Abstract: Objective To explore the influence of genetic and environmental factors on the executive function of twin children.
Methods The executive function of 122 twin pairs from Chongqing (aged from 6 to 18 years) were investigated with the
perseverative errors of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Structural equation modeling was performed to evaluate the effects of
the additive genetic factors (A), dominance genetic latent factors (D) and individual specific environmental factors (E) on the
executive functions. Results The effects of D and E on perseverative errors were 0. 77 (95%CI: 0.65-0.84) and 0.23 (95%CI:
0.16-0.35), respectively. The probability of perseverative errors showed a significant negative correlation with family
functioning and with the total GHQ-12 scores of the fathers and mothers (r:-0.335, -0.335, and -0.219, respectively, P<0.01).
Perseverative errors were not significantly correlated with the parenting styles and stress life events. Conclusion Perseverative
errors are influenced by a common dominance genetic latent factor and individual specific environmental factors, but the role
of environmental factors such as family functioning and parental health can not be ignored.