Genetic and environmental influences on objectively assessed activity in adults

Spinath FM, Wolf H, Angleitner A, Borkenau P, Riemann R. Genetic and environmental influences on objectively assessed activity in adults. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES. 2002;33(4):633-645.We objectively assessed motor activity level in a community sample of 300 adult monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs as part of the German Observational Study of Adult Twins (GOSAT). The participants carried motion recorders (actometers) over a period of approximately 6 h to assess limb movements while engaging in a variety of tasks. Behavioral genetic analyses of an actometer composite score (ACS) suggested moderate genetic influence (a(2)= 0.40) and no shared environmental influences on this objective measure of activity. Furthermore, ACS showed small to moderate meaningful and significant relations to several activity-related temperament dimensions assessed via self- and peer reports. A series of bivariate analyses yielded mixed results with regard to genetic and environmental influences on the covariation between objectively assessed activity and self-reported temperament. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved