Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, this study is a major new exploration of the dimensions of child mental health using twin study methods to disentangle genetic from environmental factors.

The first project to study the whole gamut of behavioral and emotional symptoms that characterize childhood mental illness, it used a combination of psychometric and behavioral genetic methods to study the basic dimensions of child and adolescent psychopathology. Confirmatory factor analysis of data from a sample of twins was used to compare a variety of hypotheses about these dimensions. The hypotheses were tested using a new scale based on a comprehensive item pool that covers the emotions and behavior assessed in the most widely used rating scales (DSM-IV) and other key sources. Interviews with 1,800 twin pairs ages 6 to 17 years, and their mothers, as well as with the teachers of a large subset of the twin pairs, formed the basis for the first round of the study.

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National Institute of Mental Health