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Suicidal Ideation, Depression, and Conduct Disorder in a Sample of Adolescent and Young Adult Twins
Author(s) -
Linker Julie,
Gillespie Nathan A.,
Maes Hermine,
Eaves Lindon,
Silberg Judy L.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1943-278x.2012.00101.x
Subject(s) - suicidal ideation , twin study , depression (economics) , psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , conduct disorder , ideation , suicide prevention , major depressive disorder , trait , poison control , medicine , environmental health , heritability , cognition , genetics , macroeconomics , biology , computer science , economics , programming language , cognitive science
The co‐occurrence of suicidal ideation, depression, and conduct disturbance is likely explained in part by correlated genetic and environmental risk factors. Little is known about the specific nature of these associations. Structured interviews on 2,814 twins from the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development (VTSABD) and Young Adult Follow‐Up (YAFU) yielded data on symptoms of depression, conduct disorder, and adolescent and young adult suicidal ideation. Univariate analyses revealed that the familial aggregation for each trait was explained by a combination of additive genetic and shared environmental effects. Suicidal ideation in adolescence was explained in part by genetic influences, but predominantly accounted for by environmental factors. A mixture of genetic and shared environmental influences explained ideation occurring in young adulthood. Multivariate analyses revealed that there are genetic and shared environmental effects common to suicidal ideation, depression, and conduct disorder. The association between adolescent suicidal ideation and CD was attributable to the same genetic and environmental risk factors for depression. These findings underscore that prevention and intervention strategies should reflect the different underlying mechanisms involving depression and conduct disorder to assist in identifying adolescents at suicidal risk.