Using Genetic Analyses to Clarify the Distinction Between Depressive and Anxious Symptoms in Children

Self-report measures of depression and anxiety in children are highly correlated and distinguishing between shared and independent factors in their etiologies is therefore problematic. The aim of this article was to test whether less correlated measures of depression and anxiety could be produced and, if so, what genetic and environmental factors would account for the variance in these symptoms. Second-order factor analysis of the items from two standardized self-report questionnaires of depression and anxiety collected from 395 pairs of same-sex twins aged 8 to 16 years resulted in purer dimensions of depression and anxiety. Behavioral genetic analyses confirmed the distinction between these two dimensions, and bivariate analyses revealed that the association between the two was primarily accounted for by shared genetic factors.     

Family influences on the association between sleep problems and anxiety in a large sample of pre-school aged twins

Research suggests that environmental influences are important on the association between sleep problems and anxiety in children. This study examines family influences on the association between sleep problems and anxiety in 6000+ twin pairs. Parents provided information on their twins’ anxiety and sleep problems at ages 3 and 4 years. The family influences maternal depression, life events, socio-economic status, family illness, and family disorganization, were examined using parent-report. Family disorganization and maternal depression showed the strongest correlations with sleep problems (r = .20, .21, respectively) and with anxiety (r = .24, .28). Subsequent analyses indicated that family disorganization and maternal depression (examined individually) each accounted for approximately 30% of the association between sleep problems and anxiety (r = .18). The remaining association was mainly explained by environmental factors making children in the same family alike and genetic influences. This study specifies family influences that may be important in the association between sleep problems and anxiety and highlights areas of research that may be worth pursuing in order to further understand the childhood association between sleep problems and anxiety.     

Understanding the genetic and environmental specificity and overlap between well‐being and internalizing symptoms in adolescence

Moderate inverse correlations are typically found between well‐being and mental illness. We aimed to investigate the role of genes and environments in explaining the relationships between two aspects of well‐being and two measures of internalizing symptoms. Altogether, 4700 pairs of 16‐year‐old twins contributed data on subjective happiness and life satisfaction, as well as symptoms of depression and emotional problems. Well‐being was moderately correlated with internalizing symptoms (range = ?0.45, ?0.58). Multivariate twin model‐fitting indicated both genetic and environmental overlap. Life satisfaction and happiness demonstrated different patterns of overlap, with stronger genetic links between life satisfaction and depression. Non‐shared environmental influences were largely specific to each trait. This study supports the theory of mental health and illness being partly (but not entirely) correlated dimensions. There are also significant genetic and environmental factors to identify for well‐being that go beyond the absence of mental illness. It is therefore possible that different interventions are needed for treating mental illness and promoting mental health.     

Parent‐ and child‐driven effects during the transition to adolescence: a longitudinal,genetic analysis of the home environment

Theoretical models of child development typically consider the home environment as a product of bidirectional effects, with parent‐ and child‐driven processes operating interdependently. However, the developmental structure of these processes during the transition from childhood to adolescence has not been well studied. In this study we used longitudinal genetic analyses of data from 6646 UK‐representative twin pairs (aged 9–16 years) to investigate stability and change in parenting and household chaos in the context of parent–child bidirectional effects. Stability in the home environment was modest, arising mainly from parent‐driven processes and family‐wide influences. In contrast, change over time was more influenced by child‐driven processes, indicated by significant age‐specific genetic influences. Interpretations of these results and their implications for researchers are discussed.     

In the Face of Uncertainty: A Twin Study of Ambiguous Information,Anxiety and Depression in Children

Anxiety and depression share genetic influences, and have been associated with similar cognitive biases. Psychological theories of anxiety and depression highlight threat interpretations of ambiguity. Little is known about whether genes influence cognitive style, or its links to symptoms. We assessed ambiguous word and scenario interpretations, anxiety and depression symptoms in 300 8-year-old twin pairs. There were significant correlations between both negative interpretations of ambiguous words and scenarios and depression symptoms after controlling for anxiety symptoms (r = .13 and .31, respectively), but no significant correlations with anxiety independent of depression. Genetic effects ranged from 16% for depression to 30% for ambiguous word interpretations. Non-shared environmental influences were large (68–70%). Both genetic and environmental influences contributed to the association between depression and ambiguous scenario interpretations. These findings support psychological theories, which emphasise the role of environmental stress both on the development of threat interpretations and on their links with symptoms. The data also support a role for genetic influence on threat interpretations, which may mediate responses to stress.     

