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Introduction
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Publications
Publications (85)
Adverse life events have been associated with increased mental illbeing and decreased wellbeing. These associations may partly reflect reverse causality and confounding genetics. Few studies have accounted for such effects, and few have compared the effect of adversities within and across different mental health outcomes. Our sample includes 1987 m...
Research on mental health has traditionally separated the study of illbeing—disorder and problems—and wellbeing—life satisfaction and positive affect. While previous reviews of studies primarily employing self-report scales indicate that illbeing and wellbeing are distinct yet interconnected constructs, a deeper examination of their relationship is...
Research on mental health has traditionally separated the study of illbeing—disorder and problems—and wellbeing—life satisfaction and positive affect. While previous reviews of studies primarily employing self-report scales indicate that illbeing and wellbeing are distinct yet interconnected constructs, a deeper examination of their relationship is...
Purpose
Social factors are associated with mental health and wellbeing. However, few studies have examined genetic and environmental influences on social factors themselves, limiting current understanding of influences on aspects of the social environment. Most studies which have identified links between social factors and mental health are also li...
Depending on the measures, methods, and sample applied, estimated contributions of genetic and environmental factors to individual differences in SES vary substantially. In the current study we use register based measures of educational attainment, occupational prestige, income, and wealth, across four genotype and family-based heritability methods...
Purpose
Motherhood affects women’s mental health, encompassing aspects of both wellbeing and illbeing. This study investigated stability and change in wellbeing (i.e., relationship satisfaction and positive affect) and illbeing (i.e., depressive and anxiety symptoms) from pregnancy to three years postpartum. We further investigated the mutual and d...
The choice of a field of study is a significant decision influenced by a complex interplay of individual traits, interests, and contextual factors. Little is known about the genetic architecture of educational fields. Genetic methods make it possible to explore common influences on different field specialisations. First, we conducted genome-wide as...
Purpose
This study tests the hypotheses that lifetime history of depression, and prenatal depression, are associated with a reduced likelihood of breastfeeding initiation (giving the baby any breastmilk during the first week of life) and breastfeeding maintenance (giving the baby breastmilk for at least 6 months), and a greater likelihood of report...
The choice of a field of study is a significant decision influenced by a complex interplay of individual traits, interests, and contextual factors. Little is known about the genetic architecture of educational fields. Genetic methods make it possible to explore common influences on different field specialisations. First, we conducted genome-wide as...
Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of depression typically rely on cross-sectional designs, using lifetime history (LTH) of a diagnosis as the primary outcome. While this strategy has been essential towards accumulating the samples required to detect the individually small genetic effects on depression, it involves strong assumption...
Background: Gene-environment interaction is likely to contribute to human development, but individual effects are difficult to detect, especially for behavioural outcomes. Genetic variants associated with phenotypic variability (i.e. those with heteroscedastic effects) are potential candidates for tests of interaction. We conduct the first study es...
Background
Experiences of racism are linked to negative physical and mental health outcomes among those exposed. According to quantitative research derived mainly from the United States, these negative outcomes can have cascading effects in families, when parents' experiences of racism indirectly impact offspring. New research is warranted for fami...
The widespread comorbidity observed across psychiatric disorders may be the result of processes such as assortative mating, gene-environment correlation, or selection into population studies. Between-family analyses of comorbidity are subject to these sources of bias, whereas within-family analyses are not. Because of Mendelian inheritance, alleles...
Maternal depressive symptoms are highly prevalent and can negatively impact affected individuals and family members. Understanding aetiological influences on maternal depression, such as genetic liability, is key to inform treatment and prevention efforts. In the present study, we quantified direct and indirect genetic effects (i.e., when genetic v...
Maternal depressive symptoms are highly prevalent and can negatively impact affected individuals and family members. Understanding aetiological influences on maternal depression, such as genetic liability, is key to inform treatment and prevention efforts. In the present study, we quantified direct and indirect genetic effects (i.e., when genetic v...
Children who experience environmental adversities are at increased risk of both internalizing and externalizing disorders. Epigenetic mechanisms may regulate the influence of environmental adversities on mental health. We examined the hypothesis that salivary DNA-methylation patterns of pace of biological aging (Dunedin pace of biological aging [Du...
Within-family studies typically assess indirect genetic effects of parents on children, however social support theory points to a critical role of partners and children on women's depression. To address this research gap and account for the high heterogeneity of depression, we calculated a general psychiatric factor using eleven major psychiatric p...
Background
The intergenerational transmission of obesity-related traits could propagate an accelerating cycle of obesity, if parental adiposity causally influences offspring adiposity via intrauterine or periconceptional mechanisms. We aimed to establish whether associations between parental peri-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and offspring birth...
