TY - JOUR
T1 - Intergenerational transmission of ADHD behaviors
T2 - Genetic and environmental pathways
AU - Kleppesto, Thomas H.
AU - Eilertsen, Espen Moen
AU - Van Bergen, Elsje
AU - Sunde, Hans Fredrik
AU - Zietsch, Brendan
AU - Nordmo, Magnus
AU - Eftedal, Nikolai Haahjem
AU - Havdahl, Alexandra
AU - Ystrom, Eivind
AU - Torvik, Fartein Ask
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press.
PY - 2024/5
Y1 - 2024/5
N2 - Background We investigate if covariation between parental and child attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) behaviors can be explained by environmental and/or genetic transmission. Methods We employed a large children-of-twins-and-siblings sample (N = 22 276 parents and 11 566 8-year-old children) of the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study. This enabled us to disentangle intergenerational influences via parental genes and parental behaviors (i.e. genetic and environmental transmission, respectively). Fathers reported on their own symptoms and mothers on their own and their child's symptoms. Results Child ADHD behaviors correlated with their mother's (0.24) and father's (0.10) ADHD behaviors. These correlations were largely due to additive genetic transmission. Variation in children's ADHD behaviors was explained by genetic factors active in both generations (11%) and genetic factors specific to the children (46%), giving a total heritability of 57%. There were small effects of parental ADHD behaviors (2% environmental transmission) and gene-environment correlation (3%). The remaining variability in ADHD behaviors was due to individual-specific environmental factors. Conclusions The intergenerational resemblance of ADHD behaviors is primarily due to genetic transmission, with little evidence for parental ADHD behaviors causing children's ADHD behaviors. This contradicts theories proposing environmental explanations of intergenerational transmission of ADHD, such as parenting theories or psychological life-history theory.
AB - Background We investigate if covariation between parental and child attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) behaviors can be explained by environmental and/or genetic transmission. Methods We employed a large children-of-twins-and-siblings sample (N = 22 276 parents and 11 566 8-year-old children) of the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study. This enabled us to disentangle intergenerational influences via parental genes and parental behaviors (i.e. genetic and environmental transmission, respectively). Fathers reported on their own symptoms and mothers on their own and their child's symptoms. Results Child ADHD behaviors correlated with their mother's (0.24) and father's (0.10) ADHD behaviors. These correlations were largely due to additive genetic transmission. Variation in children's ADHD behaviors was explained by genetic factors active in both generations (11%) and genetic factors specific to the children (46%), giving a total heritability of 57%. There were small effects of parental ADHD behaviors (2% environmental transmission) and gene-environment correlation (3%). The remaining variability in ADHD behaviors was due to individual-specific environmental factors. Conclusions The intergenerational resemblance of ADHD behaviors is primarily due to genetic transmission, with little evidence for parental ADHD behaviors causing children's ADHD behaviors. This contradicts theories proposing environmental explanations of intergenerational transmission of ADHD, such as parenting theories or psychological life-history theory.
KW - ADHD
KW - gene-environment interplay
KW - heritability
KW - intergenerational transmission
KW - life-history theory
KW - parenting
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U2 - 10.1017/S003329172300315X
DO - 10.1017/S003329172300315X
M3 - Article
C2 - 37920986
AN - SCOPUS:85175987502
SN - 0033-2917
VL - 54
SP - 1309
EP - 1317
JO - Psychological Medicine
JF - Psychological Medicine
IS - 7
ER -