TY - JOUR
T1 - Normal Personality Characteristics in Identical Twins Discordant for Schizophrenia
AU - DiLalla, David L.
AU - Gottesman, Irving I.
PY - 1995/8
Y1 - 1995/8
N2 - The authors examined normal personality characteristics of monozygotic (MZ) twins discordant for schizophrenia. Twenty pairs of discordant twins were analyzed; 11 pairs of MZ twins concordant for schizophrenia served as a comparison group. Personality was assessed using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ; A. Tellegen, 1995). Among discordant twin pairs, twins with schizophrenia were more deviant than normal co-twins on all but 4 of the MPQ's scales. Analysis of MZ twin correlations among the discordant twin pairs revealed substantial erosion of personality similarity as compared to normal individuals, although a cluster of scales related to Constraint/Psychoticism showed significant correlations. The results highlight striking personality divergence related to nonshared environmental influences. It is not possible to determine the point at which the twins diverged, although previous findings from this sample suggest that the observed personality differences may reflect effects of schizophrenia on normal personality.
AB - The authors examined normal personality characteristics of monozygotic (MZ) twins discordant for schizophrenia. Twenty pairs of discordant twins were analyzed; 11 pairs of MZ twins concordant for schizophrenia served as a comparison group. Personality was assessed using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ; A. Tellegen, 1995). Among discordant twin pairs, twins with schizophrenia were more deviant than normal co-twins on all but 4 of the MPQ's scales. Analysis of MZ twin correlations among the discordant twin pairs revealed substantial erosion of personality similarity as compared to normal individuals, although a cluster of scales related to Constraint/Psychoticism showed significant correlations. The results highlight striking personality divergence related to nonshared environmental influences. It is not possible to determine the point at which the twins diverged, although previous findings from this sample suggest that the observed personality differences may reflect effects of schizophrenia on normal personality.
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U2 - 10.1037/0021-843X.104.3.490
DO - 10.1037/0021-843X.104.3.490
M3 - Article
C2 - 7673572
AN - SCOPUS:0029155637
SN - 0021-843X
VL - 104
SP - 490
EP - 499
JO - Journal of abnormal psychology
JF - Journal of abnormal psychology
IS - 3
ER -