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Elam KK, Lemery-Chalfant K, Chassin L. A gene-environment cascade theoretical framework of developmental psychopathology. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND CLINICAL SCIENCE 2023; 132:287-296. [PMID: 36201798 PMCID: PMC10076453 DOI: 10.1037/abn0000546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/12/2023]
Abstract
Previous theories have emphasized genetic effects "inside the skin" via endophenotypes within the broader developmental psychopathology theory. Expanding on the mechanisms of gene-environment correlation, we propose a new integrative framework emphasizing how genetic effects "outside the skin" (Reiss & Leve, 2007) accumulate due to individual variation in social information processing in negative environments and sociocultural contexts as part of developmental cascades to psychopathology. In this gene-environment cascade theoretical framework, genetic predisposition for psychopathology, as well as stable traits and behaviors, can lead to negative environments via gene-environment correlations that can be exacerbated or buffered by an individual's social information processing. Moreover, these "environments" range from dyadic social relationships to broader sociocultural contexts. Over time, these processes exacerbate one another as part of developmental cascades, resulting in accumulating risk for psychopathology. By focusing on gene-environment correlations and integrating disparate social-emotional, cognitive, and sociocultural research domains, this framework delineates key processes by which early genetic predisposition can contribute to developmentally distinct and accumulating risk for psychopathology over the life course. Implications for intervention and methodological advances that facilitate testing models are presented. This new framework moves the field further away from genetic determinism by informing targets of early psychosocial prevention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Kit K Elam
- Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University Bloomington
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Sellers R, Riglin L, Harold GT, Thapar A. Using genetic designs to identify likely causal environmental contributions to psychopathology. Dev Psychopathol 2022; 34:1-13. [PMID: 36200346 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579422000906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The multifactorial nature of psychopathology, whereby both genetic and environmental factors contribute risk, has long been established. In this paper, we provide an update on genetically informative designs that are utilized to disentangle genetic and environmental contributions to psychopathology. We provide a brief reminder of quantitative behavioral genetic research designs that have been used to identify potentially causal environmental processes, accounting for genetic contributions. We also provide an overview of recent molecular genetic approaches that utilize genome-wide association study data which are increasingly being applied to questions relevant to psychopathology research. While genetically informative designs typically have been applied to investigate the origins of psychopathology, we highlight how these approaches can also be used to elucidate potential causal environmental processes that contribute to developmental course and outcomes. We highlight the need to use genetically sensitive designs that align with intervention and prevention science efforts, by considering strengths-based environments to investigate how positive environments can mitigate risk and promote children's strengths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Sellers
- Brighton & Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Lucy Riglin
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Gordon T Harold
- Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- School of Medicine, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Anita Thapar
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
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Elam KK, Mun CJ, Kutzner J, Ha T. 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. Behav Genet 2021; 51:607-618. [PMID: 34117582 PMCID: PMC8404142 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-021-10070-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
A substance use offense reflects an encounter with law enforcement and the court system in response to breaking the law which may increase risk for substance use problems later in life. Individuals may also be at risk for substance use offending and substance use problems based on genetic predisposition. We examined a mediation model in which polygenic risk for aggression predicted adult substance use disorder diagnoses (SUD) via substance use offending in emerging adulthood. In addition, we explored for potential attenuation of genetic influences on these outcomes by a family-based intervention, the Family Check-Up (FCU). Secondary data analyses based upon the Project Alliance 1 sample was conducted among those with genetic data (n = 631; 322 from control and 309 from FCU intervention). The sample was ethnically diverse (30% African American, 44% European American, 6% Latinx, 4% Asian American, 3% Native American, and 13% Other). Greater polygenic risk for aggression was found to increase risk for substance use violations (age 19-23), which in turn was associated with greater likelihood of being diagnosed with SUD at age 27. A gene-by-intervention effect was found in which individuals in the control group had greater risk for SUD with increasing polygenic risk for aggression. Some convergence in results was found when replicating analyses in African American and European American subgroups. Results imply that genetic predisposition may increase risk for problematic substance use later in life via antisocial behavior, such as substance use offending, and that this can be attenuated by a family-centered intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kit K Elam
- Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University, 1025 E. 7th St., Suite 116, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA.
