The Michigan State University Twin Registry (MSUTR): 15 Years of Twin and Family Research

Abstract

The primary aim of the Michigan State University Twin Registry (MSUTR) is to examine developmental differences in genetic, environmental, neural, epigenetic, and neurobiological influences on psychopathology and resilience, particularly during childhood and adolescence. The MSUTR has two broad components: a large-scale, population-based registry of child, adolescent, and adult twins and their families (current N ~30,000) and a series of more focused and in-depth studies drawn from the registry (projected N ~7200). Participants in the population-based registry complete a family health and demographic questionnaire via mail. Families can then be recruited for one or more of the intensive, in-person studies from the population-based registry, using any one of several recruitment strategies (e.g., population-based, based on their answers to the registry questionnaire). These latter studies target a variety of biological, genetic, and environmental phenotypes, including multi-informant measures of psychiatric and behavioral phenotypes, functional and structural neuroimaging, comprehensive measures of the twin family environment (e.g., census and neighborhood informant reports of twin neighborhood characteristics, videotaped interactions of child twin families), buccal swab and salivary DNA samples, and/or assays of adolescent and adult steroid hormone levels. This article provides an overview of the MSUTR and describes current and future research directions.

Twin Differences in Harsh Parenting Predict Youth’s Antisocial Behavior

“…Collectively, the racial composition of the combined sample was 82% White, 10% Black, 1% Asian, 1% indigenous, and 6% multiracial. However, as detailed by Burt and Klump (2019), families in the at-risk sample, but not the population-based sample, were more racially diverse than the local population (e.g., 14% Black and 77% White in the at-risk sample vs. 5% Black and 87% White in the population-based sample; local population based on the area census: 5% Black and 85% White). As in recent TBED-C publications, the two arms of the study were analyzed jointly for the current analyses.…”

“…The population-based Michigan State University Twin Registry (MSUTR; Burt & Klump, 2019) includes several independent twin projects. Participants in our primary sample were drawn from the Twin Study of Behavioral and Emotional Development in Children (TBED-C).…”

Increased rates of eating disorders and their symptoms in women with major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders

“…Participants included 563 female twins (ages 15–25; mean = 17.60, SD = 1.80) from the Twin Study of Hormones and Behavior Across the Menstrual Cycle (TSHBMC; Klump et al, 2014). TSHBMC participants were recruited through the Michigan State University Twin Registry (MSUTR), which identifies twins through birth records (Burt & Klump, 2013, 2019; Klump & Burt, 2006). Because TSHBMC focused on ovarian hormones (see Klump et al, 2013, 2014), women had to meet eligibility criteria: (a) regular menstruation for the past 6 months; (b) no hormonal contraceptive use in the past 3 months; (c) no psychotropic/steroid medications in the past 4 weeks; (d) no pregnancy/lactation in the past 6 months; and (e) no genetic/medical conditions known to influence hormones or appetite/weight (Klump et al, 2013).…”

Low emotion differentiation: An affective correlate of binge eating?

“…Analyses included 482 women (ages 15–25; mean = 17.86, SD = 1.82) from the Twin Study of Hormones and Behavior Across the Menstrual Cycle (TSHBMC; Klump et al, ) who were recruited from the Michigan State University Twin Registry (MSUTR; Burt & Klump, , ; Klump & Burt, ). Because the TSHBMC study focused on ovarian hormones, there were several eligibility criteria: (a) female sex; (b) menstruation every 22–32 days for the past 6 months; (c) no hormonal contraceptive use in the past 3 months; (d) no psychotropic or steroid medications in the past 4 weeks; (e) no pregnancy or lactation in the past 6 months; and (f) no history of genetic/medical conditions known to influence hormones or appetite/weight.…”