Interest has increased in the recent literature on characterizing psychopathology dimensionally in hierarchical models. One dimension of psychopathology that has received considerable attention is externalizing. Although extensively studied and well-characterized in late adolescents and adults, delineation of the externalizing spectrum in youth has lagged behind. As a complement to structural analyses of externalizing, in this study, we use quantitative genetic analyses of twin data to adjudicate among alternative models of youth externalizing that differ in granularity. Specifically, we compared model fit, estimates of genetic and environmental influences on the externalizing dimension, and the average, variability, and precision of genetic and environmental influences on individual symptoms due to the externalizing dimension, specific symptom dimensions, and unique etiological influences. Given that none of these criteria are definitive on their own, we looked to the confluence of these criteria to exclude particular models while highlighting others as leading contenders. We analyzed parent-report data on 38 externalizing symptoms from a population-representative, ethnically diverse sample of 883 youth twin pairs (51% female), who were on average 8.5 years old. Although models including an externalizing composite and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and conduct disorder diagnoses and symptom dimensions showed similar heritability to latent variable models of externalizing, models that included latent dimensions of externalizing and more fine-grained symptom dimensions fit better and were more balanced in the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on individual symptoms due to the externalizing dimension and specific symptom dimensions. Pending replication, these more granular and elaborated model(s) can be useful for advancing research on causes and outcomes of youth externalizing and its fine-grained specific components. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

---

使用定量遗传分析评估青年外化的替代模型。

最近关于在层次模型中维度地表征精神病理学的文献越来越引起人们的兴趣。精神病理学备受关注的一个方面是外化。尽管对青少年晚期和成年人进行了广泛的研究和良好的表征，但对青少年外化谱的描述却滞后。作为外化结构分析的补充，在本研究中，我们使用双胞胎数据的定量遗传分析来判断不同粒度的青少年外化的替代模型。具体来说，我们比较了模型拟合、遗传和环境对外化维度影响的估计，以及由于外化维度、特定症状维度和独特病因影响而导致的遗传和环境对个体症状影响的平均值、变异性和精确度。鉴于这些标准本身都不是明确的，我们将这些标准结合起来，以排除特定模型，同时强调其他模型作为主要竞争者。我们分析了 38 种外在症状的家长报告数据，这些数据来自具有人口代表性、种族多样化的 883 对青年双胞胎（51% 为女性）样本，这些样本的平均年龄为 8.5 岁。尽管包括外化复合和注意力缺陷多动障碍、对立违抗性障碍、行为障碍诊断和症状维度的模型显示出与外化潜变量模型相似的遗传性，但包括外化潜变量和更细粒度的症状维度的模型更适合，并且由于外化维度和特定症状维度，遗传和环境对个体症状的影响程度更加平衡。在待复制之前，这些更细粒度和更精细的模型可用于推进对青少年外化的原因和结果及其细粒度特定组成部分的研究。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2023 APA，保留所有权利）。