Genetic and Rearing Environmental Influences on Adult Personality: An Analysis of Adopted Twins Reared Apart

Thomas J. Bouchard · Matthew K. Mcgue

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Personality Traits and Psychology Genetic Associations and Epidemiology Cognitive Abilities and Testing

Abstract

We report a genetic and environmental analysis of California Psychological Inventory (CPI) scale scores gathered on a sample of 45 sets of monozygotic twins reared apart (MZA) and 26 sets of dizygotic twins reared apart (DZA). Analysis of twin intraclass correlations and the results of models fit to the twin data demonstrate that the heritability of most scales and five factors of the CPI is about 50. When compared to results from studies of adult MZ and DZ twins reared together few of the scales demonstrate any common family environmental influence. Placement coefficients on the Family Environmental Scale (FES) can explain only a minor portion of the correlations for twins reared apart. The influence of specific rearing environmental factors on adult personality was evaluated by analyzing the relationship between the FES and the CPI in this adoptee sample. One FES factor (Cohesion vs. Conflict) does correlate substantially with the CPI factor of Consensuality and may account for up to 24% of the variance in that factor, but the retrospectively gathered rearing environment measures generally explain very little variance in adult personality.

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References

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2001The heritability of attitudes: A study of twins.1993The importance of heritability in psychological research: The case of attitudes.1999Authoritarianism revisited: genetic and environmental influences examined in twins reared apart and together 1996How people make their own environments: Implications for parents and policy makers.1994Personality and psychopathology: Genetic perspectives.1995Genetics and Children's Experiences in the Family

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