Background
Fundamental questions about the roles of genes, environments, and their interplay in developmental psychopathology have traditionally been the domain of twin and family studies. More recently, the rapidly growing availability of large genomic datasets, composed of unrelated individuals, has generated novel insights. However, there are ma...
The increase in online media use and mental health problems have prompted investigations into their association, although most literature is focussed on deleterious effects. We assessed the aetiology of media use and mental health associations ( M age = 22.14, SD = 0.85) using twin (n = 4000 pairs) and polygenic score methods (n = 6000 unrelated in...
The widespread comorbidity observed across psychiatric disorders may be the result of processes such as assortative mating, gene-environment correlation, or selection into population studies. Between-family analyses of comorbidity are subject to these sources of bias, whereas within-family analyses are not. Because of Mendelian inheritance, alleles...
Background:
Higher BMI in childhood is associated with emotional and behavioural problems, but these associations may not be causal. Results of previous genetic studies imply causal effects but may reflect influence of demography and the family environment.
Methods:
This study used data on 40,949 8-year-old children and their parents from the No...
A child’s environment is thought to be composed of different levels that interact with their individual genetic propensities. However, studies have not tested this theory comprehensively across multiple environmental levels. Here, we quantify the contributions of child, parent, school, neighbourhood, district, and municipality factors to achievemen...
Background:
Theoretical models of the development of childhood externalizing disorders emphasize the role of parents. Empirical studies have not been able to identify specific aspects of parental behaviors explaining a considerable proportion of the observed individual differences in externalizing problems. The problem is complicated by the contri...
Background:
Children with ADHD tend to achieve less than their peers in school. It is unknown whether schools moderate this association. Nonrandom selection of children into schools related to variations in their ADHD risk poses a methodological problem.
Methods:
We linked data on ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity and parent-child A...
A child’s environment is thought to be composed of different levels that interact with individual genetic propensities, with less advantaged environments suppressing genetic effects on achievement. However, studies have not tested this theory comprehensively across multiple environmental levels. Here, we quantify the contributions of child, parent,...
Aims:
Here we report the results of the first systematic investigation of genetic and environmental influences on 57 psychological traits covering major issues in emerging adulthood such as aspirations, thoughts and attitudes, relationships and personality. We also investigate how these traits relate to physical and mental health, educational atta...
Background: Children with ADHD tend to achieve less than their peers in school. It is unknown whether schools moderate this ADHD deficit. Selection into schools poses a methodological problem.Methods: We linked data on ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity and parent-child ADHD polygenic scores (PGS) from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and...
Co-occurring national rises in online media use and mental health problems have prompted investigations into their association, although most of this literature is focussed on the deleterious effects of media exposure. We assessed phenotypic associations between media use and mental health in young adulthood (M age= 22.14) and their aetiology using...
Background
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (autism) and schizophrenia are highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorders, affecting the lives of many individuals. It is important to increase our understanding of how the polygenic risk for neurodevelopmental disorders manifests during childhood in boys and gi...
Objectives: Higher BMI in childhood predicts neurodevelopmental and emotional problems, but it is unclear if these associations are causal. Previous genetic studies imply causal effects of childhood BMI on depression and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but these observations might also reflect effects of demography and the family e...
Background
Timing of developmental milestones, such as age at first walking, is associated with later diagnoses of neurodevelopmental disorders. However, its relationship to genetic risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in the general population is unknown. Here, we investigate associations between attainment of early-life language and motor develo...
Importance: Economic and racial inequality is linked to disparities in children's mental health. Biomarkers that reflect these social disparities are lacking.
Objective: We examined the hypothesis that salivary DNA-methylation patterns of higher inflammation and faster pace of biological aging are economically, racially and ethnically stratified an...
Background
Higher BMI in childhood predicts subsequent neurodevelopmental and emotional problems, but it is unclear if associations are causal. Observational studies are vulnerable to reverse causation and confounding. Mendelian randomization (MR) studies with unrelated individuals can also suffer from familial biases, such as dynastic effects (“ge...
Anorexia nervosa (AN) polygenic liability has been associated with mental health traits, eating problems, and body mass index (BMI) in adolescence and adulthood, but little is known about its manifestations in early childhood. We explore AN polygenic score (PGS) associations with six childhood domains: BMI, eating problems, neurodevelopment, emotio...
In the 21st century, emerging adulthood has stretched from the late teens through the twenties. Although this extended transition to adulthood can create stress, it can also offer opportunities to explore vocations and relationships that provide a better fit to individuals proclivities, including their genetic propensities.
Here we report the resul...
Genetic liability for schizophrenia is associated with psychopathology in early life. It is not clear if these associations are time dependent during childhood, nor if they are specific across different forms of psychopathology. Using genotype and questionnaire data on children (N = 15 105) from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study,...
