DIMENSIONS AND DISORDERS OF ADOLESCENT ADJUSTMENT - A QUANTITATIVE GENETIC-ANALYSIS OF UNSELECTED SAMPLES AND SELECTED EXTREMES

One of the fundamental questions for developmental psychopathology con cerns the etiological links between the normal and abnormal. To what e xtent do disorders differ quantitatively or qualitatively from variati on in the normal range? Genetic research on the normal and the abnorma l differs in terms of concepts, methods, statistics, and target audien ces. An approach, referred to as ''DF'' analysis, provides a framework for integrating these two worlds of genetic analysis. We applied trad itional correlational analyses as well as DF (DeFries & Fulker, 1985) analyses to mother and father ratings of adjustment of adolescent sibl ings in a 3-year longitudinal twin and step-family study. At wave 1, t he sample included 720 sibling pairs (average age of 12.9 years for th e younger sibling and 14.5 years for the older siblings) and, in wave 2, 395 pairs still living at home. Both correlational analyses of the entire sample and DF analyses of selected extremes suggested moderate genetic influence and modest shared environmental influence for intern alizing and externalizing behavior problems. Similar estimates were fo und for unselected individual differences and selected extreme groups. A framework is proposed that focuses on quantifying the etiologies of disorders (QED) as measured on continuous dimensions.