Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-xxrs7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-27T22:53:46.569Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A longitudinal twin study of cluster A personality disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2014

K. S. Kendler*
Affiliation:
Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
S. H. Aggen
Affiliation:
Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
M. C. Neale
Affiliation:
Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
G. P. Knudsen
Affiliation:
Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
R. F. Krueger
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
K. Tambs
Affiliation:
Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
N. Czajkowski
Affiliation:
Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
E. Ystrom
Affiliation:
Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
R. E. Ørstavik
Affiliation:
Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
T. Reichborn-Kjennerud
Affiliation:
Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
*
*Address for correspondence: K. Kendler, M.D., Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Box 980126, Richmond, VA 23298-0126, USA. (Email: kendler@vcu.edu)

Abstract

Background

While cluster A personality disorders (PDs) have been shown to be moderately heritable, we know little about the temporal stability of these genetic risk factors.

Method

Paranoid PD (PPD) and schizotypal PD (STPD) were assessed using the Structured Interview for DSM-IV Personality in 2793 young adult twins from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health Twin Panel at wave 1 and 2282 twins on average 10 years later at wave 2. Using the program Mx, we fitted a longitudinal latent factor model using the number of endorsed criteria for PPD and STPD.

Results

The stability over time of the criteria counts for PPD and STPD, estimated as polychoric correlations, were +0.34 and +0.40, respectively. The best-fit longitudinal model included only additive genetic and individual-specific environmental factors with parameter estimates constrained to equality across the two waves. The cross-wave genetic and individual-specific environmental correlations for a latent cluster A factor were estimated to equal +1.00 and +0.13, respectively. The cross-time correlations for genetic and environmental effects specific to the individual PDs were estimated at +1.00 and +0.16–0.20, respectively. We found that 68% and 71% of the temporal stability of PPD and STPD derived, respectively, from the effect of genetic factors.

