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Psychiatric resilience: longitudinal twin study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Ananda B. Amstadter*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute of Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
John M. Myers
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute of Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
Kenneth S. Kendler
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute of Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, and Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
*
Ananda B. Amstadter, PhD, Virginia Institute of Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Psychiatry, 800 E. Leigh Street, PO Box 980126, Richmond, VA 23298-0126. Email: abamstadter@vcu.edu
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Abstract

Background

The source of variability in people's response to stressful life events is poorly understood.

Aims

We examine the genetic and environmental underpinning of resilience (i.e. the difference between the twins' internalising symptoms and their predicted symptoms based on cumulative stressful life events).

Method

Stressful life event exposure and internalising symptoms were assessed at two time points in 7500 adult twins. Using the residual between actual and predicted internalising symptom total score, twin modelling was conducted for each wave separately and longitudinally.

Results

Resilience was found to have a moderate genetic heritability at each wave (~31%). Qualitative gender effects were found. Incorporating error of measurement into the model increased the estimated heritability for the latent construct of resilience (~50%). When measurement error and occasion-specific effects were removed, environmental influences contributed roughly equally to level of resilience.

Conclusions

Both genes and environment influence level of psychiatric resilience, and are largely stable over time. Environmental influences can have an enduring effect on resilience.

Information

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2014 
Figure 0

Fig. 1 Number of stressful life events and average Symptom Checklist (SCL) total score for wave 1.

Figure 1

Table 1 Results of model fitting to determine influence of genetic and environmental factors on resilience for waves 1 and 2

Figure 2

Fig. 2 Percent of variance (with 95% CI) accounted for from the best-fitting model for genetic and environmental factors for resilience at wave 1: female-female and male-male twins.Opposite-gender twins: genetic correlation rg = 0.38 estimated; -2 log likelihood (-2LL) = 24531.369 (d.f. = 8864), Akaike’s information criteria = 6803.369. A1, first (and only) additive genetic factor; E1, first (and only) individual-specific environmental factor.

Figure 3

Table 2 Results of measurement model fitting to determine influence of genetic and environmental factors on resilience for waves 1 and 2

Figure 4

Fig. 3 Percent of variance (with 95% CI) accounted for from the best-fitting model for genetic and environmental factors for resilience at waves 1 and 2.A1, additive genetic factor on the latent measure of resilience; A2, A3, additive to genetic factors for wave 1 and wave 2 respectively; E1, individual-specific environmental factor on the latent measure of resilience; E2, E3, individual-specific environmental factors for wave 1 and wave 2 resilience respectively.

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