Are Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Psychopathology Amplified in Children with Below-Average Intelligence? A Population-Based Twin Study

Susanne Bruins; Elsje van Bergen; Maurits W. Masselink; Stefania A. Barzeva; Catharina A. Hartman; Roy Otten; Nanda N.J. Rommelse; Conor V. Dolan; Dorret I. Boomsma

doi:10.1007/s10519-023-10174-7

Are Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Psychopathology Amplified in Children with Below-Average Intelligence? A Population-Based Twin Study

Susanne Bruins^*, Elsje van Bergen, Maurits W. Masselink, Stefania A. Barzeva, Catharina A. Hartman, Roy Otten, Nanda N.J. Rommelse, Conor V. Dolan, Dorret I. Boomsma

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

There is a negative association between intelligence and psychopathology. We analyzed data on intelligence and psychopathology to assess this association in seven-year-old Dutch twin pairs (ranging from 616 to 14,150 depending on the phenotype) and estimated the degree to which genetic and environmental factors common to intelligence and psychopathology explain the association. Secondly, we examined whether genetic and environmental effects on psychopathology are moderated by intelligence. We found that intelligence, as assessed by psychometric IQ tests, correlated negatively with childhood psychopathology, as assessed by the DSM-oriented scales of the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL). The correlations ranged between −.09 and −.15 and were mainly explained by common genetic factors. Intelligence moderated genetic and environmental effects on anxiety and negative affect, but not those on ADHD, ODD, and autism. The heritability of anxiety and negative affect was greatest in individuals with below-average intelligence. We discuss mechanisms through which this effect could arise, and we end with some recommendations for future research.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	278-289
Journal	Behavior Genetics
Volume	54
Issue number	3
Early online date	14 Feb 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-023-10174-7
Publication status	Published - 1 May 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

Funding

This study was part of the Dutch Intellectual Disability Study (DIDS), funded by Zonmw (636340003). We also acknowledge the Consortium on Individual Development (CID), funded by the NWO Gravitation program (0240–001-003), and the KNAW Academy Professor Award (PAH/6635). Elsje van Bergen is a Jacobs Foundation Research Fellow.

Funders	Funder number
Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen	PAH/6635
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek	0240–001-003

Keywords

Childhood psychopathology
Developmental psychology
Gene-environment interaction
Intelligence

Cohort Studies

Netherlands Twin Register (NTR)

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10.1007/s10519-023-10174-7

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Bruins, S., van Bergen, E., Masselink, M. W., Barzeva, S. A., Hartman, C. A., Otten, R., Rommelse, N. N. J., Dolan, C. V., & Boomsma, D. I. (2024). Are Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Psychopathology Amplified in Children with Below-Average Intelligence? A Population-Based Twin Study. Behavior Genetics, 54(3), 278-289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-023-10174-7

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Are Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Psychopathology Amplified in Children with Below-Average Intelligence? A Population-Based Twin Study

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

Cohort Studies

Access to Document

Persistent URL (handle)

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