Genes, Environment, and Psychopathology Understanding the Causes of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders

by Kendler, Kenneth S.; Prescott, Carol A.

• ISBN13: 9781593853167
• ISBN10: 1593853165
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-07-21
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

"One of the central questions in the study of psychopathology is why certain people develop psychiatric and substance use disorders while others - even those with similar family backgrounds and life experiences - do not. This groundbreaking volume synthesizes the results of a landmark research program to shed new light on the ways genetic and environmental influences weave together to create risk for particular disorders."--BOOK JACKET.

Author Biography

Kenneth S. Kendler, MD, is the Banks Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Human Genetics at the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University. Since 1983, he has been engaged in studies of the genetics of psychiatric and substance use disorders, and he has been the director of the Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders since its inception. Dr. Kendler's work has utilized the methods of both large-scale population-based twin studies and molecular genetics. He has published over 430 peer-reviewed articles, has received a number of national and international awards, is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, serves on several editorial boards, and is Editor of Psychological Medicine. Since 1996, Dr. Kendler has served as Director of the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics.
 
Carol A. Prescott, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at the University of Southern California and a practicing clinical psychologist. From 1992 to 2005, she was on the faculty of the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics of Virginia Commonwealth University, where she served as Co-Director of the Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders. Dr. Prescott has published extensively on genetic influences on alcoholism and other forms of psychopathology. She serves as Associate Editor for Behavior Genetics and Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Her honors include election to membership in the Society for Multivariate Experimental Psychology and the Theodore Reich Prize from the International Society on Psychiatric Genetics.

