Frequency of Truancy at High School: Evidence for Genetic and Twin Specific Shared Environmental Influences
Received 25 February 2009; accepted 24 March 2009. published online 01 June 2009.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine the relative influence of genetic and environmental factors on variation in truancy during high school. We examined the significance of genetic and shared and nonshared environmental influences. In addition, we tested for the presence of environmental factors specifically shared by twins, but not by their siblings.
Methods
A threshold model was used to analyze data from 4,835 twins and their non-twin siblings.
Results
Results showed a higher prevalence of truancy for males (38% vs. 29%) and an increase in prevalence with age (β = −.53). Individual differences in frequency of truancy were partly explained by genetic influences (h2 = 45%); for twins, the environmental variance was partitioned into 25% shared by twins, and 30% nonshared, whereas for singletons all environmental variance was nonshared (i.e., 55%).
Conclusions
Prevalence of truancy was higher for boys than for girls and it increased with age. Genetic and environmental influences accounted for the variance in frequency of truancy. Part of the shared environment represents influences that are shared by twins but not by non-twin siblings.
Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Address correspondence to: Niels van der Aa, Vrije Universiteit, Department of Biological Psychology, Van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
ABSTRACT