Temperament and character associated with depressive symptoms in women: analysis of two genetically informative samples.

Although previous research has explored associations between personality and depressive symptoms, a limited number of studies have assessed the extent to which genetic and environmental influences explain the association. This study investigated how temperament and character were associated with depressive symptoms in 131 pairs of twin and sibling women in early adulthood, as well as 326 pairs of twin women in middle adulthood. Results indicated that genetic influences accounted for a moderate to substantial percentage of the association between these personality features and depressive symptoms, emphasizing the role of genetic influences.

Individual resiliency factors from a genetic perspective: results from a twin study.

This article is part of the Twin Mother's Study, a study that examines influences on maternal adjustment. A number of studies have investigated the importance of genetic factors for mental health, but few of these examine how genes and the environment influence resiliency/salutogenic factors. This article investigates the relative importance of genetic and environmental influences on resiliency/salutogenic factors.

A follow-up study of adolescents with conduct disorder: can long-term outcome be predicted from psychiatric assessment data?

This study examines Swedish young adults (mean age 21) with a history of conduct disorder (CD) as adolescents. Using medical records, this study explores the relationship between adolescent inpatients and their outcomes in adulthood. Two outcome variables were used: an indication of non-successful outcome variable (seven undesirable outcomes) and sense of coherence.

The role of temperament and social support in depressive symptoms: a twin study of mid-aged women.

Background: Although research has found that temperament and social support are associated with depression, these relationships have not been explored in conjunction with one another as they relate to depression using a genetically informative design. This study investigated how the association among the three constructs is mediated.

Methods: The sample in this study consisted of 326 pairs of adult monozygotic and dizygotic twins drawn from the Swedish Twin Registry.

A long-term follow-up of conduct disorder adolescents into adulthood.

This study focuses on young male and female adults (n=290) who were diagnosed with conduct disorder (CD) during adolescence at the inpatient child and adolescent psychiatric unit in Lund, Sweden. Their adulthood is described using seven outcome variables: in custody, crime, illicit drug use, mental health, teenage parenthood, transference income and educational attainment. Together, the seven outcome variables represent a wide perspective of individual life and known risks for both genders.

Prenatal and postnatal maternal smoking as risk factors for preschool children's mental health.

Aim: To identify maternal prenatal and postnatal smoking as risk factors for psychosocial behaviour problems in Swedish preschool children.

Methods: This prospective, longitudinal population study compared mothers' self-reported smoking during pregnancy and when the child was 3 mo old with behaviour problems according to Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist at 3 y (1428 children) and 5.5 y of age (677 of the children).

Genetic effects on women's positive mental health: do marital relationships and social support matter?

Interpersonal relationships are important factors in mental health. A genetically sensitive design was used to examine associations among marital quality, adequacy of social support, and 2 aspects of positive mental health in a sample of 652 Swedish twin women and their families. There were 3 main findings.

Accounting for depressive symptoms in women: a twin study of associations with interpersonal relationships.

Background: This study examined how interpersonal relationships, specifically marital quality and adequacy of social support, are associated with depressive symptoms among women.

Methods: A sample of 326 female monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs and their spouses was drawn from the Swedish Twin Registry. Associations among the three variables were evaluated by comparing similarities among monozygotic and dizygotic female twin pairs.

Genetic and environmental influences on mothering of adolescents: a comparison of two samples.

This study examined 2 samples of adolescents and mothers using a child-based design (Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development [NEAD] project, N = 395 families) and a parent-based design (Twin Moms [TM] project, N = 236 twin family pairs) to compare genetic and environmental influences on mothering. For both samples, the same measures of positivity, negativity, control, and monitoring were used. The use of matched child-based and parent-based samples enabled passive and nonpassive genotype-environment (GE) correlations to be approximated, providing information about process.

Genetic and environmental influences on marital relationships.

As most adults will marry at least once during their lifetime, studying marital quality and its predictors is of great importance. The current study addresses (a) the extent of agreement between husbands and wives on their marital quality, (b) genetic and environmental sources of individual differences on spouse reports of marital quality, and (c) the extent to which genetic and environmental influences account for overlap of spouse reports on marital quality. Adult Swedish twin women and their partners participated in this study.

A salutogenic investigation and treatment of conduct disorder (CD).

This article reports results from a long-term follow-up of adolescents with conduct disorder who have been patients at an inpatient child psychiatric unit in Lund, Sweden. Up to now, a total of 186 adolescents have participated in the follow-up study. The subjects are a heavily symptom-loaded group with many problems during their childhood.

Sense of coherence in a Thai sample.

This is the first large epidemiological study of the Sense of Coherence concept carried out in a non-western culture. One adult from each of 456 families living in northern Thailand filled in the Sense of Coherence scale (SOC) and checklists measuring anxiety, depression and self-esteem. The mean value for SOC was comparable with western studies.

Remembered parental bonding in adult twins: genetic and environmental influences.

One common assumption in psychology is the impact of parenting and parent-child relationships on the child's adjustment throughout the life span. Studies have indicated that there are genetic influences on memories of parenting, but how these influences are mediated has not typically been investigated. A sample of 150 pairs of monozygotic and 176 pairs of dizygotic Swedish twin women reported on personal characteristics and on remembered relationships with their mother and father using the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI).