Nuclear structure aspects of the double-charge-exchange (DCX) reaction on nuclei are studied. Using a variety of DCX-type two-body transition operators, we explore the influence of two-body correlations among valence nucleons on the DCX transition amplitudes to the isobaric analog state and to other nonanalog J =0+ states. In particular, the question of the spin dependence and of the range of the DCX transition operators is explored and the behavior of the transition amplitudes as a function of the valence nucleon number is studied. It is shown that the two-amplitude DCX formula derived by Auerbach, Gibbs, and Piasetzky for a single j configuration holds also in some cases when configuration mixing is strong. DCX-type transitions from the Ca and Ni isotopes to the Ti and Zn isotopes and from '6Fe to Ni are the subject of this study.PACS number(s): 25.80.Gn DCX transition operator which possesses the "pairing" property [4], i.e. , an operator that for even n satisfies