Conclusion

Shared genetic risk factors for two of the cluster A PDs are highly stable in adults over a 10-year period while environmental risk factors are relatively transient. Over two-thirds of the long-term stability of the common cluster A PD liability can be attributed to genetic influences.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akaike, H (1987). Factor analysis and AIC. Psychometrika 52, 317332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bleidorn, W, Kandler, C, Riemann, R, Spinath, FM, Angleitner, A (2009). Patterns and sources of adult personality development: growth curve analyses of the NEO PI-R scales in a longitudinal twin study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 97, 142155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blonigen, DM, Carlson, MD, Hicks, BM, Krueger, RF, Iacono, WG (2008). Stability and change in personality traits from late adolescence to early adulthood: a longitudinal twin study. Journal of Personality 76, 229266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Claridge, G, Hewitt, JK (1987). A biometrical study of schizotypy in a normal population. Personality and Individual Differences 8, 303312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, J (1960). A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Educational and Psychological Measurement 20, 3746.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dworkin, RH, Burke, BW, Maher, BA (1976). A longitudinal study of the genetics of personality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 34, 510518.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ericson, M, Tuvblad, C, Raine, A, Young-Wolff, K, Baker, LA (2011). Heritability and longitudinal stability of schizotypal traits during adolescence. Behavior Genetics 41, 499511.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris, JR, Magnus, P, Tambs, K (2002). The Norwegian Institute of Public Health twin panel: a description of the sample and program of research. Twin Research 5, 415423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, JR, Magnus, P, Tambs, K (2006). The Norwegian Institute of Public Health twin program of research: an update. Twin Research and Human Genetics 9, 858864.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Helgeland, MI, Kjelsberg, E, Torgersen, S (2005). Continuities between emotional and disruptive behavior disorders in adolescence and personality disorders in adulthood. American Journal of Psychiatry 162, 19411947.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hopwood, CJ, Morey, LC, Donnellan, MB, Samuel, DB, Grilo, CM, McGlashan, TH, Shea, MT, Zanarini, MC, Gunderson, JG, Skodol, AE (2013). Ten-year rank-order stability of personality traits and disorders in a clinical sample. Journal of Personality 81, 335344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jang, KL, Woodward, TS, Lang, D, Honer, WG, Livesley, WJ (2005). The genetic and environmental basis of the relationship between schizotypy and personality – a twin study. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 193, 153159.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, JG, Cohen, P, Kasen, S, Skodol, AE, Hamagami, F, Brook, JS (2000). Age-related change in personality disorder trait levels between early adolescence and adulthood: a community-based longitudinal investigation. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 102, 265275.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kandler, C, Bleidorn, W, Riemann, R, Spinath, FM, Thiel, W, Angleitner, A (2010). Sources of cumulative continuity in personality: a longitudinal multiple-rater twin study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 98, 9951008.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KS, Aggen, SH, Czajkowski, N, Roysamb, E, Tambs, K, Torgersen, S, Neale, MC, Reichborn-Kjennerud, T (2008). The structure of genetic and environmental risk factors for DSM-IV personality disorders: a multivariate twin study. Archives of General Psychiatry 65, 14381446.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KS, Czajkowski, N, Tambs, K, Torgersen, S, Aggen, SH, Neale, C, Reichborn-Kjennerud, T (2006). Dimensional representations of DSM-IV cluster A personality disorders in a population-based sample of Norwegian twins: a multivariate study. Psychological Medicine 36, 15831591.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kendler, KS, Heath, A, Martin, NG (1987). A genetic epidemiologic study of self-report suspiciousness. Comprehensive Psychiatry 28, 187196.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KS, Hewitt, JK (1992). The structure of self-report schizotypy in twins. Journal of Personality Disorders 6, 117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linney, YM, Murray, RM, Peters, ER, Macdonald, AM, Rijsdijk, F, Sham, PC (2003). A quantitative genetic analysis of schizotypal personality traits. Psychological Medicine 33, 803816.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McGue, M, Bacon, S, Lykken, DT (1993). Personality stability and change in early adulthood: a behavioral genetic analysis. Developmental Psychology 29, 96109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morey, LC, Hopwood, CJ (2013). Stability and change in personality disorders. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology 9, 499528.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morey, LC, Hopwood, CJ, Gunderson, JG, Skodol, AE, Shea, MT, Yen, S, Stout, RL, Zanarini, MC, Grilo, CM, Sanislow, CA, McGlashan, TH (2007). Comparison of alternative models for personality disorders. Psychological Medicine 37, 983994.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neale, MC, Boker, SM, Xie, G, Maes, HH (2003). Mx: Statistical Modeling, 6th edn. Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School: Richmond, VA.Google Scholar
Nestadt, G, Di, C, Samuels, JF, Bienvenu, OJ, Reti, IM, Costa, P, Eaton, WW, Bandeen-Roche, K (2010). The stability of DSM personality disorders over twelve to eighteen years. Journal of Psychiatric Research 44, 17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nilsen, TS, Brandt, I, Magnus, P, Harris, JR (2012). The Norwegian Twin Registry. Twin Research and Human Genetics 15, 775780.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nilsen, TS, Knudsen, GP, Gervin, K, Brandt, I, Roysamb, E, Tambs, K, Orstavik, R, Lyle, R, Reichborn-Kjennerud, T, Magnus, P, Harris, JR (2013). The Norwegian Twin Registry from a public health perspective: a research update. Twin Research and Human Genetics 16, 285295.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oldham, JM, Skodol, AE (2000). Charting the future of Axis II. Journal of Personality Disorders 14, 1729.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parnas, J, Licht, D, Bovet, P (2005). Cluster A personality disorders: a review. In Personality Disorders (ed. Maj, M., Akiskal, H., Mezzich, J. E. and Okasha, A.), pp. 1124. John Wiley & Sons Ltd: Chichester.Google Scholar
Pfohl, B, Blum, N, Zimmerman, M (1995). Structured Interview for DSM-IV Personality (SIDP-IV). University of Iowa, Department of Psychiatry: Iowa City.Google Scholar
Raine, A, Phil, D, Benishay, DS (1995). The SPQ-B: a brief screening instrument for schizotypal personality disorder. Journal of Personality Disorders 9, 346355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reichborn-Kjennerud, T, Ystrom, E, Neale, MC, Aggen, SH, Mazzeo, SE, Knudsen, GP, Tambs, K, Czajkowski, NO, Kendler, KS (2013). Structure of genetic and environmental risk factors for symptoms of DSM-IV borderline personality disorder. JAMA Psychiatry 70, 12061214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sanislow, CA, Little, TD, Ansell, EB, Grilo, CM, Daversa, M, Markowitz, JC, Pinto, A, Shea, MT, Yen, S, Skodol, AE, Morey, LC, Gunderson, JG, Zanarini, MC, McGlashan, TH (2009). Ten-year stability and latent structure of the DSM-IV schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, and obsessive–compulsive personality disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 118, 507519.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Skodol, AE, Oldham, JM, Bender, DS, Dyck, IR, Stout, RL, Morey, LC, Shea, MT, Zanarini, MC, Sanislow, CA, Grilo, CM, McGlashan, TH, Gunderson, JG (2005). Dimensional representations of DSM-IV personality disorders: relationships to functional impairment. American Journal of Psychiatry 162, 19191925.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tambs, K, Ronning, T, Prescott, CA, Kendler, KS, Reichborn-Kjennerud, T, Torgersen, S, Harris, JR (2009). The Norwegian Institute of Public Health twin study of mental health: examining recruitment and attrition bias. Twin Research and Human Genetics 12, 158168.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Torgersen, S, Kringlen, E, Cramer, V (2001). The prevalence of personality disorders in a community sample. Archives of General Psychiatry 58, 590596.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torgersen, S, Lygren, S, Oien, PA, Skre, I, Onstad, S, Edvardsen, J, Tambs, K, Kringlen, E (2000). A twin study of personality disorders. Comprehensive Psychiatry 41, 416425.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Viken, RJ, Rose, RJ, Kaprio, J, Koskenvuo, M (1994). A developmental genetic analysis of adult personality: extraversion and neuroticism from 18 to 59 years of age. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 66, 722730.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Widiger, TA, Samuel, DB (2005). Diagnostic categories or dimensions: a question for the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders – fifth edition. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 114, 494504.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed