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Homosexuals who are Twins

A Study of 46 Probands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Michael King  and
Elizabeth McDonald
Michael King*
Affiliation:
Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, Pond Street, London NW3 2QG
Elizabeth McDonald
Affiliation:
Section of Epidemiology and General Practice, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

Forty-six homosexual men and women who were twins took part in a study of their sexuality and that of their co-twin. Discordance for sexual orientation in the monozygotic pairs confirmed that genetic factors are insufficient explanation of the development of sexual orientation. There was a high level of shared knowledge of sexual orientation between members of twin pairs, and a relatively high likelihood of sexual relations occurring with same sex co-twins at some time, particularly in monozygotic pairs. The implications of these results for the study of the origins of sexual orientation and for twin research are discussed.

Type
Brief Reports
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 160 , Issue 3 , March 1992 , pp. 407 - 409
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1992 

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