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Individual differences in multiple dimensions of aggression: a univariate and multivariate genetic analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Philip A Vernon ,
Julie M McCarthy ,
Andrew M Johnson ,
Kerry L Jang  and
Julie Aitken Harris
Philip A Vernon*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. [email protected]
Julie M McCarthy
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Andrew M Johnson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Kerry L Jang
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Julie Aitken Harris
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
*
*Correspondence: Dr Philip A Vernon, Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2. Tel: 519 661 3682; Fax: 519 661 3961;

Abstract

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Previous behaviour genetic studies of aggression have yielded inconsistent results: reported heritabilities for different types of aggressive behaviour ranging from 0 to 0.98. In the present study, 247 adult twin pairs (183 MZ pairs; 64 same-sex DZ pairs) were administered seven self-report questionnaires which yielded 18 measures of aggression. Univariate genetic analyses showed moderate to high heritabilities for 14 of these 18 measures and for a general aggression factor and three correlated aggression factors extracted from the measures. Multivariate genetic analyses showed sizeable genetic correlations between the different dimensions of aggression. Thus, individual differences in many types of aggressive behaviour are attributable to some extent to genetic factors and there is considerable overlap between the genes that operate on different types of aggressive behaviour.

Type
Articles
Information
Twin Research and Human Genetics , Volume 2 , Issue 1 , 01 February 1999 , pp. 16 - 21
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999