Activity level (AL), a core dimension of nearly every temperament theory, is a highly salient feature of child behavior that has been linked to various facets of child health and development. Although there is considerable evidence of genetic influences on individual differences in AL, there are many unanswered questions about this important temperament dimension. First, little is known about the role that genetic factors play in he development of AL. Second, short-term, situational changes in AL have rarely been considered from a behavioral genetic perspective. Third, there is ample evidence of a relation between AL and behavior problems, but the question of how the relation arises has not been examined. Finally, we do not know which genes are involved in AL. The goal of the proposed research is to use a multi-method approach to explore these unanswered questions in a sample of 300 toddler twin pairs. At 2 and 3 years of age, twins will wear mechanical motion recorders for 48-hours in the home and in laboratory activity episodes. Observational ratings of AL and parent ratings of AL and behavior problems will be obtained at each age. DNA will be obtained from cheek scrapings collected from twins and parents.
The specific aims of this project are to: 1) Investigate the role of genetic influences on developmental change in AL; 2) Investigate genetic influences on situational change on AL within each age; 3) Determine the extent to which the agreement between mechanically-assessed AL and parent and observer ratings of AL is genetically mediated; 4) Examine genetic and environmental contributions to the relation between AL and behavior problems; and 5) Examine candidate gene associations with AL. The proposed longitudinal study of activity level will go beyond the basic nature-nurture question which asks whether genetic influence is important and will begin to address the etiological processes by which change in AL takes place The molecular genetic component to this research will complement the quantitative genetic analyses by providing the opportunity to identify specific genes for AL. Our multi-method, multi-situation approach will allow a more complete picture of child behavior, moreover the finding of similar results across methods should inform about the robustness of the results.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH062375-05
Application #
7148684
Study Section
Social Sciences, Nursing, Epidemiology and Methods 4 (SNEM)
Program Officer
Zehr, Julia L
Project Start
2002-12-01
Project End
2009-11-30
Budget Start
2006-12-01
Budget End
2009-11-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$398,658
Indirect Cost
Name
Boston University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
049435266
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02215
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Flom, Megan; Saudino, Kimberly J (2018) Do Genetic Factors Explain the Links Between Callous-Unemotional, Attention Hyperactivity and Oppositional Defiant Problems in Toddlers? J Abnorm Child Psychol 46:1217-1228
Flom, Megan; Saudino, Kimberly J (2017) Callous-unemotional behaviors in early childhood: Genetic and environmental contributions to stability and change. Dev Psychopathol 29:1227-1234
Canfield, Caitlin F; Edelson, Lisa R; Saudino, Kimberly J (2017) Genetic and Environmental Links Between Natural Language Use and Cognitive Ability in Toddlers. Child Dev 88:573-583
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Jelenkovic, Aline; Yokoyama, Yoshie; Sund, Reijo et al. (2017) Association between birthweight and later body mass index: an individual-based pooled analysis of 27 twin cohorts participating in the CODATwins project. Int J Epidemiol 46:1488-1498
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Yokoyama, Yoshie; Jelenkovic, Aline; Sund, Reijo et al. (2016) Twin's Birth-Order Differences in Height and Body Mass Index From Birth to Old Age: A Pooled Study of 26 Twin Cohorts Participating in the CODATwins Project. Twin Res Hum Genet 19:112-24

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