Abstract
GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS IN ADHD: BACKGROUND It is difficult to meaningfully discuss environmental etiologies of ADHD without placing them in the context of behavioral genetic studies of the disorder. The heritability of ADHD (as a disorder or as a symptom dimension) ranges between .6 and .8, depending on whether (a) one is looking at parent or teacher reports of ADHD symptoms and (b) one is controlling for rater contrast effects in parental twin ratings or other potential biases in teacher ratings (Eaves et al., 1997; Rietveld et al., 2004; Simonoff et al., 1998). This relatively high level of heritability indicates that well over half of the variance in ADHD liability is accounted for by variance in genotypes. Aburgeoning molecular genetic literature has followed, with replicated findings of small but reliable associations with ADHD for a handful of catecholamine–relevant genes. Perhaps as a result of these high heritability estimates and molecular progress, experiential causes of ADHD have been to some extent de–emphasized in recent years.
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