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Harmonizing behavioral outcomes across studies, raters, and countries: application to the genetic analysis of aggression in the ACTION Consortium
Author(s) -
Luningham Justin M.,
Hendriks Anne M.,
Krapohl Eva,
Fung Ip Hill,
Beijsterveldt Catharina E.M.,
Lundström Sebastian,
Vuoksimaa Eero,
Korhonen Tellervo,
Lichtenstein Paul,
Plomin Robert,
Pulkkinen Lea,
Rose Richard J.,
Kaprio Jaakko,
Bartels Meike,
Boomsma Dorret I.,
Lubke Gitta H.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/jcpp.13188
Subject(s) - aggression , heritability , psychology , sibling , twin study , developmental psychology , poison control , behavioural genetics , genetics , medicine , environmental health , biology
Background Aggression in children has genetic and environmental causes. Studies of aggression can pool existing datasets to include more complex models of social effects. Such analyses require large datasets with harmonized outcome measures. Here, we made use of a reference panel for phenotype data to harmonize multiple aggression measures in school‐aged children to jointly analyze data from five large twin cohorts. Methods Individual level aggression data on 86,559 children (42,468 twin pairs) were available in five European twin cohorts measured by different instruments. A phenotypic reference panel was collected which enabled a model‐based phenotype harmonization approach. A bi‐factor integration model in the integrative data analysis framework was developed to model aggression across studies while adjusting for rater, age, and sex. Finally, harmonized aggression scores were analyzed to estimate contributions of genes, environment, and social interaction to aggression. The large sample size allowed adequate power to test for sibling interaction effects, with unique dynamics permitted for opposite‐sex twins. Results The best‐fitting model found a high level of overall heritability of aggression (~60%). Different heritability rates of aggression across sex were marginally significant, with heritability estimates in boys of ~64% and ~58% in girls. Sibling interaction effects were only significant in the opposite‐sex twin pairs: the interaction effect of males on their female co‐twin differed from the effect of females on their male co‐twin. An aggressive female had a positive effect on male co‐twin aggression, whereas more aggression in males had a negative influence on a female co‐twin. Conclusions Opposite‐sex twins displayed unique social dynamics of aggressive behaviors in a joint analysis of a large, multinational dataset. The integrative data analysis framework, applied in combination with a reference panel, has the potential to elucidate broad, generalizable results in the investigation of common psychological traits in children.