"Twin and adoption studies converge on a striking conclusion. Roughly half or more of the variance in most personality traits is attributable to genetic factors (Vukasović & Bratko, 2015). When combined with non-shared environmental influences, that figure exceeds 90%. What is notably absent is a large role for the shared environment, including broad features of upbringing that many psychotherapeutic models implicitly treat as decisive (Krueger et al., 2008)."
"Most clinicians still underestimate the degree to which genetic factors shape personality traits and personality development. This is not controversial within behavioral genetics, but it remains surprisingly controversial in everyday clinical thinking. Genetic influence does not imply immutability or biological determinism. Traits can be shaped, moderated, and expressed differently over time, including through psychotherapy. What genetics challenges is not the possibility of change, but the assumption that adult personality structure is best explained by childhood experience."
Genetic factors account for roughly half or more of the variance in most personality traits, and together with non-shared environmental influences explain over 90% of trait variance. Shared family environment and broad features of upbringing contribute surprisingly little to adult personality, with siblings raised together often no more similar than unrelated individuals once genetic relatedness is controlled. Genetic influence does not equate to immutability; traits can be shaped, moderated, and expressed differently over time, including via psychotherapy. Clinical models that assume early relational experience determines adult personality substantially overestimate childhood environment's explanatory power.
Read at Psychology Today
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