Genetics Analysis in Mplus

With the introduction of Mplus Version 4, Mplus has greatly expanded its capabilities for genetics analysis. To show these capabilities, a set of Mx genetics examples from the GenomEUtwin project has been translated to Mplus. They can be accessed in the Examples section for Genetics Analysis using Mplus. In addition, the Mplus User’s Guide contains several genetics examples as shown below.

Twin, Sibling, and Family Genetics Modeling in the Mplus User's Guide

Two-group twin model for continuous outcomes where factors represent the ACE components (Ex. 5.18)

Two-group twin model for categorical outcomes where factors represent the ACE components (Ex. 5.19)

Two-group twin model for continuous outcomes using parameter constraints (Ex. 5.21)

Two-group twin model for categorical outcomes using parameter constraints (Ex. 5.22)

QTL sibling model for a continuous outcome using parameter constraints (Ex. 5.23)

Two-group twin model for categorical outcomes using maximum likelihood and parameter constraints (Ex. 7.28)

Two-group IRT twin model for factors with categorical factor indicators using parameter constraints (Ex. 7.29)

The example numbers in parentheses refer to the Version 5 Mplus User's Guide where these features are described.

The page numbers in parentheses refer to the pages in the Version 5 Mplus User's Guide where these features are described.

Recent Genetics Papers Using Special Mplus Features

• Kerner, B. & Muthén, B.(2009). Growth mixture modelling in families of the Framingham Heart Study. BMC Proceedings, 3, 1-5. Contact the first author. Refer to Mplus Papers for the abstract. Paper can be downloaded from here.

• Bartels, M., Cacioppo, J.T., Hudziak, J.J., & Boomsma, D. I. (2008). Genetic and environmental contributions to stability in loneliness throughout childhood. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B, 147B, 385-391. Contact the first author to obtain Mplus scripts. Refer to Mplus Papers for the abstract. Paper can be downloaded from here.

• D'Onofrio, B.M., Hulle, C.A., Waldman, I.D., Rodgers, J. L. Harden, K.P., Rathouz, P.J. & Lahey, B.B. (2008). Smoking during pregnancy and offspring externalizing problems: An exploration of genetic and environmental confounds. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 139-164. Contact the first author to obtain Mplus scripts. Refer to Mplus Papers for the abstract. Paper can be downloaded from here.

• Rathouz, P.J., Hulle, C.A., Rodgers, J.L., Waldman, I.D., & Lahey, B.B. (2008). Specification, testing, and interpretation of gene-by-measured-environment interaction models in the presence of gene-environment correlations. Behavior Genetics, 38, 301-315. Contact the first author. Refer to Mplus Papers for the abstract. Paper can be downloaded from here.

• Boomsma, D., Cacioppo, J., Muthén, B., Asparouhov, T. & Clark, S. (2007). Longitudinal genetic analysis for loneliness in Dutch twins. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 10, 267-273. Contact the first author. Refer to Mplus Papers for the abstract. Paper can be downloaded from here.

• Harden, K.P., Turkheimer, E. & Loehlin, J.C. (2006). Genotype by environment interaction in adolescents’ cognitive aptitude. Behavioral Genetics. Contact the first author. Refer to Mplus Papers for the abstract. Paper can be downloaded from here.

• Muthén, B., Asparouhov, T. & Rebollo, I. (2006). Advances in behavioral genetics modeling using Mplus: Applications of factor mixture modeling to twin data. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 9, 313-324. Contact the first author. Refer to Mplus Papers for the abstract. Paper can be downloaded from here. Mplus inputs, outputs, and data are not yet available for this article.

• Prescott, C.A. (2004). Using the Mplus computer program to estimate models for continuous and categorical data from twins. Behavior Genetics, 34, 17- 40. Contact the author. Paper can be downloaded from here. Mplus inputs and outputs used in this paper can be viewed and/or downloaded from here.