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Meta-Analysis
. 2011 Nov;31(7):1209-23.
doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2011.07.005. Epub 2011 Jul 29.

Genetic and environmental influences on impulsivity: a meta-analysis of twin, family and adoption studies

Serena Bezdjian  1 , Laura A Baker, Catherine Tuvblad
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Genetic and environmental influences on impulsivity: a meta-analysis of twin, family and adoption studies

Serena Bezdjian et al. Clin Psychol Rev. 2011 Nov.

Abstract

A meta-analysis of twin, family and adoption studies was conducted to estimate the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on impulsivity. The best fitting model for 41 key studies (58 independent samples from 14 month old infants to adults; N=27,147) included equal proportions of variance due to genetic (0.50) and non-shared environmental (0.50) influences, with genetic effects being both additive (0.38) and non-additive (0.12). Shared environmental effects were unimportant in explaining individual differences in impulsivity. Age, sex, and study design (twin vs. adoption) were all significant moderators of the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on impulsivity. The relative contribution of genetic effects (broad sense heritability) and unique environmental effects were also found to be important throughout development from childhood to adulthood. Total genetic effects were found to be important for all ages, but appeared to be strongest in children. Analyses also demonstrated that genetic effects appeared to be stronger in males than in females. Method of assessment (laboratory tasks vs. questionnaires), however, was not a significant moderator of the genetic and environmental influences on impulsivity. These results provide a structured synthesis of existing behavior genetic studies on impulsivity by providing a clearer understanding of the relative genetic and environmental contributions in impulsive traits through various stages of development.

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Conflict of interest statement

No Conflict of Interest to Disclose

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Age trends in genetic and environmental influences in impulsivity
Note: A = non-additive genetic variance effects; D = additive genetic variance effects; E = unique environmental variance effects.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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