Southern California Twin Register at the University of Southern California (Southern California Twin Register at USC)
The Southern California Twin Register at USC, established in 1984, aims to investigate genetic and environmental influences on human behavior. The registry included 2,601 twin pairs in 2002, growing to approximately 5,000 twin pairs by 2006. The sample is representative of the ethnic and socio-economic diversity of the greater Los Angeles area, including twins recruited from schools, voter registries and all twins born in 1993-1995, obtained from the Los Angeles County birth records, covering a range of ages from childhood to adulthood. Twins from the register are typically followed up every 2-3 years, starting from ages 9-10.
Study design
Cohort - twin, Registry, Cohort - birth
Number of participants at first data collection
2,601 (twin pairs as of 2002)
Recruitment is ongoing
Age at first data collection
Varied (participants)
Participant year of birth
Varied (participants)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
The ethnic and socio-economic diversity of the greater Los Angeles area.
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
1984
Primary Institutions
University of Southern California (USC)
Profile paper DOI
Funders
Institute of Governmental Affairs
International Dyslexia Society
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
University of California, Davis (UC Davis)
University of Southern California (USC)
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected
- Computer, paper or task testing (e.g. cognitive testing, theory of mind doll task, attention computer tasks)
- Interview – face-to-face
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- Secondary data
- Self-report questionnaire – paper or computer assisted
- Ethnography or participant observation
- Electroencephalography (EEG)
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Education data
- Healthcare data
- Medical birth registry
- Other government data
Engagement
Keywords
Consortia and dataset groups
