Table 7 Detailed characteristics of studies investigating offspring personality (N = 6).
Offspring personality | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Study | Design | Sample | Parental attribute (predictor) | Child attribute (outcome) | Control variables | Genetic overlap | Environmental transmission | G–E interplay |
Elam et al.61 | Adoption | EGDS 316 families Age: 27 months to 4.5 years | Adoptive parent hostility: self-report, IFIRS Birth mother low behavioural motivation: self-report, BIBA | Toddler low social motivation: observation & parent report, composite score | Prenatal risk and obstetric complications, and adoption openness | Yes, birth mother low behavioural motivation predicted toddler low social motivation (β = 0.17) | Yes, adoptive parent hostility predicted offspring disruptive peer behaviour (β = 0.11–0.28) | Evocative rGE: birth mother low behavioural motivation predicted toddler low social motivation, which predicted adoptive parent–child hostility |
Ellingson et al.71 | Sibling comparison | CNLSY 10,251 children of 4,827 mothers Age: 4–14 years | Smoking during pregnancy: self-report, mean number of packs smoked per day, reported after pregnancy | Temperament/personality: maternal report, CBQ | Maternal age at birth, EA, intelligence, delinquency, offspring sex, birth order, ethnicity, household income, geographic location | Not studied | No difference in temperament/personality between exposed and unexposed siblings | |
Van Ryzin et al.110 | Adoption | EGDS 361 families Age: 9 months to 6 years | Responsive parenting: observation & self-report, composite score, HOME Birth parent sociability: parental self-report, composite score, ATQ | Social competence: parent and teacher-report, composite score, SSRS and SCSA | Openness/contact in the adoption, prenatal risk index, child positive emotionality at 9 months | Birth-parent sociability predicted offspring social competence, (β = 0.17) but this association did not remain after adjusting for child positive emotionality | Adoptive responsive parenting did not predict offspring social competence | G×E: birth parent sociability x adoptive parent responsive parenting: offspring social competence |
Eley et al.29 | Children-of-twins | TOSS 387 MZ, 489 DZ families Age: 11–22 | Neuroticism: self-report, EPQ | Neuroticism: self-report, EPQ | Twin sex, and age | No shared genetic effects between parental and offspring neuroticism | Yes, after accounting for genetic relatedness, parental neuroticism was associated with offspring neuroticism (effect size not clear) | |
Brooker et al.111 | Adoption | EGDS 505 families Age: 9–18 months | Child-centred parenting: observation, three independent coders Adoptive and birth parent anxiety symptoms: self-report, BAI | Social inhibition: observation, independent coders | Prenatal risk and obstetric complications, adoption openness, adoptive parent EA, and child sex | No, birth parent anxiety did not predict offspring social inhibition | No, adoptive parent–child-centred parenting or anxiety did not predict offspring social inhibition | Evocative rGE: birth parent anxiety and child social inhibition predicted adoptive mother–child-centred parenting G×E: birth parent anxiety x adoptive father–child-centred parenting: social inhibition |
Kandler et al.112 | Extended twin | SPAD 573 twins and their families Mean age: ~39 years | Personality dimensions: self-report, HEXACO, six dimensions: honesty–humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness | Personality dimensions: self-report, HEXACO, six dimensions: honesty–humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness | Age, sex | Not studied | No, maternal or paternal shared environment effects were not associated with offspring personality | No evidence of passive rGE found |
