The risk to develop a substance use disorder (SUD) is a significant public health concern, particularly as it relates to prevention and intervention strategies. Elucidation of the possible precursors to SUD is an objective of this study. The main purpose of this research was to evaluate the relationship between the childs perception of parental behavior and his/her risk for SUD as measured by an index of transmissible liability (TLI). Previous research points to a relationship between parental behavior and behavior problems in the child, which includes substance use disorders. Additionally, much of this research suggests the presence of genetic effects contributing to the individual variation in these traits. Participants were self-selected twin pairs and at least one parent attending the Twins Days Festival (Twinsburg, OH) in 2006 and 2007. Biometrical genetic analysis was applied to the sample of twin pairs on a measure of parental behavior perception (PB) and the TLI. Results of the research indicate that childrens perception of parental behavior is associated with liability for substance use disorders. It was found that the variation in parental behavior perception is due to shared and unique environmental effects, whereas the TLI has a high heritability (h2 = 0.79). The study also validates the liability index as a measure of transmissible risk for substance use disorders as well as provides support for the PB scale as a measure of an aspect of the childs environment.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04102008-113154 |
| Date | 26 June 2008 |
| Creators | Moss, Lisa M |
| Contributors | Elizabeth A. Gettig, Mary L. Marazita, Michael M. Vanyukov |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04102008-113154/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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