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Genetic and Environmental Influences on Sexual Orientation

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Handbook of Behavior Genetics

The primary focus of this chapter is to provide an overview of the evidence to date on the quantitative genetics of sexual orientation, including family and twin studies. The bulk of the available evidence suggests moderate heritability for male sexual orientation. Female sexual orientation has been studied much less extensively, but current studies are consistent with a genetic contribution for women as well (Kirk, Bailey, Dunne, & Martin, 2000; Pattatucci & Hamer, 1995). Familial aggregation has been reported in several family studies of both male and female homosexuality (Dawood & Bailey, 2000), although the genetic and environmental influences on this familial clustering have not been clearly defined by the largest twin studies published thus far, which have produced contradictory results. Recent molecular genetic studies will also be reviewed, including the two main strategies that have been used to date – linkage and association analysis. We will also discuss the implications of recent advances in molecular genetic studies.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Center for Developmental and Health Genetics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA

    Khytam Dawood

  2. Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60637, USA

    J. Michael Bailey

  3. Department of Genetic Epidemiology, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Nicholas G. Martin

Authors
  1. Khytam Dawood
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  2. J. Michael Bailey
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  3. Nicholas G. Martin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Khytam Dawood .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Yong-Kyu Kim Ph.D

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Dawood, K., Bailey, J.M., Martin, N.G. (2009). Genetic and Environmental Influences on Sexual Orientation. In: Kim, YK. (eds) Handbook of Behavior Genetics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-76727-7_19

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