A Multivariate Genetic Analysis of Specific Phobia, Separation Anxiety and Social Phobia in Early Childhood

BACKGROUND: Comorbidity amongst anxiety disorders is very common in children as in adults and leads to considerable distress and impairment, yet is poorly understood. Multivariate genetic analyses can shed light on the origins of this comorbidity by revealing whether genetic or environmental risks for one disorder also influence another. We examined the genetic and environmental influences on the comorbidity between three common childhood anxiety disorders: Specific Phobia, Separation Anxiety and Social Phobia. METHODS: Using a two-phase design 4,662 twin-pairs were screened in the first phase and 854 pairs were assessed in the second phase by maternal-informant diagnostic interview using DSM-IV criteria. RESULTS: Multivariate genetic analysis revealed significant shared environmental over-lap between Specific Phobia and Separation Anxiety and significant familial and non-shared environmental over-lap between Specific Phobia and Social Phobia. CONCLUSIONS: Familial influences, especially shared environment, are central to the comorbidity between Specific Phobia and both Separation Anxiety and Social Phobia.     

Short-term mood repair through art-making: Positive emotion is more effective than venting

We examined two mechanisms by which creating visual art may serve as a form of short-term mood repair. After viewing a film that induced a negatively valenced mood, participants were given a self-report affect grid that assessed mood valence and arousal. Participants then engaged in one of three tasks: creating a drawing expressing their current mood (venting), creating a drawing depicting something happy (positive emotion), or scanning a sheet for specific symbols (distraction control). Mood valence and arousal were then reassessed. Arousal remained unchanged after the interventions in all conditions. Valence became more positive in all three conditions, but the greatest improvement occurred after the positive emotion intervention. Valence improved no more after venting than after the control task. Results show that in the short-term, attending to and venting one’s negative feelings through art-making is a less effective means of improving mood than is turning away from a negative mood to something more positive. These findings are consistent with research on the beneficial effects of positive emotions and cast doubt on the often assumed view that artists improve their well being by expressing suffering.     

Understanding animate agents: distinct roles for the social network and mirror system

How people understand the actions of animate agents has been vigorously debated. This debate has centered on two hypotheses focused on anatomically distinct neural substrates: The mirror-system hypothesis proposes that the understanding of others is achieved via action simulation, and the social-network hypothesis proposes that such understanding is achieved via the integration of critical biological properties (e.g., faces, affect). In this study, we assessed the areas of the brain that were engaged when people interpreted and imagined moving shapes as animate or inanimate. Although observing and imagining the moving shapes engaged the mirror system, only activation of the social network was modulated by animacy.     

Genetic and environmental influences on interpersonal cognitions and associations with depressive symptoms in 8-year-old twins

Less is known about depression in children than in adults. This study integrates fields by combining cognitive and interpersonal research investigating childhood depression symptoms through the use of a genetic framework. Three research questions are addressed. First, what are the associations among interpersonal cognitions, anxiety, and depression? Second, what are the relative magnitudes of genetic and environmental influences on interpersonal cognitions? Third, to what extent do genetic and environmental influences explain associations between interpersonal cognitions and depression? Three hundred pairs of 8-year-old twins reported on symptoms of depression and anxiety by completing the Children's Depression Inventory and the Screen for Childhood Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders. The authors examined interpersonal cognitions with the Children's Expectation of Social Behaviors and the Perceptions of Peers and Self Questionnaires. Interpersonal cognitions were more strongly correlated with depression (mean r = .35) than with anxiety (mean r = .13). Genetic influence on interpersonal cognitions was small (M = 3%), and associations between interpersonal cognitions and depression were mainly explained by environmental influences. These latter findings may result from interpersonal cognitions in young children, reflecting life experiences as opposed to trait-like cognitive biases.     

The tipping point of animacy. How, when, and where we perceive life in a face

Faces capture humans' attention; yet, beyond aesthetic appreciation, it is presumably not the face itself that interests people but the mind behind it. Minds think, feel, and act in ways that have direct consequences for well-being, but despite their importance, how minds are perceived in faces is not well understood. We investigated this mechanism by presenting participants with morphed images created from animate (human) and inanimate (mannequin) faces. Life and mind were perceived to "appear" at a consistent location on the morph continuum, close to the human endpoint. This location constituted a categorical boundary, as evidenced by increased sensitivity to differences in image pairs that straddled this tipping point. Additionally, the impression of life was gleaned from the eyes more than from other facial features. These results suggest that human beings are highly attuned to specific facial cues, carried largely in the eyes, that gate the categorical perception of life.