The etiology of stability and change in social withdrawal through childhood: a genetically informative study

Background: Social withdrawal in childhood has been associated with a host of socio-emotional difficulties later on (Boivin, Petitclerc, Feng, & Barker, 2010; Rubin & Coplan, 2004). Yet, significant gaps remain in our... [ view full abstract ]

Background: Social withdrawal in childhood has been associated with a host of socio-emotional difficulties later on (Boivin, Petitclerc, Feng, & Barker, 2010; Rubin & Coplan, 2004). Yet, significant gaps remain in our knowledge of its development, notably the etiology of individual differences in social withdrawal in childhood. The current study investigates the genetic and environmental etiology of stability and change in social withdrawal within a longitudinal perspective. Methods: A number of 798 twins were assessed by their teacher for social withdrawal at 5 time-points from kindergarten to grade 6. We tested a linear latent growth curve model to evaluate intra-individual stability and change in social withdrawal from kindergarten to grade 6. We assessed the contribution of genetic, shared and non-shared environmental factors to the initial level and to the rate of change in social withdrawal with a biometric latent growth curve model. Results: No significant intra-individual change was observed from kindergarten through grade 6, meaning that overall, levels of social withdrawal where stable through time. Inter-individual differences were found for the intercept factor, meaning that there was significant variation in social withdrawal scores at kindergarten. These differences were explained by genetic and non-shared environmental factors. Finally, results show that non-shared environmental factors explain most of individual differences in social withdrawal at every time point. A significant proportion of the time-specific variance was also explained by genetic factors. Conclusions: The stability in the average trajectory of social withdrawal through childhood could be explained by the lack of change in this phenotype in childhood, but it could also be a result of averaging different trajectory directions (e.g., increasing or decreasing slopes). Further research could shed light on the genetic and environmental mechanisms or interactions potentially underlying the etiology of social withdrawal.

Boivin, M., Petitclerc, A., Feng, B., & Barker, E. D. (2010). The developmental trajectories of peer victimization in middle to late childhood and the changing nature of their behavioral correlates. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 56, 231-260. doi: 10.1353/mpq.0.0050

Rubin, K. & Coplan, R. (2004). Paying attention to and not neglecting social withdrawal and social isolation. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 50, 506-534. doi: 10.1353/mpq.2004.0036