Polygenic Risk for Aggression Predicts Adult Substance Use Disorder Diagnoses via Substance Use Offending in Emerging Adulthood and is Moderated by a Family-Centered Intervention

Interplay between polygenic risk and family processes in predicting trajectories of adolescent externalizing behaviors

Introduction

There is limited understanding on how polygenic scores derived from genome-wide association studies of adult and child psychopathology may uniquely predict childhood traits. The current study took a developmental approach to examine the interplay between adult-based and child-based polygenic scores with family processes in predicting trajectories of externalizing behaviors from late childhood to early adolescence among racially-ethnically diverse youth.

Method

Data were drawn from the non-Hispanic White (N = 5,907), non-Hispanic Black (N = 1,694), and Hispanic youth (N = 2,117) from the adolescent brain cognitive development (ABCD) study. Parents reported on youth externalizing behaviors at baseline (T1, age 9/10), 1-year (T2, age 10/11), 2-year (T3, age 11/12), and 3-year (T4, age 12/13) follow-up assessments. Youth reported on parenting and family environment at T1 and provided saliva or blood samples for genotyping.

Results

Both polygenic scores for adult externalizing and childhood aggression predicted greater likelihood of following trajectories with higher externalizing behaviors. Among non-Hispanic White youth, polygenic scores also predicted greater family conflict, which in turn predicted higher externalizing behavior trajectories.

Discussion

Our findings indicated that both adult-based and child-based polygenic scores for externalizing behaviors are useful in predicting trajectories of externalizing behaviors, highlighting developmental continuity in genetic influences. Family processes, especially family conflict, play an important role in adolescent externalizing behaviors across racial-ethnic groups, suggesting the need to target family conflict in intervention efforts. Findings also highlight the importance of conducting research in diverse populations, including improving diversity in genetically informed studies.

Genetic risk for trait aggression and alcohol use predict unique facets of alcohol-related aggression

OBJECTIVE

A propensity for aggression or alcohol use may be associated with alcohol-related aggression. Previous research has shown genetic overlap between alcohol use and aggression but has not looked at how alcohol-related aggression may be uniquely influenced by genetic risk for aggression or alcohol use. The present study examined the associations of genetic risk for trait aggression, alcohol use, and alcohol use disorder (AUD) with alcohol-related aggression using a polygenic risk score (PRS) approach.

METHOD

Using genome-wide association study summary statistics, PRSs were created for trait aggression, alcohol consumption, and AUD. These PRSs were used to predict the phenotype of alcohol-related aggression among drinkers in two independent samples: the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Family Alcoholism Study (n = 1,162) and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health; n = 4,291).

RESULTS

There were significant associations between the AUD PRS and lifetime alcohol-related aggression in the UCSF study sample. Additionally, the trait aggression PRS was associated with three or more experiences of hitting anyone else and getting into physical fights while under the influence of alcohol, along with a composite score of three or more experiences of alcohol-related aggression, in the UCSF study sample. No significant associations were observed in the Add Health sample. Limited sex-specific genetic effects were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

These results provide preliminary evidence that genetic influences underlying alcohol use and aggression are uniquely associated with alcohol-related aggression and suggest that these associations may differ by type and frequency of alcohol-related aggression incidents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

The Promise and Challenges of Integrating Biological and Prevention Sciences: A Community-Engaged Model for the Next Generation of Translational Research

Beginning with the successful sequencing of the human genome two decades ago, the possibility of developing personalized health interventions based on one's biology has captured the imagination of researchers, medical providers, and individuals seeking health care services. However, the application of a personalized medicine approach to emotional and behavioral health has lagged behind the development of personalized approaches for physical health conditions. There is potential value in developing improved methods for integrating biological science with prevention science to identify risk and protective mechanisms that have biological underpinnings, and then applying that knowledge to inform prevention and intervention services for emotional and behavioral health. This report represents the work of a task force appointed by the Board of the Society for Prevention Research to explore challenges and recommendations for the integration of biological and prevention sciences. We present the state of the science and barriers to progress in integrating the two approaches, followed by recommended strategies that would promote the responsible integration of biological and prevention sciences. Recommendations are grounded in Community-Based Participatory Research approaches, with the goal of centering equity in future research aimed at integrating the two disciplines to ultimately improve the well-being of those who have disproportionately experienced or are at risk for experiencing emotional and behavioral problems.

Development of Primal World Beliefs

Primal world beliefs ("primals") capture individuals' basic understanding of what sort of world this is. How do children develop beliefs about the nature of the world? Is the world a good place? Safe or dangerous? Enticing or dull? Primals were initially introduced in social and personality psychology to understand beliefs about the world as a whole that may influence well-being and personality. This article introduces the concept of primals to developmental scientists and reviews preliminary research examining how primals relate to sociodemographic and well-being indicators. The article then situates the concept of primals in some classic developmental theories to illustrate testable hypotheses these theories suggest regarding how primals develop. Understanding how individuals develop basic beliefs about the nature of the world deepens insights into the human experience, including how malleable these beliefs might be and how they may be influenced by, and in turn influence, other domains of development.

