Genetic and Environmental Structure of DSM-IV Criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder: A Twin Study

Tom Rosenström, Eivind Ystrom, Fartein Ask Torvik, Nikolai Olavi Czajkowski, Nathan A. Gillespie, Steven H. Aggen, Robert F. Krueger, Kenneth S. Kendler, Ted Reichborn-Kjennerud

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

Results from previous studies on DSM-IV and DSM-5 Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) have suggested that the construct is etiologically multidimensional. To our knowledge, however, the structure of genetic and environmental influences in ASPD has not been examined using an appropriate range of biometric models and diagnostic interviews. The 7 ASPD criteria (section A) were assessed in a population-based sample of 2794 Norwegian twins by a structured interview for DSM-IV personality disorders. Exploratory analyses were conducted at the phenotypic level. Multivariate biometric models, including both independent and common pathways, were compared. A single phenotypic factor was found, and the best-fitting biometric model was a single-factor common pathway model, with common-factor heritability of 51% (95% CI 40–67%). In other words, both genetic and environmental correlations between the ASPD criteria could be accounted for by a single common latent variable. The findings support the validity of ASPD as a unidimensional diagnostic construct.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)265-277
Number of pages13
JournalBehavior genetics
Volume47
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Keywords

  • Common pathway
  • Diagnostics
  • Multivariate biometric model
  • Psychometrics
  • Unidimensionality

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Genetic and Environmental Structure of DSM-IV Criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder: A Twin Study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this