| | - Chung Jung Mun
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA
| | - Jodi Kutzner
- Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University, 1025 E. 7th St., Suite 116, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
| | - Thao Ha
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA
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Leve LD, Neiderhiser JM, Ganiban JM, Natsuaki MN, Shaw DS, Reiss D. The Early Growth and Development Study: A Dual-Family Adoption Study from Birth Through Adolescence. Twin Res Hum Genet 2019; 22:716-727. [PMID: 31526412 PMCID: PMC7056588 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2019.66] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS) is a prospective adoption study of birth parents, adoptive parents and adopted children (n = 561 adoptees). The original sample has been expanded to include siblings of the EGDS adoptees who were reared by the birth mother and assessed beginning at age 7 years (n = 217 biological children), and additional siblings in both the birth and adoptive family homes, recruited when the adoptees were 8-15 years old (n = 823). The overall study aims are to examine how family, peer and contextual processes affect child and adolescent adjustment, and to examine their interplay (mediation, moderation) with genetic influences. Adoptive and birth parents were originally recruited through adoption agencies located throughout the USA following the birth of a child. Assessments are ongoing and occurred in 9 month's intervals until the adoptees turned 3 years of age, and in 1 to 2 year intervals thereafter through age 15. Data collection includes the following primary constructs: child temperament, behavior problems, mental health, peer relations, executive functioning, school performance and health; birth and adoptive parent personality characteristics, mental health, health, context, substance use, parenting and marital relations; and the prenatal environment. Findings highlight the power of the adoption design to detect environmental influences on child development and provide evidence of complex interactions and correlations between genetic, prenatal environmental and postnatal environmental influences on a range of child outcomes. The study sample, procedures and an overview of findings are summarized and ongoing assessment activities are described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leslie D. Leve
- Prevention Science Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, 97403, USA
| | - Jenae M. Neiderhiser
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
| | - Jody M. Ganiban
- Center for Family Research, George Washington University, Washington DC, 20037, USA
| | - Misaki N. Natsuaki
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, California, 92521, USA
| | - Daniel S. Shaw
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15260, USA
| | - David Reiss
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, 06519, USA
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Sellers R, Smith AF, Leve LD, Nixon E, Cane T, Cassell JA, Harold GT. Utilising Genetically-Informed Research Designs to Better Understand Family Processes and Child Development: Implications for Adoption and Foster Care Focused Interventions. ADOPTION & FOSTERING 2019; 43:351-371. [PMID: 31576061 PMCID: PMC6771282 DOI: 10.1177/0308575919866526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the interplay between genetic factors and family environmental processes (e.g., inter-parental relationship quality, positive versus negative parenting practices) and children's mental health (e.g., anxiety, depression, conduct problems, ADHD) in the contexts of adoption and foster-care research and practice is critical for effective prevention and intervention programme development. Whilst evidence highlights the importance of family environmental processes for the mental health and well-being of children in adoption and foster care, there is relatively limited evidence of effective interventions specifically for these families. Additionally, family-based interventions not specific to the context of adoption and foster-care typically show small to medium effects, and even where interventions are efficacious, not all children benefit. One explanation for why interventions may not work well for some is that responses to intervention may be influenced by an individual's genetic make-up. This paper summarises how genetically-informed research designs can help disentangle genetic from environmental processes underlying psychopathology outcomes for children, and how this evidence can provide improved insights into the development of more effective preventative intervention targets for adoption and foster-care families. We discuss current difficulties in translating behavioural genetics research to prevention science, and provide recommendations to bridge the gap between behavioural genetics research and prevention science, with lessons for adoption and foster-care research and practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Sellers
- School of Psychology, Andrew and Virginia Rudd Centre for Adoption Research and Practice, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
- Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - A F Smith
- School of Psychology, Andrew and Virginia Rudd Centre for Adoption Research and Practice, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - L D Leve
- Prevention Science Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA
| | - E Nixon
- School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Ireland
| | - T Cane
- School of Social Work and Social Care, University of Sussex, UK
| | - J A Cassell
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9PH
| | - G T Harold
- School of Psychology, Andrew and Virginia Rudd Centre for Adoption Research and Practice, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
- Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Ireland
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Harold GT, Sellers R. Annual Research Review: Interparental conflict and youth psychopathology: an evidence review and practice focused update. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2018; 59:374-402. [PMID: 29574737 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The quality of the interparental relationship is recognized as an important influence on child and adolescent psychopathology. Historically, clinically oriented research on this topic has focused on the impacts of parental divorce and domestic violence as primary interparental relationship influences on child outcomes, to the relative neglect of dimensional or qualitative features of the couple/interparental relationship for youth (child and adolescent) psychopathology. Recent research has highlighted that children are affected by attributes of interparental conflict, specifically how parents express and manage conflicts in their relationship, across a continuum of expressed severity and negativity - ranging from silence to violence. Furthermore, new evidence highlights that children's emotional, behavioral, social, academic outcomes, and future interpersonal relationships are adversely affected by conflict between parents/carers whether adults are living together or not (i.e. married or separated), or where children are or are not genetically related to their rearing parents (e.g. adoption). We review evidence and present an integrated theoretical model, highlighting how children are affected by interparental conflict and what this evidence base means for effective intervention and prevention program development, as well as the development of possible cost-benefit models. Additionally, we review policy implications of this research and highlight some very recent examples of UK-based policy focusing on addressing the interparental relationship and its impact on youth psychopathology.
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Pagani LS, Fitzpatrick C. Children's Early Disruptive Behavior Predicts Later Coercive Behavior and Binge Drinking by Mothers. J Pediatr Nurs 2018. [PMID: 29525211 DOI: 10.1016/j.pedn.2017.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE We examined the prospective influence of early child problematic behavior on later coercive interactions and binge drinking by mothers. DESIGN AND METHODS Canadian participants are from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, born between spring 1997 and 1998, which allowed a longitudinal birth cohort design. At the 41months, 628 parents reported on children's oppositional, aggressive, turbulent, and inattentive/hyperactive behavior. Mothers then reported on their own coercive and binge drinking behavior at the 60month follow-up. RESULTS We estimated a series of ordinary least-squares regressions to examine the relationship between early child behavior problems and later parental coercion and binge drinking, above and beyond many key pre-existing/concurrent confounding factors including prior parenting stress and binge alcohol use. Oppositional, aggressive, and turbulent child behaviors at 41months predicted harsh, negative parenting at 60months. Early inattentive/hyperactive child behavior also forecasted later binge alcohol use by mothers within the same time frame. CONCLUSION Negative preschool behavior predicted harsh, negative maternal behavior kindergarten entry. Early inattentive/hyperactive behavior also forecasted later binge alcohol use by mothers. Coercive parenting and alcohol use are clinically signs of adult distress. Such parents might use alcohol excessively because of its perceived stress-dampening effects and mental evasion from their life difficulties and frustration experiences. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Problematic preschool behavior can lead to less effective child-rearing and unhealthy parental behavior. Such at-risk mothers would benefit from professional caring practices. Practitioners can inspire change, especially using interaction interventions which encourage positive parent-child relations that, in turn, diminish parental distress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda S Pagani
- School of Psycho-Education, Sainte-Justine's Hospital Research Center, Brain Health Division, University of Montreal, Canada.
