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Genetic Contribution to Suicidal Behaviors and Associated Risk Factors among Adolescents in the U.S.

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Abstract

This paper examines genetic contribution to suicidal behaviors and other risk factors associated with suicidal behavior among adolescents in the U.S. Using adolescent twin data in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N=1448), we compared concordance in suicidal ideation and attempt among monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. Heritability of risk factors for suicidal behaviors also was examined using Pearson correlation and mixed-model analyses. A trend of higher concordance in suicidal ideation and attempt was found among MZ than DZ twins but the difference was not statistically significant by the stringent test of bootstrapping analysis. Evidence of heritability was found for several suicide risk factors. The percentage of variance explained by heritability was larger among female twins for depression, aggression, and quantity of cigarettes smoked in comparison to heritability estimates for male twins. However, estimated heritability was larger among male than female twins for alcohol use and binge drinking. Heritability influence was negligible among both sexes for other drug use. Risk factors for suicidal behaviors among adolescents may be heritable. Gender differences found in the heritability of some suicide risk factors suggest these genetic contributions are gender specific. Future research examining potential interactions between expression of genetic influence and particular environmental contexts may enhance prevention and intervention efforts.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by grant R01-DA14496 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Denise Hallfors, P.I.). We wish to thank Seulki Choi and Jianmin Wang for their consultation. This research uses data from Add Health, a program project designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by grant P01-HD31921 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies. Special acknowledgment is due Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. Persons interested in obtaining data files from Add Health should contact Add Health, Carolina Population Center, 123 W. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-2524 (http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth/data/contract).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 1516 E. Franklin Street, Suite 200, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA

    Hyunsan Cho, Bonita J. Iritani & Denise Dion Hallfors

  2. Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Guang Guo

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  1. Hyunsan Cho
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Correspondence to Hyunsan Cho.

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Cho, H., Guo, G., Iritani, B.J. et al. Genetic Contribution to Suicidal Behaviors and Associated Risk Factors among Adolescents in the U.S.. Prev Sci 7, 303–311 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-006-0042-5

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