Penn State Penn State: College of the Liberal Arts
Gene Environment Interplay
Across the Lifespan
    Completed Projects

Completed Projects

Twin Offspring Study in Sweden (TOSS)

Twin Offspring Study in Sweden (TOSS)The Twin Offspring Study in Sweden (TOSS) is a collection of studies that have examined genetic and environmental contributions in order to measure associations between family relationships and mental health have found two different patterns of results for adults and children. For children, genetic factors explain most of the covariance between parent-child relationships and child adjustment, while in adults nonshared environmental factors account for most of the covariance between marital relationships and adult adjustment. These different patterns of findings suggest that different mechanisms are involved in linking pertinent family relationships to adjustment in children and adults.

Data Are still available

Study Investigators:

Jenae Neiderhiser
Erica Spotts – Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research
Paul Lichtenstein – Karolinska Institute
David Reiss – Yale University

Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development (NEAD)

Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development (NEAD)The Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development (NEAD) project is a longitudinal study of adolescents and parents. The original aim of NEAD was to identify the nonshared environmental influences, particularly those within families that resulted in such large differences in adolescent development in siblings. This original focus was to address the question of why children reared in the same family are so different from one another. NEAD chose to focus on differences within the family by carefully measuring family relationships — between parents and children, siblings and within the couple — in an effort to better understand sources of within-family differences. NEAD was one of the first studies to take advantage of the high rates of divorce and remarriage in the United States by recruiting a sizable sample of siblings of varying degrees of genetic relatedness from stepfamilies as well as including twins and siblings from nondivorced households.The Young Adult Sibling Study (YASS) is a young adult extension of NEAD that examines relationships among the same NEAD participants and adds assessments of other relevant relationships when the siblings were young adults.

Data are still Available

Study Investigators:

Jenae Neiderhiser
David Reiss – Yale University

In the first phase (UG3), we will (1) re-recruit families of 1,000 children from EGDS; (2) generate pilot scale coding of adult medical records, pilot our geocoding system, conduct preliminary analyses, and develop and test a brief measure of social environmental adversity; and (3) collaborate and plan with the ECHO Steering Committee. It is clear that both biological and environmental factors play a role in the unfolding of health disorders beginning very early in development, yet the specific mechanisms and processes that lead to healthy development versus illness are not well understood. When combined with other ECHO pediatric cohorts, the data generated and analyses conducted in the proposed study will lead to improved guidance for future prevention efforts aimed at offsetting inherited risks and maximizing inherited strengths to promote healthy development.

Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (Echo) Program

Study Investigators:

Jenae Neiderhiser – Penn State University
Leslie Leve – University of Oregon
Jody Ganiban – The George Washington University

MSU Twins

MSU TwinsThe Michigan State University Twin Registry (MSUTR) is made up of thousands of twins and their families from throughout the state of Michigan who have shown an interest in our research and typically have participated in one or more of our twin studies.  Many twins from outside of Michigan are enrolled in our registry as well.

Data still available for analyzing

Study Investigators:

Jenae Neiderhiser
S. Alexandra Burt – Michigan State University
Kelly Klump – Michigan State University