Behavior Genetics

, Volume 42, Issue 5, pp 778–786 | Cite as

Genetic and Environmental Causes of Individual Differences in Daily Life Positive Affect and Reward Experience and Its Overlap with Stress-Sensitivity

  • Claudia Menne-Lothmann
  • Nele Jacobs
  • Catherine Derom
  • Evert Thiery
  • Jim van Os
  • Marieke Wichers
Original Research
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

Momentary positive affect (PA) and reward experience may underlie subjective wellbeing, and index mental health resilience. This study examines their underlying sources of variation and the covariation with stress-sensitivity. The experience sampling method was used to collect multiple appraisals of mood and daily life events in 520 female twins. Structural equation model fitting was employed to determine sources of variation of PA, reward experience, and the association between reward experience and stress-sensitivity. PA was best explained by shared and non-shared environmental factors, and reward experience by non-shared environmental factors only, although the evidence was also suggestive of a small genetic contribution. Reward experience and stress-sensitivity showed no association. PA was not heritable. Most—if not all—variance of reward experience was explained by environmental influences. Stress-sensitivity, indexing depression vulnerability, and reward experience were non-overlapping, suggesting that resilience traits are independent from stress-sensitivity levels in a general population sample.

Keywords

Positive affect Reward Psychological resilience Experience sampling method Twin study 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Marjolein Bonte, Veerle van Kerckhove, and Annelies Verlinden for assistance with data collection and all twins who volunteered for participation. This research was supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (VENI Grant Nr 916.76.147 to Dr. Wichers) and by the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program under grant agreement No. HEALTH-F2-2009-241909 (Project EU-GEI).This research was funded by the Association for Scientific Research in Multiple Births.

Conflict of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  • Claudia Menne-Lothmann
    • 1
  • Nele Jacobs
    • 1
    • 2
  • Catherine Derom
    • 3
  • Evert Thiery
    • 4
  • Jim van Os
    • 1
    • 5
  • Marieke Wichers
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, South Limburg Mental Health Research and Teaching Network, EURONMaastricht UniversityMaastrichtThe Netherlands
  2. 2.Faculty of PsychologyOpen University of the NetherlandsHeerlenThe Netherlands
  3. 3.Department of Human GeneticsUniversity Hospital Gasthuisberg, Catholic University of LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
  4. 4.Association for Scientific Research in Multiple BirthsGhentBelgium
  5. 5.Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of PsychiatryKing’s College London, King’s Health PartnersLondonUK

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