Genes influence every aspect of our lives. Parents create the environment that their children grow up in but also pass on genes to their biological children. Twin study represents a natural quasi-experiment with the capacity to disentangle genetic effects from otherwise confounded environmental effects by comparing similarity in various traits between identical twins and fraternal twins. However, extant twin studies are primarily based on Western twin samples from developed countries and of Caucasian ethnicity. This project followed about 600 pairs of Chinese adolescent twins three times over three years, and assessed various measures in their social, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development. We are currently examining cross-cultural similarities and differences in genetic and environmental influences on various traits.
Interested in getting involved in this research project as a graduate student? Please contact Dr. Zheng (yao.zheng@ualberta.ca)!
Inspired by the findings from this project, we also conducted another research project surveying ethnic-racial diversity in current Canadian sociogenomics literature, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Papers from this project
Zheng, Y., *Meyer, Z., & *Wu, Y. (2025). Taking stock and moving forward: Synthesizing ethnic-racial diversity in Canadian social genomics research. Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne.
*Meyer, Z., Unger, J., & Zheng, Y. (2024). Gene–environment transactions between peer cigarette use, parental supervision, and Chinese adolescent cigarette smoking initiation. Journal of Adolescence, 96(5), 1034–1047.
Zheng, Y., *Meyer, Z., Unger, J. B., & Rijsdijk, F. (2023). Gene–environment interplay linking perceived parental supervision and peer drunkenness with Chinese adolescent alcohol initiation. Child Development, 94(4), 853–864.
Zheng, Y., Pingault, J-B., Unger, J., & Rijsdijk, F. (2020). Genetic and environmental influences on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in Chinese adolescents: A longitudinal twin study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 29(2), 205–216.
Zheng, Y., Rijsdijk, F., Pingault, J-B, McMahon, R., & Unger, J. (2016). Developmental changes in genetic and environmental influences on Chinese child and adolescent anxiety and depression. Psychological Medicine, 46(9), 1829–1838.