Using a co-twin control design to evaluate alternative trait measures as indices of liability for substance use disorders

Publication date: Available online 16 December 2019Source: International Journal of PsychophysiologyAuthor(s): Keanan J. Joyner, James R. Yancey, Noah C. Venables, Scott J. Burwell, William G. Iacono, Christopher J. PatrickAbstractTo establish a trait-dispositional variable as an indicator of liability for the development of substance use disorders (SUDs), the trait must share heritable variance with SUDs and its association should not be primarily attributable to a direct impact of SUDs on characteristics that define the trait. The current work applied a co-twin control (CTC) modeling approach to data from two monozygotic twin samples to investigate the degree to which different measures of trait-impulsiveness represent indicants of vulnerability to SUDs (liability indicators), or outcomes or concomitants of SUDs (exposure indicators). The Five Factor Model (FFM) trait of conscientiousness was assessed via self-report, and a counterpart neurobehavioral trait of disinhibition was assessed both through self-report and using self-report and brain response measures combined. FFM trait data were available for one twin sample (N = 298); data for variants of P3 brain response were available along with a scale measure of disinhibition in the other (N = 258). CTC analyses revealed only an exposure effect of SUD symptomatology on FFM conscientiousness, indicating that this self-report assessed trait does not index liability for SUDs. By contrast, the disinhibition scale measur...

Source: International Journal of Psychophysiology - December 16, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research