Description

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This groundbreaking volume synthesizes the results of the Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders, which yielded longitudinal data on more than 9,000 individuals. The authors trace how risk for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, antisocial behavior, alcoholism, and substance abuse emerges from the interplay of a variety of genetic and environmental influences. Major questions addressed include whether risk is disorder-specific, how to distinguish between correlational and causal genetic and environmental factors, sex differences in risk, and how risk and protective factors interact over time.

About the Author

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Kenneth S. Kendler, MD, is the Banks Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Human Genetics at the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University. Since 1983, he has been engaged in studies of the genetics of psychiatric and substance use disorders, and he has been the director of the Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders since its inception. Dr. Kendler's work has utilized the methods of both large-scale population-based twin studies and molecular genetics. He has published over 430 peer-reviewed articles, has received a number of national and international awards, is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, serves on several editorial boards, and is Editor of Psychological Medicine. Since 1996, Dr. Kendler has served as Director of the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics.
 
Carol A. Prescott, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at the University of Southern California. From 1992 to 2005, she was on the faculty of the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics of Virginia Commonwealth University, where she served as Co-Director of the Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders. Dr. Prescott has published extensively on genetic influences on alcoholism and other forms of psychopathology. She serves as Associate Editor for Behavior Genetics and Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Her honors include election to membership in the Society for Multivariate Experimental Psychology and the Theodore Reich Prize from the International Society on Psychiatric Genetics.

Praise For…

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"The only thing I disagree with in this book is the authors' statement that there is no such thing as a definitive study--this is a definitive study! The authors present impressive findings about mental illness and drug use from research on a very large sample of adult twins studied over time. The book provides convincing evidence for the importance of genetics in psychopathology, but goes far beyond 'nature versus nurture.' Most interestingly, it is about the interplay between nature and nurture. It offers a nuanced perspective that should be required reading for anyone interested in the causes of mental illness."--Robert Plomin, PhD, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom

"Written in an informal, readable style, this unique text offers insight into the process of the world-renowned Virginia Adult Twin Study, and provides the opportunity to review the many important results that have emerged from this work. Readers will gain a better understanding of how genetic and environmental factors operate in complex psychiatric disorders, while also observing how hypotheses can be developed and tested. For students, the straightforward and highly informative details of the methods used to test major and ancillary questions will be particularly valuable. Scientists, for their part, will benefit from having a single, well-referenced source on this excellent study."--Marc A. Schuckit, MD, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego; Alcohol Research Center, VA San Diego Healthcare System "Over the last 20 years, it is likely that no other single study has had a greater impact on academic psychiatry than the Virginia Adult Twin Study, which has been instrumental in ushering in the current genomics era in biological psychiatry. Kendler and Prescott have done the field an immeasurable service by placing the major findings from the study under a single cover. But this book is much more than a summary of their voluminous research record: it provides a methodological primer, discusses the challenges of observational science, and speculates on the future of psychiatric genetics. As such, it should be equally useful for the seasoned researcher interested in a concise summary of this important project and for the student who seeks an accessible introduction to the field."--Matt McGue, PhD, University of Minnesota

"A good general introduction to twin-family research on psychopathology....This book is a valuable reference for those working in the field of psychiatric genetics, whether experienced researchers or students. Even for genetic epidemiologists with little interest in psychopathology, this book provides an excellent case study of a large-scale twin-family research project and the type of hypotheses that can be explored with the data such studies provide. Thanks to the well-structured and easily understandable writing style that Kendler and Prescott use, this book will also have relevance for those with no knowledge of behavioral genetics but an interest in psychiatry or substance abuse."
— Drug and Alcohol Review

"This book is a gem. It takes the reader on a behind-the-scenes excursion into the rationale, methodology, and findings of one of the most ambitious and influential genetic-epidemiological studies in recent history....Kendler and Prescott clearly aim to make their reasoning and methods accessible, and they succeed. They also go to considerable effort to make the book reader-friendly....Rarely does a reader have such an opportunity to be exposed to the kind of thoughtful, deliberative planning that goes into every aspect of the design and implementation of a study. Equally compelling is the way the reader is guided through how to distinguish between various causal explanations and how specific features of the study design make it possible to answer certain questions....The book presents a dazzling array of findings that both clinicians and researchers will be eager to know."
— American Journal of Psychiatry

"Clear, thoughtful, and timely....This book is a gift to all those willing to embrace the underlying complexity of psychiatric disorders and substance abuse."
— Twin Research and Human Genetics