Table of Contents

List of Sidebars	xi
List of Abbreviations	xiii
Introduction	1	(10)
Overture	2	(2)
Structure	4	(1)
The Development of the VATSPSUD	5	(6)
PART I. BACKGROUND
1. The Scientific and Social Context of the Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders	11	(9)
Biometrical Genetics	11	(1)
Psychiatric Twin Studies	12	(1)
Psychiatric Epidemiology	13	(2)
A New Paradigm for Twin Studies	15	(1)
Genes	16	(1)
The Social and Political Context of the VATSPSUD	17	(1)
Our Philosophy of Science	18	(2)
2. Methodology Used in the VATSPSUD	20	(14)
Organization and Terminology	20	(1)
Samples	21	(7)
Selection and Recruitment	22	(1)
The Female—Female Twin Study	22	(3)
The Female—Female—Parent Study	25	(1)
The Male—Male/Male—Female Twin Study	25	(2)
Representativeness of Our Samples	27	(1)
Assessment	28	(6)
Overview	28	(2)
Assessment of Zygosity	30	(1)
Assessment Procedures	31	(3)
3. Twinning and Twin Models	34	(17)
Representativeness of Twins	36	(1)
Analysis Basics	37	(14)
Twin-Pair Similarity	37	(3)
Basics of Twin Models	40	(1)
Structural Models and Model Fitting	41	(2)
Statistical Significance and Precision	43	(2)
Path Diagrams	45	(6)
PART II. GENETIC RISK
4. Internalizing Disorders	51	(30)
Major Depression	51	(7)
Genetic and Environmental Influences	53	(4)
Discussion and Implications	57	(1)
Panic Disorder	58	(5)
Genetic and Environmental Influences	59	(3)
Discussion and Implications	62	(1)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder	63	(3)
Discussion and implications	65	(1)
Phobias	66	(8)
Theories of Etiology	67	(3)
Genetic and Environmental Influence,	70	(3)
Discussion and Implications	73	(1)
Summary	74	(7)
5. Externalizing and Substance Use Disorders	81	(33)
Antisocial Behavior	82	(5)
Results from Twin-Pair Models	84	(2)
Genetic Influences: Evidence and Implications	86	(1)
Shared Environmental Influences	87	(1)
Substance Abuse and Dependence	87	(16)
Alcohol 88 Nicotine 93 Caffeine	95	(2)
Illicit Substances	97	(3)
Genetic Mechanisms	100	(2)
The Role of Environmental Factors in Liability to Substance Use Disorders	102	(1)
Bulimia	103	(11)
6. Twin Model Assumptions	114	(15)
Random Mating	114	(1)
Equal Environment Assumption	115	(9)
Similarity of Environmental Exposures	116	(5)
Parental Treatment	121	(1)
Physical Resemblance	122	(1)
Perceived versus True Zygosity	122	(2)
Summary	124	(5)
PART III. ENVIRONMENTAL RISK
7. Childhood Experiences and Risk for Psychopathology	129	(19)
Is Parenting Received in Childhood Associated with Adult Psychopathology?	130	(7)
Interactions among Parent Dimensions	135	(1)
Interpretations	136	(1)
Is Parental Loss a Risk Factor for Psychiatric Disorders?	137	(5)
Is Childhood Sexual Abuse Associated with Psychiatric Disorders?	142	(2)
Summary	144	(4)
8. Adult Experiences and Risk for Psychopathology	148	(21)
Stressful Life Events	148	(14)
Severity and Number of Events	153	(1)
Independence versus Dependence of Events	154	(2)
Psychological Dimensions of Events and Episode Type	156	(4)
Causality	160	(2)
Social Support	162	(3)
Summary	165	(4)
PART IV. A CLOSER LOOK AT GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES
9. Sex Differences	169	(12)
Types of Sex Differences	169	(3)
Major Depression	172	(2)
Anxiety Disorders	174	(1)
Antisocial Behavior	175	(1)
Alcoholism	176	(1)
Nicotine Dependence	177	(1)
Illicit Substance Abuse and Dependence	178	(1)
Summary	179	(2)
10. Genetic and Environmental Influences on Stability and Change	181	(18)
Stability and Change in Major Depression in Women	182	(10)
Implications	185	(7)
Influences on the Development of Antisocial Behavior 188 Stability and Change in Alcohol Consumption in Women	192	(4)
Effects of Age and Cohort	194	(2)
Summary	196	(3)
11. The Genetics of What?: Comorbidity, General versus Specific Effects, and Risk Indicators	199	(30)
Studying the Sources of Comorbidity	200	(7)
Comorbidity of Major Depression and Generalized Anxiety	201	(1)
Comorbidity of Major Depression and Social Phobia	202	(1)
Mechanisms for Comorbidity: Alcoholism and Major Depression	203	(4)
Common and Specific Risk Factors for Multiple Disorders	207	(9)
Common and Specific Influences on Phobia Subtypes	208	(3)
Common and Specific Influences on Substance Use Disorders	211	(2)
Multivariate Analyses of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders	213	(3)
Risk Indicators	216	(10)
Novelty Seeking as an Indicator of Risk for Cannabis Use and Abuse	217	(2)
Mediators of Risk	219	(1)
Drinking Motivations as Mediators versus Indicators of Risk for Alcoholism	220	(4)
Neuroticism as an Indicator or Mediator of Risk for Depression	224	(2)
Summary	226	(3)
12. Three Extensions of the Twin Model	229	(22)
Genetic Influences on Conditional Processes	229	(5)
Cross-Generational Transmission of Risk	234	(3)
Dealing with Unreliability	237	(8)
Twin Measurement Model	238	(2)
Multiple-Rater Model	240	(5)
Conclusions about Unreliability	245	(1)
Summary	245	(6)
PART V. BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
13. The Genetics of the Environment	251	(16)
Stressful Life Events	252	(5)
Sources of Individual Differences in Reported Life Events: A Cross-Sectional Study	252	(3)
Sources of Individual Differences in Reported Life Events: A Longitudinal Study	255	(2)
Social Support	257	(3)
Parenting	260	(3)
Parenting Received	260	(2)
Parenting Given	262	(1)
Interpretation of Parenting Studies	262	(1)
Summary	263	(4)
14. Mechanisms for Genetic Control of Exposure to the Environment	267	(8)
Mechanisms through Which Genetic Factors Influence Exposure to Environmental Stress	267	(4)
Stressful Life Events	268	(2)
Social Support	270	(1)
Implications	270	(1)
Are the Genetic Risk Factors for Environmental Adversities Related to Those for Psychiatric Disorders?	271	(2)
Summary	273	(2)
15. Is the Relation between Environmental Risk Factors and Psychiatric Disorders Causal?	275	(16)
Cotwin-Control Design	276	(13)
Does Early Drinking Increase Risk for Alcoholism?	278	(3)
Are Stressful Life Events Causal for Depression?	281	(1)
Does Smoking Predispose to Depression?	282	(1)
Is Childhood Sexual Abuse Causal for Psychiatric Disorders?	283	(1)
Childhood Parental Loss and Risk for Alcoholism	284	(5)
Summary	289	(2)
16. Genetic Control of Sensitivity to the Environment	291	(29)
Examples of Genetic Control of Sensitivity to the Environment	293	(1)
Evidence for Genetic Control of Sensitivity to the Environment in the VATSPSUD	294	(13)
Genes, Stressful Live Events, and Major Depression	295	(9)
Are the Effects of Parental Alcoholism Moderated by Parental Rearing Style?	304	(3)
Moderation of Genetic Effects by Environmental Risk Factors	307	(8)
Family Dysfunction and the Heritability of Neuroticism	308	(5)
Family Dysfunction and the Heritability of Cigarette Smoking	313	(2)
Summary	315	(5)
17. Integrative Models	320	(19)
Integrative Model for Major Depression in Women	320	(13)
Childhood Risk Factors	323	(2)
Risk Factors of Early Adolescence	325	(2)
Risk Factors of Late Adolescence	327	(1)
Adult Risk Factors	327	(1)
Pastt-Year Risk Factors	327	(1)
Episode of Major Depression in the Past Year	327	(2)
Interpretation of Results	329	(4)
Integrative Model for Major Depression in Men	333	(3)
Methodological Limitations	336	(3)
18. Conclusions	339	(12)
The VATSPSUD and the New Molecular Genetics	348	(1)
Philosophical Implications	349	(2)
References	351	(26)
Publications from the VATSPSUD	377	(14)
Author Index	391	(10)
Subject Index	401