Association between drug craving and aggression in Chinese male methamphetamine-dependent patients with and without depressive symptoms

Depressive symptoms and aggression are common in patients with substance use disorder. Drug craving is one of the main drivers of drug-seeking behavior. This study aimed to explore the relationship between drug craving and aggression in methamphetamine use disorder (MAUD) patients with and without depressive symptoms. Totally, 613 male patients with MAUD were recruited in this study. Patients with depressive symptoms were identified by the 13-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-13). Drug craving and aggression were assessed by the Desires for Drug Questionnaire (DDQ) and the Buss & Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ), respectively. 374 patients (61.01%) were confirmed to meet the criteria of depressive symptoms. Patients with depressive symptoms had significantly higher DDQ and BPAQ total scores than those without depressive symptoms. DDQ desire and intention were positively correlated with verbal aggression and hostility in patients with depressive symptoms, whereas they were correlated with self-directed aggression in patients without depressive symptoms. In patients with depressive symptoms, DDQ negative reinforcement and a history of suicide attempts were independently associated with BPAQ total score. Our study suggests that male MAUD patients have a high incidence of depressive symptoms and that patients with depressive symptoms may have greater drug cravings and aggression. Depressive symptoms may play a role in the association between drug craving and aggression in patients with MAUD.

Coercive Parent-Adolescent Interactions Predict Substance use and Antisocial Behaviors Through Early Adulthood: A Dynamic Systems Perspective

This study revisits the association between coercive parent-adolescent interactions and adolescent externalizing behaviors. Specifically, we investigate the moment-to-moment coercive exchanges between parents and adolescents and how these dynamic processes map to the long-term development of substance use and antisocial behavior from middle adolescence to early adulthood. We collected videotaped observations with 794 adolescents (ages 16-17 years) and their parents during interactions and coded their real-time behavioral exchanges. State Space Grid analyses were used to measure the proportion of time in which each parent-adolescent dyad engaged in the Dyadic Coercion region as an indicator of rigidity in dyadic coercion. We also measured adolescents' substance use and antisocial behavior at ages 16-17, ages 18-19, and ages 21-22. The enduring impact of parent-adolescent coercive interaction on substance use and antisocial behavior was tested using categorical latent growth curve models and path models. Adolescents with more coercive interactions with parents showed higher rates of increase in alcohol use and higher levels of antisocial behavior through early adulthood. The findings highlight the unique contribution of using intensive data to understand coercive interactions on a micro-timescale and how these dynamics influence long-term development in externalizing behaviors. Implications for intervention studies are discussed.

Alcohol Use Disorder Polygenic Risk Scores and Trajectories of Early Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors: Examining the Role of Parenting and Family Conflict in the Racially/Ethnically Diverse ABCD Sample

This study examined the independent and interactive effects of alcohol use disorder genome-wide polygenic scores (AUD-PGS) and parenting and family conflict on early adolescent externalizing behaviors. Data were drawn from White (N = 6181, 46.9% female), Black/African American (N = 1784, 50.1% female), and Hispanic/Latinx (N = 2410, 48.0% female) youth from the adolescent brain cognitive development Study (ABCD). Parents reported on youth externalizing behaviors at baseline (T1, age 9/10), 1-year (T2, age 10/11) and 2-year (T3, age 11/12) assessments. Youth reported on parenting and family environment at T1 and provided saliva or blood samples for genotyping. Results from latent growth models indicated that in general externalizing behaviors decreased from T1 to T3. Across all groups, higher family conflict was associated with more externalizing behaviors at T1, and we did not find significant associations between parental monitoring and early adolescent externalizing behaviors. Parental acceptance was associated with lower externalizing behaviors among White and Hispanic youth, but not among Black youth. Results indicated no significant main effect of AUD-PGS nor interaction effect between AUD-PGS and family variables on early adolescent externalizing behaviors. Post hoc exploratory analysis uncovered an interaction between AUD-PGS and parental acceptance such that AUD-PGS was positively associated with externalizing rule-breaking behaviors among Hispanic youth, but only when parental acceptance was very low. Findings highlight the important role of family conflict and parental acceptance in externalizing behaviors among early adolescents, and emphasize the need to examine other developmental pathways underlying genetic risk for AUD across diverse populations.

Effects of a preventive parenting intervention for bereaved families on the intergenerational transmission of parenting attitudes: Mediating processes

This study evaluated whether the Family Bereavement Program (FBP), a prevention program for parentally bereaved families, improved parenting attitudes toward parental warmth and physical punishment in young adult offspring 15 years after participation and identified mediational cascade pathways. One hundred fifty-six parents and their 244 offspring participated. Data were collected at pretest (ages 8-16), posttest, and six- and 15-year follow-ups. Ethnicity of offspring was: 67% non-Hispanic Caucasian, 16% Hispanic, 7% African American, 3% Native American, 1% Asian or Pacific Islander, and 6% other; 54% were males. There was a direct effect of the FBP on attitudes toward physical punishment; offspring in the FBP had less favorable attitudes toward physical punishment. There were also indirect effects of the FBP on parenting attitudes. The results supported a cascade effects model in which intervention-induced improvements in parental warmth led to fewer externalizing problems in adolescence/emerging adulthood, which in turn led to less favorable attitudes toward physical punishment. In addition, intervention-induced improvements in parental warmth led to improvements in anxious romantic attachment in mid-to-late adolescence/emerging adulthood, which led to more favorable attitudes toward parental warmth in emerging/young adulthood. These findings suggest that the effects of relatively brief prevention programs may persist into subsequent generations.