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Springer (part of Springer Nature), Behavior Genetics, 4(42), p. 579-591

DOI: 10.1007/s10519-012-9538-x

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Genetic and Environmental Multidimensionality of Well- and Ill-Being in Middle Aged Twin Men

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Abstract

The goals of the study were to determine the extent to which the underlying structure of different types of well-being was multidimensional and whether well- and ill-being were influenced by similar or different genetic and environmental factors. Participants were 1226 male twins ages 51-60, from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging. Measures included: psychological well-being, Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Well-Being scale (MPQWB), life satisfaction, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms. A two-orthogonal-factor common pathway model fit the data well. Psychological well-being and self-esteem loaded most strongly on Factor 1, which was highly heritable (h2 = .79). Life satisfaction loaded most strongly on Factor 2, which was only moderately heritable (h2 = .32). Only MPQWB had measure-specific genetic influences. Depressive symptoms loaded on both factors, and only depressive symptoms had measure-specific common environmental influences. All measures had specific unique environmental influences. Results indicate that well-being is genetically and environmentally multidimensional and that ill-being has partial overlap with both latent factors.