Work

A Model for the Analysis of Mate Selection in the Marriages of TwinsApplication to Data on Stature

Year: 1980

Type: article

Abstract: Analysis of the multiple correlations in body height within a sample of 117 monozygotic twin pairs and their spouses confirmed the existence of a high degree of assortative mating. However, the data also revealed an underlying asymmetry in the mate selection process. With respect to height, male twins were more selective than were members of female pairs, and among male twin pairs, those who were intermediate in height appeared to make the greatest contribution to the observed pattern of nonrandom mating. Because of their magnitude and potential asymmetry, the effects of phenotypic correlations between the spouses of related individuals must be correctly specified in any rigorous quantitative genetic analysis that extends beyond the nuclear family unit.

Source: Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae

DOI: 10.1017/s0001566000008576

Authors: W. E. Nance, L. A. Corey, L. J. Eaves

Institutions: Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, University of Oxford

Language: English

Topic: Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock

Subfield: Genetics

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: U.S. Public Health Service

Award: G750177151