Premium
A Genetically Informed Study of the Intergenerational Transmission of Marital Instability
Author(s) -
D’Onofrio Brian M.,
Turkheimer Eric,
Emery Robert E.,
Harden K. Paige,
Slutske Wendy S.,
Heath Andrew C.,
Madden Pamela A. F.,
Martin Nicholas G.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of marriage and family
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.578
H-Index - 159
eISSN - 1741-3737
pISSN - 0022-2445
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2007.00406.x
Subject(s) - offspring , selection (genetic algorithm) , psychology , developmental psychology , causation , association (psychology) , test (biology) , demography , social psychology , biology , genetics , ecology , computer science , political science , law , psychotherapist , sociology , pregnancy , artificial intelligence
Environmental or genetic influences, or both could account for the increased risk of divorce among the offspring of separated parents. Previous studies have used covariates to statistically control for confounds, but the present research is the first genetically informed study of the topic. The investigation used the Children of Twins Design with twins, their spouses, and their young adult offspring ( n = 2,310) from the Australian Twin Registry to test whether selection on the basis of genetic or shared environment factors accounted for part of the intergenerational association. The analyses also controlled for measured characteristics of both parents. The results suggest that both environmentally mediated and genetic risk account for the intergenerational transmission, supporting the roles of both selection and causation.