Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-jbqgn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-14T11:38:42.900Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A Genetic Study of the Family Environment in the Transition to Early Adolescence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 1999

Kirby Deater-Deckard
Affiliation:
University of Oregon, Eugene, U.S.A.
David W. Fulker
Affiliation:
University of Colorado, Boulder, U.S.A. Institute of Psychiatry, London, U.K.
Robert Plomin
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London, U.K.
Get access

Abstract

The aim of this longitudinal sibling adoption study was to estimate genetic and environmental components of variance in parent- and child-reported measures of the family environment (parental negative affect, negative control, and achievement orientation). Participants included 85 adoptive and 106 nonadoptive sibling pairs from the Colorado Adoption Project. Parents and children completed annual assessments of the family environment when the children were 10, 11, and 12 years old, and genetic and environmental parameter estimates were derived. Genetic influences were found for parent-reported negativity and warmth and child-reported achievement orientation, suggesting child genetic effects on these measures of the family environment. Shared environmental influences were found for parent-reported negativity, inconsistent discipline, warmth, and child-reported positivity. Nonshared environmental variance was substantial for children's ratings, but modest for parents' ratings.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1999 Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)