Rethinking Shared Environment as a Source of Variance Underlying Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms: Comment on Burt (2009)

TY - JOUR

T1 - Rethinking Shared Environment as a Source of Variance Underlying Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms: Comment on Burt (2009)

AU - Wood, Alexis C.

AU - Buitelaar, Jan

AU - Rijsdijk, Fruhling

AU - Asherson, Philip

AU - Kuntsi, Jonna

PY - 2010/5

Y1 - 2010/5

N2 - Burt (2009) recently published a meta-analysis of twin studies on behaviors associated with childhood psychopathologies, concluding that the finding that touts associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were the only behaviors that did not show a significant influence of shared environment (C) was surprising We agree, highlighting four methodological issues that may account for this finding (a) the use of nonlinear transformations to normalize skewed data. (b) low power to detect C and the subsequent presentation of reduced models: (c) the negative confounding of dominant genetic (D) and C influences in twin models with data exclusively from monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs reared together. and (d) the correction used for contrast effects (a form of rater bias), which may lead to an overestimate of additive genetic (A) or D parameters at the expense of C We offer suggestions for future research to address these issues, and we emphasize the need for additional research to examine possible shared environmental factors related to ADHD

AB - Burt (2009) recently published a meta-analysis of twin studies on behaviors associated with childhood psychopathologies, concluding that the finding that touts associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were the only behaviors that did not show a significant influence of shared environment (C) was surprising We agree, highlighting four methodological issues that may account for this finding (a) the use of nonlinear transformations to normalize skewed data. (b) low power to detect C and the subsequent presentation of reduced models: (c) the negative confounding of dominant genetic (D) and C influences in twin models with data exclusively from monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs reared together. and (d) the correction used for contrast effects (a form of rater bias), which may lead to an overestimate of additive genetic (A) or D parameters at the expense of C We offer suggestions for future research to address these issues, and we emphasize the need for additional research to examine possible shared environmental factors related to ADHD

U2 - 10.1037/a0019048

DO - 10.1037/a0019048

M3 - Editorial

VL - 136

SP - 331

EP - 340

JO - Psychological Bulletin

JF - Psychological Bulletin

IS - 3

ER -