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Marriage and Genetic Variation across the Lifespan: Not a Steady Relationship?

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Abstract

The prevalence of marriage varies across the lifespan, as does its importance to reproduction and the nurturance of children. We examined genetic and environmental influences on self-reported marriage at each decade from 20 through 70 years of age, using data collected for the Duke Dementia Study, a followed-up subset of the World War II Veteran Twin Registry. Genetic influences best fit a common factor model, supplemented by another, age-specific, genetic factor at age 30. Broad heritability increased from age 20 through 40, and then decreased to zero by ages 60 and 70. A longitudinal Cholesky model best described environmental influences on marriage across the lifespan. Shared environmental factors showed their greatest influence at age 20, no influence at 30 or 40 years, and then, reappeared with influence at 60 and 70. Variance due to error and unique environmental influences increased steadily to age 50 years and then declined slightly.

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Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate the contributions of the administrators of the NAS-NRC World War II Veteran Twin Registry, particularly Dr. William Page, Ms. Harriett Crawford, and the late Dr. Dennis Robinette of the Medical Follow-up Agency, and those of the investigators and staff of the Duke Dementia Study, especially Dr. John Breitner, Dr. Brenda Plassman, and Ms. Debbie Drosdick, to the collection and archiving of these data. We are especially grateful to the World War II Veteran twins whose generous participation over many decades has created an invaluable repository of data for medical and scientific research. Our paper was enhanced by the observations and insights of Joe Rodgers and another, anonymous reviewer, and we are very grateful for their suggestions. Finally, we appreciate the support Vassar College provided through its Undergraduate Research Summer Institute (URSI) and a faculty study leave.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Vassar College, 124 Raymond Avenue, Box 219, Poughkeepsie, NY, 12604, USA

    Susan L. Trumbetta & Ezra M. Markowitz

  2. Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Irving I. Gottesman

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  1. Susan L. Trumbetta
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Correspondence to Susan L. Trumbetta.

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Trumbetta, S.L., Markowitz, E.M. & Gottesman, I.I. Marriage and Genetic Variation across the Lifespan: Not a Steady Relationship?. Behav Genet 37, 362–375 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-006-9132-1

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