| | - Caroline Fitzpatrick
- School of Psycho-Education, Sainte-Justine's Hospital Research Center, Brain Health Division, University of Montreal, Canada; Université Sainte-Anne, Church Point, Canada; PERFORM Centre, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
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Elam KK, Chassin L, Lemery-Chalfant K, Pandika D, Wang FL, Bountress K, Dick D, Agrawal A. Affiliation with substance-using peers: Examining gene-environment correlations among parent monitoring, polygenic risk, and children's impulsivity. Dev Psychobiol 2017; 59:561-573. [PMID: 28561888 PMCID: PMC6035731 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2016] [Accepted: 05/05/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Parental monitoring can buffer the effect of deviant peers on adolescents' substance use by reducing affiliation with substance-using peers. However, children's genetic predispositions may evoke poorer monitoring, contributing to negative child outcomes. We examined evocative genotype-environment correlations underlying children's genetic predisposition for behavioral undercontrol and parental monitoring in early adolescence via children's impulsivity in middle childhood, and the influence of parental monitoring on affiliation with substance-using peers a year and a half later (n = 359). Genetic predisposition for behavioral undercontrol was captured using a polygenic risk score, and a portion of passive rGE was controlled by including parents' polygenic risk scores. Children's polygenic risk predicted poorer parental monitoring via greater children's impulsivity, indicating evocative rGE, controlling for a portion of passive rGE. Poorer parental monitoring predicted greater children's affiliation with substance-using peers a year and a half later. Results are discussed with respect to gene-environment correlations within developmental cascades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kit K. Elam
- T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Laurie Chassin
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | | | - Danielle Pandika
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Frances L. Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Kaitlin Bountress
- National Crime Victims Research & Treatment Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
| | - Danielle Dick
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - Arpana Agrawal
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri
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Harold GT, Leve LD, Sellers R. How Can Genetically Informed Research Help Inform the Next Generation of Interparental and Parenting Interventions? Child Dev 2017; 88:446-458. [PMID: 28160281 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
There is robust evidence that the interparental relationship and parenting behaviors each have a significant influence on children's risk for emotional (internalizing) and behavioral (externalizing) problems. Indeed, interventions targeting the interparental relationship and parenting processes show significant intervention-related reductions in child internalizing and externalizing problems. However, most evidence-based parenting- and couple-focused interventions result in small to medium effects on children's emotional and behavior problems. It is proposed that there is opportunity to improve upon these interventions through incorporation of knowledge from quantitative genetic research. Three core recommendations are provided for practitioners engaging in intervention work with children and families. These recommendations are contextualized relative to what quantitative genetic studies can tell us about the role of the interparental relationship and parenting behaviors on child outcomes.
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Hyde LW, Waller R, Trentacosta CJ, Shaw DS, Neiderhiser JM, Ganiban JM, Reiss D, Leve LD. Heritable and Nonheritable Pathways to Early Callous-Unemotional Behaviors. Am J Psychiatry 2016; 173:903-10. [PMID: 27056607 PMCID: PMC5008992 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.15111381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Callous-unemotional behaviors in early childhood signal higher risk for trajectories of antisocial behavior and callous-unemotional traits that culminate in later diagnoses of conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and psychopathy. Studies demonstrate high heritability of callous-unemotional traits, but little research has examined specific heritable pathways to early callous-unemotional behaviors. Studies also indicate that positive parenting protects against the development of callous-unemotional traits, but genetically informed designs have not been used to confirm that these relationships are not the product of gene-environment correlations. In a sample of adopted children and their biological and adoptive mothers, the authors tested novel heritable and nonheritable pathways to preschool callous-unemotional behaviors. METHOD In an adoption cohort of 561 families, history of severe antisocial behavior assessed in biological mothers and observations of adoptive mother positive reinforcement at 18 months were examined as predictors of callous-unemotional behaviors at 27 months. RESULTS Despite limited or no contact with offspring, biological mother antisocial behavior predicted early callous-unemotional behaviors. Adoptive mother positive reinforcement protected against early callous-unemotional behaviors. High levels of adoptive mother positive reinforcement buffered the effects of heritable risk for callous-unemotional behaviors posed by biological mother antisocial behavior. CONCLUSIONS The findings elucidate heritable and nonheritable pathways to early callous-unemotional behaviors. The results provide a specific heritable pathway to callous-unemotional behaviors and compelling evidence that parenting is an important nonheritable factor in the development of callous-unemotional behaviors. The finding that positive reinforcement buffered heritable risk for callous-unemotional behaviors has important translational implications for the prevention of trajectories to serious antisocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke W. Hyde
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA,Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA,Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Rebecca Waller
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | | | - Daniel S. Shaw
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jenae M. Neiderhiser
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Jody M. Ganiban
- Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - David Reiss
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Leslie D. Leve
- Prevention Science Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
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Elam KK, Wang FL, Bountress K, Chassin L, Pandika D, Lemery-Chalfant K. Predicting substance use in emerging adulthood: A genetically informed study of developmental transactions between impulsivity and family conflict. Dev Psychopathol 2016; 28:673-88. [PMID: 27427799 PMCID: PMC4955880 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579416000249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Deviance proneness models propose a multilevel interplay in which transactions among genetic, individual, and family risk factors place children at increased risk for substance use. We examined bidirectional transactions between impulsivity and family conflict from middle childhood to adolescence and their contributions to substance use in adolescence and emerging adulthood (n = 380). Moreover, we examined children's, mothers', and fathers' polygenic risk scores for behavioral undercontrol, and mothers' and fathers' interparental conflict and substance disorder diagnoses as predictors of these transactions. The results support a developmental cascade model in which children's polygenic risk scores predicted greater impulsivity in middle childhood. Impulsivity in middle childhood predicted greater family conflict in late childhood, which in turn predicted greater impulsivity in late adolescence. Adolescent impulsivity subsequently predicted greater substance use in emerging adulthood. Results are discussed with respect to evocative genotype-environment correlations within developmental cascades and applications to prevention efforts.
