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On the Relationship Between Domain-Specific Creative Achievement and Sexual Orientation in Swedish Twins

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Abstract

Despite the commonly held belief that homosexual males and females are more creative compared to heterosexuals, empirical studies on homosexuality and its relationship to creativity have been sparse, often with questionable methodology and very small sample sizes, reporting mixed findings. No study till date has explored the associations described above in a large population-based and genetically informative sample. Here, we examined such potential associations between sexual orientation and creative achievement in several different domains (music, writing, dance, visual arts, science, invention, and theater) using a large cohort of 4494 Swedish twins (of which 7.5 % were not exclusively heterosexual). Data were analyzed for the sexes separately as well as pooled. Results showed significant associations between sexual orientation and two of the creative domains—theater and writing—with non-heterosexuals being more creative in these domains. In all other domains, no significant differences were found between the non-heterosexual and heterosexual groups. Findings from co-twin control analyses suggested that the significant associations may not be causal in nature (i.e., homosexual orientation leads to higher creativity) but due to shared liability. However, we lacked power to differentiate between shared genetic and shared environmental influences. Results and potential implications are discussed critically.

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Acknowledgments

The present work was supported by the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation (M11-0451:1), the Swedish Scientific Council (521-2010-3195), and the Sven and Dagmar Salén Foundation. The authors would like to thank the twins for their participation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Retzius v 8, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden

    Miriam A. Mosing, Karin J. H. Verweij, Örjan de Manzano & Fredrik Ullén

  2. Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

    Miriam A. Mosing

  3. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

    Christoph Abé

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  1. Miriam A. Mosing
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  2. Karin J. H. Verweij
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  4. Örjan de Manzano
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  5. Fredrik Ullén
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Correspondence to Miriam A. Mosing.

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Mosing, M.A., Verweij, K.J.H., Abé, C. et al. On the Relationship Between Domain-Specific Creative Achievement and Sexual Orientation in Swedish Twins. Arch Sex Behav 45, 1799–1806 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0708-4

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