Abstract
Although stress is frequently considered an environmental factor, dependent stressful life events (SLEs)––stressors that result from one’s actions or behaviors––may in fact be evoked by a genetic liability. It has been suggested that dependent SLEs may be partially caused by poor executive function (EFs), higher-level cognitive abilities that enable individuals to implement goal-directed behavior. We investigated the possibility of genetic and environmental overlap between SLEs and EFs in a longitudinal twin study. We found high genetic stability in the number of dependent SLEs from age 23 to age 29, suggesting that the number of dependent stressors show persistence across time due to their genetic etiology. In addition, there was a nominally significant negative genetic correlation between a Common EF latent factor and dependent SLEs at age 23. The genetic stability of dependent SLEs and association with Common EF provides insight into how some behaviors may lead to persistent stress.
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Notes
We used Eq. 15, which assumes that the correlations being compared are independent. Because these parameters were estimated in the same twin sample, they may covary slightly. However, when that covariance is positive, as would most likely be the case in this sample, the confidence interval for their difference becomes tighter. Thus, this may be a conservative estimate of the 95% confidence interval for their difference.
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This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants MH063207, AG046938, MH016880, and DA011015.
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Morrison, C.L., Rhee, S.H., Smolker, H.R. et al. Genetic and Environmental Influences on Stressful Life Events and their Associations with Executive Functions in Young Adulthood: A Longitudinal Twin Analysis. Behav Genet 51, 30–44 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-020-10017-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-020-10017-9