Background Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (autism), and schizophrenia, are highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorders, affecting the lives of many individuals. To improve prevention and treatment, it is important to increase our understanding of how the polygenic risk for neurodevelopmental disorders ma...
Background
Early developmental milestones, such as the age at first walking or talking, are associated with later diagnoses of neurodevelopmental disorders, but the relationship to genetic risk for neurodevelopmental disorders are unknown. Here, we investigate associations between genetic liability to autism spectrum disorder (autism), attention de...
Background
Genetic liability for schizophrenia is associated with psychopathology in early life. It is not clear if these associations are time-dependent during childhood, nor if they are specific across different forms of psychopathology.
Methods
Using genotype and questionnaire data on children (N = 15,105) from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and...
Background
The rise of social media use in young people has sparked concern about the impact of cyber-victimisation on mental health. Although cyber-victimisation is associated with mental health problems, it is not known whether such associations reflect genetic and environmental confounding.
Methods
We used the co-twin control design to test the...
The two best predictors of children’s educational achievement available from birth are parents’ socioeconomic status (SES) and, recently, children’s inherited DNA differences that can be aggregated in genome‐wide polygenic scores (GPS). Here we chart for the first time the developmental interplay between these two predictors of educational achievem...
The two best predictors of children's educational achievement available from birth are parents' socioeconomic status (SES) and, recently, children's inherited DNA differences that can be aggregated in genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS). Here we chart for the first time the developmental interplay between these two predictors of educational achievem...
At the end of compulsory schooling, young adults decide on educational and occupational trajectories that impact their subsequent employability, health and even life expectancy. To understand the antecedents to these decisions, we follow a new approach that considers genetic contributions, which have largely been ignored before. Using genome-wide p...
University success, which includes enrolment in and achievement at university, as well as quality of the university, have all been linked to later earnings, health and wellbeing. However, little is known about the causes and correlates of differences in university-level outcomes. Capitalizing on both quantitative and molecular genetic data, we perf...
Background
Maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSDP) has been linked to offspring's externalizing problems. It has been argued that socio-demographic factors (e.g. maternal age and education), co-occurring environmental risk factors, or pleiotropic genetic effects may account for the association between MSDP and later outcomes. This study provides a...
Using twin (6,105 twin pairs) and genomic (5,825 unrelated individuals taken from the twin sample) analyses, we tested for genetic influences on the parent-offspring correspondence in educational attainment. Genetics accounted for nearly half of the variance in intergenerational educational attainment. A genomewide polygenic score (GPS) for years o...
Online media use has become an increasingly important behavioral domain over the past decade. However, studies into the etiology of individual differences in media use have focused primarily on pathological use. Here, for the first time, we test the genetic influences on online media use in a UK representative sample of 16 year old twins, who were...
Factor analyses on media use variables.
(DOCX)
Total variance explained in media use factor analysis.
(DOCX)
Factor analyses on Facebook use variables.
(DOCX)
Sex limitation sub-model comparisons: Factorized educational screen time.
(DOCX)
Portion of questionnaire assessing Facebook use.
(DOCX)
Portion of questionnaire assessing online media use.
(DOCX)
Total variance explained in Facebook factor analysis.
(DOCX)
Sex limitation model fitting results with 95% confidence intervals, depicting A, C and E estimates separately for males and females.
(DOCX)
Sex limitation sub-model comparisons: Factorized entertainment screen time.
(DOCX)
Sex limitation sub-model comparisons: Facebook Factor.
(DOCX)
Proportion of time spent on different forms of media for total sample and across gender and zygosity.
(DOCX)
Sex limitation sub-model comparisons: Factorized gaming.
(DOCX)
Univariate genetic results.
(DOCX)
We document the growth in published papers on behavioral genetics for 5-year intervals from 1960 through 2014. We used 1861 papers published in Behavior Genetics to train our search strategy which, when applied to Ovid PsychINFO, selected more than 45,000 publications. Five trends stand out: (1) the number of behavioral genetic publications has gro...
We have previously shown that individual differences in educational achievement are highly heritable throughout compulsory education. After completing compulsory education at age 16, students in England can choose to continue to study for two years (A-levels) in preparation for applying to university and they can freely choose which subjects to stu...
Inflammation has emerged as a potentially important factor - and thus putative pharmacological target - in the pathology of bipolar disorders. However to date no systematic evaluations of the efficacy of add on anti-inflammatory treatment for the depressive and manic episodes have been carried out.
Sixteen articles were ultimately identified - by c...
Drug-associated environmental stimuli elicit craving in humans and drug-seeking in animals.
We tested the hypothesis that Pavlovian-conditioned alcohol-seeking is mediated by dopamine, using rats from two vendors.
Male, Long-Evans rats (220-240 g) from Charles River (St-Constant, QC, Canada) and Harlan Laboratories (Indianapolis, IN, USA) received...
