DSM-IV defined conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder: an investigation of shared liability in female twins

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: DSM-IV specifies a hierarchal diagnostic structure such that an oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) diagnosis is applied only if criteria are not met for conduct disorder (CD). Genetic studies of ODD and CD support a combination of shared genetic and environmental influences but largely ignore the imposed diagnostic structure. METHOD: We examined whether ODD and CD share an underlying etiology while accounting for DSM-IV diagnostic specifications. Data from 1446 female twin pairs, aged 11-19 years, were fitted to two-stage models adhering to the DSM-IV diagnostic hierarchy. RESULTS: The models suggested that DSM-IV ODD-CD covariation is attributed largely to shared genetic influences. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study, to our knowledge, to examine genetic and environmental overlap among these disorders while maintaining a DSM-IV hierarchical structure. The findings reflect primarily shared genetic influences and specific (i.e. uncorrelated) shared/familial environmental effects on these DSM-IV-defined behaviors. These results have implications for how best to define CD and ODD for future genetically informed analyses.

Source: Psychological Medicine

DOI: 10.1017/s0033291713001396

Authors: V. S. Knopik, L. C. Bidwell, C. Flessner, N. Nugent, L. Swenson, K. K. Bucholz, P. A. F. Madden, A. C. Heath

Institutions: Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital, Suffolk University, Washington University in St. Louis

Language: English

Topic: Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: University of Cambridge, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

OpenAlex ID: W1991772183