biostudies-literatureUnknownO'Connor SMNIDA NIH HHSNIMH NIH HHSNIAAA NIH HHSTwin studies demonstrate significant environmental influences and a lack of genetic effects on disordered eating before puberty in girls. However, genetic factors could act indirectly through passive gene-environment correlations (rGE; correlations between parents' genes and an environment shaped by those genes) that inflate environmental (but not genetic) estimates. The only study to explore passive rGE did not find significant effects, but the full range of parental phenotypes (e.g., internalizing symptoms) that could impact daughters' disordered eating was not examined. We addressed this gap by exploring whether parents' internalizing symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depressive symptoms) contribute to daughters' eating pathology through passive rGE. Participants were female twin pairs (aged 8-1Development and psychopathology1-12https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9938845biostudies-literatureExploring the possibility of parents' broad internalizing phenotype acting through passive gene-environment correlations on daughters' disordered eating.PMC9938845R37 AA009367R01 MH092377R01 AA009367R01 DA013240McGue MO'Connor SMIacono WGMikhail MBurt SAAnaya CKlump KLHaller LLfalseExploring the possibility of parents' broad internalizing phenotype acting through passive gene-environment correlations on daughters' disordered eating.Twin studies demonstrate significant environmental influences and a lack of genetic effects on disordered eating before puberty in girls. However, genetic factors could act indirectly through passive gene-environment correlations (rGE; correlations between parents' genes and an environment shaped by those genes) that inflate environmental (but not genetic) estimates. The only study to explore passive rGE did not find significant effects, but the full range of parental phenotypes (e.g., internalizing symptoms) that could impact daughters' disordered eating was not examined. We addressed this gap by exploring whether parents' internalizing symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depressive symptoms) contribute to daughters' eating pathology through passive rGE. Participants were female twin pairs (aged 8-12022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Aug2025-04-04T08:17:47.478Z2025-04-04T08:17:47.478ZS-EPMC99388453598380310.1017/s095457942200060810.1017/S0954579422000608