Edward Troughton

Genetic and environmental factors in adoptee antisocial personality

SummaryIn a sample of 286 adult male adoptees 44 met criteria for antisocial personality (ASP). Two types of biologic parent background were associated with increased incidence of ASP in offspring: those with alcohol problem and those with a criminal conviction or adjudged delinquency. ASP adoptees were also significantly more likely to be alcoholic. Log linear modeling showed that alcohol problems in a biologic parent predicted increased alcohol abuse in the adoptee and that criminality/delinquency in a biologic parent predicted adult adoptee ASP. In the log-linear model two environmental factors significantly increased adoptee ASP: (1) placement in an adoptive home where there was an alcohol problem or antisocial behavior; and (2) placement in a lower socioeconomic home when the adoptee came from a background of criminality/delinquency in a biologic parent. When the adoptee did not have this biologic background socioeconomic level appeared to have little effect on ASP incidence. The results suggest the importance of genetic-environmental interaction in the genesis of adult ASP disorder.

Clinical differences between antisocial and primary alcoholics

Abstract Alcoholism can be present in combination with various organic and pychiatric illnesses. This study attempted to identify symptoms that indicated the presence of underlying antisocial personality in a group of alcoholics while comparing their alcoholism to alcoholics without pre-existing psychiatric conditions, and to determine whether antisocials were more likely to complain of symptoms of other common psychiatric syndromes.

Genetic and environmental risk factors for the onset of drug use and problems in adoptees

Applying survival analysis methodology to age-of-onset data from an adoption study (N = 196), we present evidence that risks for both drug use and drug problems (DSM abuse or dependence) are elevated when combined antisocial personality (ASP) and substance abuse is present in the same biological parent. It is increased not only in comparison to adoptees with no known biological risk, but also when compared to adoptees with a biological background for only substance problems or only ASP. Neither of these later groups showed a statistically higher risk when compared with controls. Among adoptees with recurrent drug use, adolescent aggressivity is also elevated when the combined substance abuse/ASP biological diathesis is present. Statistical control for aggressivity diminished but did not eliminate the predictive significance of the combined biological diathesis for drug problems. We also verify, using more refined methodology, our previous reports of gender and adverse adoptive environmental influences on drug-related outcomes in these subjects. We could not document a biology-environment interaction, but power to do so was rather low. We argue that the observed biological associations are broadly consistent with generalization to other substances of an alcoholism phenotype similar to Cloningers Type II or Babors Type B.

Interpersonal variables in the prediction of alcoholism among adoptees: Evidence for gene-environment interactions

The contributions of genetic and both positive and negative environmental factors were tested in the prediction of alcohol abuse/dependence among 300 adult adoptees. No direct effects for either genetic or environmental factors were significant in the prediction of adoptee alcohol abuse/dependence. However, among women, early-life family conflict and psychopathology in the adoptive family interacted with a biological background of alcoholism. Among women with at least one alcoholic biological parent, conflict or psychopathology in the adoptive family increased the probability of alcohol abuse and/or dependence. Among men, no significant interactions were found between a biological background of alcoholism and environmental variables. Results suggest a pattern of gene-environment interaction among women.

Somatic complaints: Harbinger of depression in primary care

The pattern of patient visits and type of complaints relating to depressive illness was investigated in a University family practice clinic. Complaints and visits of depressives were compared to those made by age and sex-matched controls over 6 time periods which spanned a period of 2 years starting 6 months prior to the diagnosis of depression. Functional, pain, anxiety, and social complaints appeared to parallel the course of the depression, rising before the diagnosis of depression and returning to control levels 15-18 months after the depression was diagnosed. Somatic complaints were a prominent part of the depressive presentation.

The association of the D2S2944 124 bp allele with recurrent early onset major depressive disorder in women

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and substance use disorders (SUD) are complex behavioral disorders with 40–50% heritability. Recently, Zubenko and colleagues reported that the 124 bp allele of D2S2944, a tetranucleotide repeat marker on 2q35, is strongly associated with recurrent, early onset MDD (RE‐MDD) and alcohol use disorders in women. To test this hypothesis, we examined the association of the 124 bp allele in a subset of 171 adoptees from the Iowa Adoption Studies, a population with high rates of MDD and SUD. We report that in our population, the 124 bp allele significantly associated with RE‐MDD in women. There was slight evidence of an increased of SUD in women with the 124 bp allele with the rate of cannabis use disorders reaching statistical significance (P < 0.04) before correction for multiple comparisons. Given the history of prior studies implicating 2q35 as a locus encoding vulnerability to co‐morbid alcoholism and depression, these findings strongly suggest that sequence variation conveying increased susceptibility to MDD and possibly SUD is in close proximity to D2S2944.

Evidence for clinical heterogeneity in antisocial alcoholics

Abstract Alcoholics with a diagnosis of antisocial personality were divided into two groups on the basis of number of depressive symptoms. The antisocials with a higher number of depressive symptoms (five or more) showed a greater number of other types of psychopathologic symptoms when compared to the antisocials with a low number of depressive symptoms. The results support the concept of heterogeneity in alcoholic antisocials similar to the dichotomy of primary and secondary sociopaths which has been proposed from studies of nonalcoholic sociopathic samples.

Suicide attempts in antisocial alcoholics

The dual diagnoses of alcoholism and antisocial personality are frequently associated with suicide attempts. A group of 94 alcoholics with antisocial personality were divided on the basis of a previous suicide attempt. A variety of symptoms, including depression, alcohol and drug abuse, conduct disorder, and violence were found more frequently in the suicide attempter group as reported on the structured interview. These emotional problems were additionally found to have an earlier onset. The results were consistent with the concept of secondary sociopathy and indicated that higher psychopathology may be associated with suicide behavior.

Gene x environment interaction and the moderating effect of adoption agency disclosure on estimating genetic effects

Abstract The present study utilized gene–environment (G×E) interaction to test for the potential biasing effects of adoptive parent recall of information disclosed to them about the biological parent on genetic estimates. Two independent adoption samples were combined for all analyses (n=496). Adoptive parent knowledge was the specific environmental effect and was comprised of three categories: none, physical and psychiatric⧸medical. Biological parent alcoholism and antisocial personality were the specific genetic effects. Symptom counts of childhood and adult problem behaviors served as dependent variables. Eighteen 2 (adoptee sex)×2 (biological parent alcoholism or antisocial personality)×3 (adoptive parent knowledge) analyses of co-variance (ANCOVA) were conducted with separate analyses for biological alcoholism and antisocial personality as the genetic effect. Significant G×E interactions were found for models including either biological alcoholism or antisocial personality. The nature of the interactions were complex but generally supported the presence of a genetic effect only in the presence of either physical or psychiatric knowledge. The findings from the study indicate that behavioral geneticists who use the adoption paradigm to examine genetic and environmental predictors of behavior must recognize the potential bias produced by openness in adoptions.