101
|
Burt SA, Klump KL, Gorman-Smith D, Neiderhiser JM. Neighborhood Disadvantage Alters the Origins of Children's Nonaggressive Conduct Problems. Clin Psychol Sci 2016; 4:511-526. [PMID: 27347447 DOI: 10.1177/2167702615618164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Neighborhood disadvantage plays a pivotal role in child mental health, including child antisocial behavior (e.g., lying, theft, vandalism; assault, cruelty). Prior studies have indicated that shared environmental influences on youth antisocial behavior increase with increasing disadvantage, but have been unable to confirm that these findings persist once various selection confounds are considered. The current study sought to fill this gap in the literature, examining whether and how neighborhood disadvantage alters the genetic and environmental origins of child antisocial behavior. Our sample consisted of 2,054 child twins participating in the Michigan State University Twin Registry, half of whom were oversampled to reside in modestly-to-severely impoverished neighborhoods. We made use of an innovative set of nuclear twin family models, thereby allowing us to disambiguate between, and simultaneously estimate, multiple elements of the shared environment as well as genetic influences. Although there was no evidence that the etiology of aggressive antisocial behavior was moderated by neighborhood disadvantage, the etiology of non-aggressive antisocial behavior shifted dramatically with increasing neighborhood disadvantage. Sibling-level shared environmental influences were estimated to be near zero in the wealthiest neighborhoods, and increased dramatically in the most impoverished neighborhoods. By contrast, both genetic risk and family-level shared environmental transmission were significantly more influential in middle- and upper-class neighborhoods than in impoverished neighborhoods. Such results collectively highlight the profound role that pervasive neighborhood poverty plays in shaping the etiology of child non-aggressive antisocial behavior. Implications are discussed.
Collapse
|
102
|
Plomin R, DeFries JC, Knopik VS, Neiderhiser JM. Top 10 Replicated Findings From Behavioral Genetics. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2016; 11:3-23. [PMID: 26817721 PMCID: PMC4739500 DOI: 10.1177/1745691615617439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 188] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
In the context of current concerns about replication in psychological science, we describe 10 findings from behavioral genetic research that have replicated robustly. These are "big" findings, both in terms of effect size and potential impact on psychological science, such as linearly increasing heritability of intelligence from infancy (20%) through adulthood (60%). Four of our top 10 findings involve the environment, discoveries that could have been found only with genetically sensitive research designs. We also consider reasons specific to behavioral genetics that might explain why these findings replicate.
Collapse
|
103
|
Massey SH, Reiss D, Neiderhiser JM, Leve LD, Shaw DS, Ganiban JM. Maternal personality traits associated with patterns of prenatal smoking and exposure: Implications for etiologic and prevention research. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2016; 53:48-54. [PMID: 26655208 PMCID: PMC4703540 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2015.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2015] [Revised: 10/27/2015] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Little is known about the characteristics of women who smoke during pregnancy beyond demographic factors. We examined the relationship between novelty seeking, harm avoidance, and self-directedness and (a) abstinence from smoking during pregnancy and (b) average daily cigarette consumption during pregnancy. METHODS Participants were 826 birth mothers who made adoption placements in the Early Growth and Development Study and completed the Temperament and Character Inventory - Short Form, and interview-based smoking assessments 3-6 months postpartum. Never smokers (n=199), pregnancy abstainers (n=277), pregnancy light smokers (n=184), and pregnancy heavy smokers (n=166) were compared on personality dimensions and smoking-related processes. Using regression analyses we examined relationships between personality and (a) abstinence versus smoking during pregnancy; and (b) average daily cigarette consumption among lifetime smokers, controlling for nicotine dependence, birth father substance dependence, maternal antisocial behavior, and depressive symptoms during pregnancy. RESULTS Smokers with higher self-directedness and lower harm avoidance were more likely to abstain during pregnancy [O.R. 1.380; 95% C.I. (1.065-1.787); B(SE)=.322(.132); p=.015] and [O.R. .713; 95% C.I. (.543-.935); B(SE)=-.339(.138); p=.014], respectively. Novelty seeking differentiated never smokers from lifetime smokers (t=-3.487; p=.001), but was not significant in multivariate models. Lifetime smokers who abstained during pregnancy reported fewer depressive symptoms relative to never smokers. CONCLUSIONS Personality dimensions associated with abstinence from smoking and cigarettes per day during pregnancy may be important to consider in etiologic and intervention research.
