergenerational approach, targeting at-risk families as early as possible.
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