Genetic and Environmental Influences on Schizotypy: A Community-Based Twin Study

Abstract

This study investigated the factor structure and etiology of four self-report schizotypy questionnaires during young adulthood (age 18-27) in 98 monozygotic and 59 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs from the community. A single phenotypic factor was identified that was primarily associated with Perceptual Aberration, Magical Ideation, and the Rust Inventory of Schizotypal Cognitions scales, and less so with Social Anhedonia. Univariate etiologic models suggested that in addition to nonshared environmental influences, Perceptual Aberration and Social Anhedonia were significantly influenced by either genes or shared family environment, whereas Magical Ideation and the Rust Inventory were influenced by shared family environment, but not genes. Multivariate twin analyses detected a common schizotypy factor, primarily defined by Perceptual Aberration, Magical Ideation, and the Rust Inventory scales, that was influenced by genes or shared environment as well as nonshared environment. Contrary to expectations, these results suggest that, at least in community-based samples, these "positive" schizotypy questionnaires are not strongly genetically influenced.