Abstract
A model to analyze resemblances of twins and parents using LISREL is outlined and applied to sports participation and heart-rate data. Sports participation and heart rate were measured in 44 monozygotic and 46 dizygotic adolescent twin pairs and in their parents. Genetic factors influence variation in both sports behavior and heart rate, while there is no evidence for transmission from parental environment to offspring environment. For sports participation the data support a model in which there is a high positive correlation between environments of spouses and between environments of female twins. This correlation is absent for male twins and negative for opposite sex twins. For heart rate, a positive correlation between environmental influences was observed for all twins; there is no evidence for assortative mating. The proposed model can also handle data sets where parents and twins have been measured on more than one variable. This is illustrated by an application to the observed association of sports participation and heart rate.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
BMDP, Statistical Software, Inc. (1985).BMDP, BMDP, Los Angeles, Calif.
Boomsma, D. I., and Gabrielli, W. (1985). Behavior genetics approaches to psychophysiological data.Psychophysiology 22:249–260.
Boomsma, D. I., and Molenaar, P. C. M. (1987). Constrained maximum likelihood analysis of familial resemblance of twins and their parents.Acta Genet. Med. Gemellol. 36:29–39.
Boomsma, D. I., Martin, N. G., and Molenaar, P. C. M. (1989). Factor and simplex models for repeated measures: Application to two psychomotor measures of alcohol sensitivity in twins.Behav. Genet. 19:79–96.
Bulmer, M. G. (1970).The Biology of Twinning in Man, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Eaves, L. J., Fulker, D., and Heath, A. (1989). The effects of social homogamy and cultural inheritance on the covariances of twins and their parents: A LISREL model.Behav. Genet. 19:113–122.
Falconer, D. S. (1981).Introduction to Quantitative Genetics, Longman, New York.
Fulker, D. W. (1982). Extensions of the classical twin method. In Bonne-Tamir, B. (ed.).Human Genetics, Part A: The Unfolding Genome, Alan R. Liss, New York, pp. 395–406.
Jöreskog, K. G., and Sörbom, D. (1986a).PRELIS: A Preprocessor for LISREL, National Educational Resources, Chicago.
Jöreskog, K. G., and Sörbom, D. (1986b).LISREL: Analysis of Linear Structural Relationships by the Method of Maximum Likelihood, National Educational Resources, Chicago.
Jeffreys, A. J., Wilson, V., and Theil, S. L. (1985). Hypervariable “minisatellite” regions in human DNA.Nature 314:67–73.
Lewko, J. H., and Greendorfer, S. L. (1978). Family influence and sex differences in children's socialization into sport: A review. In Landers, D. M., and Christina, R. (eds.),Psychology of Motor Behavior and Sport 1977, Muman Kinetics, Champaign. Ill.
Lord, F. M., and Novick, M. R. (1968).Statistical Theories of Mental Test Scores, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.
Malina, R. M., and Bouchard, C. (eds.) (1986).Sport and Human Genetics, Human Kinetics, Champaign, Ill.
Martin, N. G., and Eaves, L. J. (1977). The genetical analysis of covariance structure.Heredity,38:79–95.
Rao, D. C., Morton, N. E., and Yee, S. (1974). Analysis of familial resemblance. II. A linear model for familial correlation.Am. J. Hum. Genet. 26:331–359.
Snyder, E. E., and Spreitzer, E. A. (1973). Family influence and involvement in sports.Res. Q. 44:249–253.
Snyder, E. E., and Spreitzer, E. A. (1976). Correlates of sport participation among adolescent girls.Res. Q. 47:804–809.
Timm, N. H. (1975).Multivariate Analysis with Applications in Education and Psychology, Brooks/Cole, Monterey, Calif.
Vogler, G. P., and Fulker, D. W. (1983). Familial resemblance for educational attainment.Behav. Genet. 13:341–354.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This work was aided by NATO Grant 86/0823 and grants from the Belgian National Research Fund, the State University of Gent, and the Catholic University of Leuven. We would like to thank Drs. R. Frants and I. Hendriks for zygosity typing.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Boomsma, D.I., van den Bree, M.B.M., Orlebeke, J.F. et al. Resemblances of parents and twins in sports participation and heart rate. Behav Genet 19, 123–141 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01065888
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01065888