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Reiss D. Introduction to the Special Issue: Genetics, Personalized Medicine, and Behavioral Intervention-Can This Combination Improve Patient Care? PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2015; 5:499-501. [PMID: 26162195 DOI: 10.1177/1745691610383514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Van Ryzin MJ. Genetic influences can protect against unresponsive parenting in the prediction of child social competence. Child Dev 2015; 86:667-80. [PMID: 25581124 PMCID: PMC4428976 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Although social competence in children has been linked to the quality of parenting, prior research has typically not accounted for genetic similarities between parents and children, or for interactions between environmental (i.e., parental) and genetic influences. In this article, the possibility of a Gene x Environment (G × E) interaction in the prediction of social competence in school-age children is evaluated. Using a longitudinal, multimethod data set from a sample of children adopted at birth (N = 361), a significant interaction was found between birth parent sociability and sensitive, responsive adoptive parenting when predicting child social competence at school entry (age 6), even when controlling for potential confounds. An analysis of the interaction revealed that genetic strengths can buffer the effects of unresponsive parenting.
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Horwitz BN, Reynolds CA, Charles ST. Understanding Associations among Family Support, Friend Support, and Psychological Distress. PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS 2015; 22:79-91. [PMID: 26009699 PMCID: PMC4441343 DOI: 10.1111/pere.12063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2014] [Accepted: 09/16/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Emotional support from family and friends is associated with lower psychological distress. This study examined whether genetic and environmental influences explain associations among family support, friend support, and psychological distress. Data were drawn from the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study and included 947 pairs of MZ, same-sex DZ, and opposite-sex DZ twins. Results showed that a genetic factor explains the relationship between friend support and psychological distress, independent of family support. Alternatively, a nonshared environmental factor accounts for an association among family support, friend support, and psychological distress. Thus, heritable factors shape a distinct relationship between friend support and psychological distress, but unique experiences contribute to a link among family support, friend support, and psychological distress.
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15
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Crea TM, Chan K, Barth RP. Family environment and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adopted children: associations with family cohesion and adaptability. Child Care Health Dev 2014; 40:853-62. [PMID: 24117704 DOI: 10.1111/cch.12112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Positive family environments are crucial in promoting children's emotional and behavioural well-being, and may also buffer development of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is highly heritable, but psychosocial factors in the family environment, particularly family cohesion and communication, may mediate genetic predispositions. The purpose of the current study is to examine the mediating influence of the adoptive family environment between pre-adoptive risk factors and youths' ADHD symptomatology at 14 years post adoption. METHODS The data used in this study were obtained from the fourth wave of the California Long-Range Adoption Study (CLAS) (n = 449). Using structural equation modelling (SEM), family sense of coherence and family adaptability were tested as possible mediators between environmental and biological predictors and ADHD symptomatology. Predictors included birthweight, gender, age at adoption, adoption from foster care, transracial adoption status, ethnicity and having a previous diagnosis of ADHD. RESULTS Results show that, while adoption from foster care is negatively associated with family functioning, higher family cohesion and adaptability mediate this influence on children's ADHD symptomatology. Older age of adoption directly predicts greater ADHD symptoms with no mediating influence of the family environment. CONCLUSIONS The mediating influence of the family environment between children's risk factors and ADHD symptoms suggests that family intervention strategies may be helpful in improving adopted children's outcomes. Once children are adopted, targeting family communication patterns and dynamics may be an additional part of developing an evidence-based, post-adoption services toolkit.
