Nature and Nurture in the Family

SUMMARY Behavioral genetic research provides the best evidence we have for the importance of the environment. Heritabilities rarely exceed 50%, which means that, on average, half of the variance for behavioral dimensions and disorders is not genetic in origin. However, no one needed to be convinced that environmental factors contribute importantly to behavior. The two findings that stand out as the most important from behavioral genetics both involve nurture rather than nature. This volume reviews these findings and lays out the agenda for future research in this area. Some of the ideas described in these papers may be unfamiliar to marriage and family researchers, in part because they are so novel and revolutionary. Nonetheless this volume will reward careful reading as it represents an exciting glimpse of the future of research in this area.