Publications [#155549] of Terrie E. Moffitt
Journal Articles
- Ordonana, J. R. and Avshalom, C. and Moffitt, T. E. (2008). Unintentional injuries in a twin study of preschool children: Environmental, not genetic, risk factors. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 33(2), 185-194.
(last updated on 2009/01/30)Abstract:
Objective To analyze the relative contribution of latent genetic and environmental factors to differences in the injury liability of children, and to examine the association between measured socio-economic, family, and child-behavior variables and unintentional injury risk. Methods Unintentional injuries from birth to age 5, together with information regarding measured risk variables, were reported by mothers in a sample of 1027 same-sex twin pairs from a nationally representative 19941995 birth cohort. Results Child-specific environmental factors accounted for most of the variance (86.4) in the likelihood of ever having an injury. When considering the risk of two or more injuries child-specific environmental factors explained 60.2 of the variance and family-wide environmental influence 39.8. Measured socio-economic, family, and child-behavior factors predicted frequent injury. Conclusions Results give little support to the concept of a heritable injury-prone trait in preschool children; environmental influences accounted for most of the injury variance in this sample. However, behavioral variables, especially the childs externalizing problem behaviors, are also important in explaining unintentional injuries.