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Affiliation(s)
- T M Crea
- Graduate School of Social Work, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
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Moore GA, Neiderhiser JM. Behavioral Genetic Approaches and Family Theory. JOURNAL OF FAMILY THEORY & REVIEW 2014; 6:18-30. [PMID: 24678347 PMCID: PMC3963160 DOI: 10.1111/jftr.12028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Family theories have been founded on research that cannot discriminate genetic and environmental influences and, consequently, most theories do not have highly developed models of gene-environment interplay in families. Behavioral genetic approaches, which can identify gene-environment interplay, have typically not been driven by family theories and have lacked adequate measurement of family processes. In this article, the authors describe behavioral genetic mechanisms and methods using representative examples of research on family processes, highlighting the advantages of an integrated approach. New directions in research and theory driven by an integrated approach are discussed.
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Chassin L, Sher KJ, Hussong A, Curran P. The developmental psychopathology of alcohol use and alcohol disorders: research achievements and future directions. Dev Psychopathol 2013. [PMID: 24342856 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579413000771.the] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
Abstract
The last 25 years have seen significant advances in our conceptualization of alcohol use and alcohol use disorders within a developmental framework, along with advances in our empirical understanding that have been potentiated by advances in quantitative methods. These include advances in understanding the heterogeneity of trajectories of alcohol outcomes; new insights about early childhood antecedents, and adolescence and emerging adulthood as important developmental periods for alcohol outcomes; a more nuanced understanding of the influences of developmental transitions, and their timing and contexts; a greater appreciation for the importance of considering multiple levels of analysis (including an increasing number of genetically informative studies); a continuing focus on studying multiple pathways underlying alcohol outcomes; and an increasing focus on studying the effects of alcohol exposure on future development. The current paper reviews these advances and suggests directions for future study.
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Chassin L, Sher KJ, Hussong A, Curran P. The developmental psychopathology of alcohol use and alcohol disorders: research achievements and future directions. Dev Psychopathol 2013; 25:1567-84. [PMID: 24342856 PMCID: PMC4080810 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579413000771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The last 25 years have seen significant advances in our conceptualization of alcohol use and alcohol use disorders within a developmental framework, along with advances in our empirical understanding that have been potentiated by advances in quantitative methods. These include advances in understanding the heterogeneity of trajectories of alcohol outcomes; new insights about early childhood antecedents, and adolescence and emerging adulthood as important developmental periods for alcohol outcomes; a more nuanced understanding of the influences of developmental transitions, and their timing and contexts; a greater appreciation for the importance of considering multiple levels of analysis (including an increasing number of genetically informative studies); a continuing focus on studying multiple pathways underlying alcohol outcomes; and an increasing focus on studying the effects of alcohol exposure on future development. The current paper reviews these advances and suggests directions for future study.
