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The genetic relationship between individual differences in social and nonsocial behaviours characteristic of autism
Author(s) -
Ronald Angelica,
Happé Francesca,
Plomin Robert
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
developmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.801
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1467-7687
pISSN - 1363-755X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2005.00433.x
Subject(s) - psychology , autism , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology
Two types of behaviours shown in children – those reflecting social impairment and nonsocial obsessive repetitive behaviours – are central to defining and diagnosing autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Parent and teacher data on social and nonsocial behaviours were obtained from a community sample of >3000 7‐year‐old twin pairs. Social and nonsocial behaviours were only modestly correlated, and it was found that some individuals had extreme scores on either social or nonsocial scales but not both. Genetic model‐fitting showed that social and nonsocial behaviours are both highly heritable, but their genetic overlap is modest, with most of the genetic influence being specific to either social or nonsocial behaviours. Considering these behaviours separately might help clarify gene‐brain‐behaviour pathways in future research.