THE GENETIC ETIOLOGY OF CHILDHOOD DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS - A DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE

Although there is some evidence to suggest that depressive symptoms sh ow age-related changes, it remains uncertain as to whether there are a lso developmental variations in the etiology of depression. In this ar ticle, we present findings from a population-based study of twins aged 8 to 16 years with the aim of examining the generic etiology of depre ssive symptoms and the effects of age. The results suggest that enviro nmental factors influence the transmission of depressive symptoms in c hildhood. However depressive symptoms in adolescence appear to be high ly heritable. The etiology of depressive symptoms was further explored using factor-derived scores that again suggested the importance of ge netic factors in adolescence. However there was some suggestion that g enetic influences may contribute to certain types of symptoms (self-de precation/seIf-esteem) even in childhood.