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Brody GH, Beach SRH, Hill KG, Howe GW, Prado G, Fullerton SM. Using genetically informed, randomized prevention trials to test etiological hypotheses about child and adolescent drug use and psychopathology. Am J Public Health 2013; 103 Suppl 1:S19-24. [PMID: 23927515 DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2012.301080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
In this essay, we describe a new era of public health research in which prevention science principles are combined with genomic science to produce gene × intervention (G × I) research. We note the roles of behavioral and molecular genetics in risk and protective mechanisms for drug use and psychopathology among children and adolescents, and the results of first-generation genetically informed prevention trials are reviewed. We also consider the need for second-generation research that focuses on G × I effects on mediators or intermediate processes. This research can be used to further understanding of etiological processes, to identify individual differences in children's and adolescents' responses to risk, and to increase the precision of prevention programs. We note the caveats about using genetic data to select intervention participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gene H Brody
- Gene H. Brody and Steven R. H. Beach are with the Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens. Karl G. Hill is with the School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle. George W. Howe is with the Department of Psychology, George Washington University, Washington, DC. Guillermo Prado is with the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami, Miami, FL. Stephanie M. Fullerton is with the Department of Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington
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Leve LD, Neiderhiser JM, Shaw DS, Ganiban J, Natsuaki MN, Reiss D. The Early Growth and Development Study: a prospective adoption study from birth through middle childhood. Twin Res Hum Genet 2013; 16:412-23. [PMID: 23218244 PMCID: PMC3572752 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2012.126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The Early Growth and Development Study is a prospective adoption study of birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted children recruited in two cohorts (N = 561 triads). The primary study aims are to examine how family, peer, and contextual processes affect children's adjustment, and to examine their interplay (mediation, moderation) with genetic influences. Participants were recruited through adoption agencies located throughout the United States following the birth of a child. Assessments are ongoing, in 9-month intervals until the child reaches 3 years of age and in 1-year intervals thereafter through age 9. Data collection includes the following primary constructs: child temperament, social behavior, school performance, mental health, and health; birth and adoptive parent personality characteristics, mental health, competence, stress, health, context, substance use, parenting, and marital relations; and pregnancy use of drugs and maternal stress during pregnancy. DNA and salivary cortisol samples have also been collected. Analyses have indicated evidence for genotype-environment interactions during early childhood. Study procedures, sample representativeness (including tests of potential confounds in the adoption design), and an overview of findings to date are summarized, and future plans are described.
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Massey SH, Compton MT. Psychological differences between smokers who spontaneously quit during pregnancy and those who do not: a review of observational studies and directions for future research. Nicotine Tob Res 2012; 15:307-19. [PMID: 22949579 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/nts142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Although remarkable interindividual differences among pregnant smokers' decision/ability to quit have been documented, the psychological factors that may account for these differences have received less attention and comprised the primary aim of this review. METHODS We searched the medical and behavioral sciences literature from 1996 to November 2011 using PubMed and PsycINFO(®). Fifty-one articles were identified based on titles or abstracts. These articles were reviewed in full and searched for quantitative observational studies of population-based or clinical samples, with the main topic of comparing smokers who quit spontaneously during pregnancy with those who did not, utilizing multivariable analyses. RESULTS The eight pertinent studies reviewed herein included four longitudinal studies and four cross-sectional analyses. Amidst significant variability among measures used, social support, depressive symptoms, and anxiety appeared unrelated to smoking cessation during pregnancy. Furthermore, when severity of nicotine dependence was controlled, maternal history of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia all showed no independent relationship with smoking cessation during pregnancy, whereas maternal history of conduct disorder did. Secure attachment, prosocial personality, self-esteem, and perceived parenting competence were additional predictors of cessation during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS A greater understanding of psychological factors that differentiate smokers who spontaneously quit during pregnancy from those who do not is crucial to the design of more effective prenatal smoking cessation interventions and also may elucidate causal mechanisms that underlie the well-established link between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring behavioral problems. Directions for future research and public health and policy implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suena H Massey
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences Washington, DC 20037, USA.
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Negative emotionality and externalizing problems in toddlerhood: overreactive parenting as a moderator of genetic influences. Dev Psychopathol 2012; 24:167-79. [PMID: 22293002 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579411000757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The current study examines the interplay between parental overreactivity and children's genetic backgrounds as inferred from birth parent characteristics on the development of negative emotionality during infancy, and in turn, to individual differences in externalizing problems in toddlerhood. The sample included 361 families linked through adoption (birth parents and adoptive families). Data were collected when the children were 9, 18, and 27 months old. Results indicated links between individual levels and changes in negative emotionality during infancy and toddlerhood to externalizing problems early in the third year of life. Findings also revealed an interaction between birth mother negative affect and adoptive mother overreactive parenting on children's negative emotionality. This Genotype × Environment interaction predicted externalizing problems indirectly through its association with negative emotionality and revealed stronger effects of genetic risk for children with less overreactive parenting from their mothers. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are discussed.
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What, why, and for whom: couples interventions: a deconstruction approach. Behav Ther 2012; 43:123-31. [PMID: 22304884 DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2011.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2010] [Revised: 03/07/2011] [Accepted: 03/08/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
This paper provides a commentary on the special series on universal processes and common factors in couple therapy (Halford & Snyder, this issue). The authors in this section share their insights, from varying perspectives, about what it is in couples therapy and relationship education programs that work, why they work, and for whom they work best. In so doing, these articles address specific elements of couples interventions--in effect, taking a couples approach apart in order to understand it better. However, as a collection, this section takes this approach to understanding one step further. It puts the elements back together again, making the process of couples therapy/relationship education more accessible and easier to customize based upon the couple, the presenting complaints, the therapist, and the context. The term "deconstruction" is used to describe how the specific elements of couples interventions are understood and reassembled in new, theoretical, and empirically validated ways. It is argued here that once it is understood that a couples intervention works, why it works, and for whom it works, we are able to individualize our approach to specific couples in an effort to make couples therapy better at improving relationships and keeping them improved.
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Horwitz BN, Neiderhiser JM. Gene - Environment Interplay, Family Relationships, and Child Adjustment. JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY 2011; 73:804-816. [PMID: 22162877 PMCID: PMC3233191 DOI: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2011.00846.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
This paper reviews behavioral genetic research from the past decade that has moved beyond simply studying the independent influences of genes and environments. The studies considered in this review have instead focused on understanding gene - environment interplay, including genotype - environment correlation ( rGE) and genotype × environment interaction (G × E). Studies have suggested that rGE is an important pathway through which family relationships are associated with child adjustment. Also important are direct causal influences of family relationships on child adjustment, independent of genetic confounds. Other studies have indicated that genetic and environmental influences on child adjustment are moderated by different levels of family relationships in G × E interactions. Genetically informed studies that have examined family relations have been critical to advancing our understanding of gene - environment interplay.
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Abstract
Four different sources for cascade effects were examined using 9-year process and outcome data from a randomized controlled trial of a preventive intervention using the Parent Management Training-Oregon Model (PMTO™). The social interaction learning model of child antisocial behavior serves as one basis for predicting change. A second source addresses the issue of comorbid relationships among clinical diagnoses. The third source, collateral changes, describes events in which changes in one family member correlate with changes in another. The fourth component is based on the long-term effects of reducing coercion and increasing positive interpersonal processes within the family. New findings from the 9-year follow-up show that mothers experienced benefits as measured by standard of living (i.e., income, occupation, education, and financial stress) and frequency of police arrests. It is assumed that PMTO reduces the level of coercion, which sets the stage for a massive increase in positive social interaction. In effect, PMTO alters the family environment and thereby opens doors to healthy new social environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerald R Patterson
- Implementation Sciences International, Incorporated, and Oregon Social Learning Center, 10 Shelton McMurphey Boulevard, Eugene, OR 97401, USA.
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Reiss D. Genetic Thinking in the Study of Social Relationships: Five Points of Entry. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2010; 5:502-15. [PMID: 25419225 PMCID: PMC4240312 DOI: 10.1177/1745691610383516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
For nearly a generation, researchers studying human behavioral development have combined genetically informed research designs with careful measures of social relationships such as parenting, sibling relationships, peer relationships, marital processes, social class stratifications, and patterns of social engagement in the elderly. In what way have these genetically informed studies altered the construction and testing of social theories of human development? We consider five points of entry where genetic thinking is taking hold. First, genetic findings suggest an alternative scenario for explaining social data. Associations between measures of the social environment and human development may be due to genes that influence both. Second, genetic studies add to other prompts to study the early developmental origins of current social phenomena in midlife and beyond. Third, genetic analyses promise to shed light on understudied social systems, such as sibling relationships, that have an impact on human development independent of genotype. Fourth, genetic analyses anchor in neurobiology individual differences in resilience and sensitivity to both adverse and favorable social environments. Finally, genetic analyses increase the utility of laboratory simulations of human social processes and of animal models.
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