Collapse
|
104
|
Reynolds CA, Gatz M, Christensen K, Christiansen L, Dahl Aslan AK, Kaprio J, Korhonen T, Kremen WS, Krueger R, McGue M, Neiderhiser JM, Pedersen NL. Gene-Environment Interplay in Physical, Psychological, and Cognitive Domains in Mid to Late Adulthood: Is APOE a Variability Gene? Behav Genet 2016; 46:4-19. [PMID: 26538244 PMCID: PMC4858319 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-015-9761-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2015] [Accepted: 10/14/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Despite emerging interest in gene-environment interaction (GxE) effects, there is a dearth of studies evaluating its potential relevance apart from specific hypothesized environments and biometrical variance trends. Using a monozygotic within-pair approach, we evaluated evidence of G×E for body mass index (BMI), depressive symptoms, and cognition (verbal, spatial, attention, working memory, perceptual speed) in twin studies from four countries. We also evaluated whether APOE is a 'variability gene' across these measures and whether it partly represents the 'G' in G×E effects. In all three domains, G×E effects were pervasive across country and gender, with small-to-moderate effects. Age-cohort trends were generally stable for BMI and depressive symptoms; however, they were variable-with both increasing and decreasing age-cohort trends-for different cognitive measures. Results also suggested that APOE may represent a 'variability gene' for depressive symptoms and spatial reasoning, but not for BMI or other cognitive measures. Hence, additional genes are salient beyond APOE.
Collapse
|
105
|
Brooker RJ, Neiderhiser JM, Leve LD, Shaw DS, Scaramella LV, Reiss D. Associations Between Infant Negative Affect and Parent Anxiety Symptoms are Bidirectional: Evidence from Mothers and Fathers. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1875. [PMID: 26696939 PMCID: PMC4667033 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2015] [Accepted: 11/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Little is known about child-based effects on parents' anxiety symptoms early in life despite the possibility that child characteristics may contribute to the quality of the early environment and children's own long-term risk for psychological disorder. We examined bidirectional effects between parent anxiety symptoms and infant negative affect using a prospective adoption design. Infant negative affect and adoptive parent anxiety symptoms were assessed at child ages 9, 18, and 27 months. Birth parent negative affect was assessed at child age 18 months. More anxiety symptoms in adoptive parents at child age 9 months predicted more negative affect in infants 9 months later. More infant negative affect at child age 9 months predicted more anxiety symptoms in adoptive parents 18 months later. Patterns of results did not differ for adoptive mothers and adoptive fathers. Birth parent negative affect was unrelated to infant or adoptive parent measures. Consistent with expectations, associations between infant negative affect and rearing parents' anxiety symptoms appear to be bidirectional. In addition to traditional parent-to-child effects, our results suggest that infants' characteristics may contribute to parent qualities that are known to impact childhood outcomes.
Collapse
|
106
|
Brotnow L, Reiss D, Stover CS, Ganiban J, Leve LD, Neiderhiser JM, Shaw DS, Stevens HE. Expectant Mothers Maximizing Opportunities: Maternal Characteristics Moderate Multifactorial Prenatal Stress in the Prediction of Birth Weight in a Sample of Children Adopted at Birth. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0141881. [PMID: 26544958 PMCID: PMC4636431 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2015] [Accepted: 09/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mothers' stress in pregnancy is considered an environmental risk factor in child development. Multiple stressors may combine to increase risk, and maternal personal characteristics may offset the effects of stress. This study aimed to test the effect of 1) multifactorial prenatal stress, integrating objective "stressors" and subjective "distress" and 2) the moderating effects of maternal characteristics (perceived social support, self-esteem and specific personality traits) on infant birthweight. METHOD Hierarchical regression modeling was used to examine cross-sectional data on 403 birth mothers and their newborns from an adoption study. RESULTS Distress during pregnancy showed a statistically significant association with birthweight (R2 = 0.032, F(2, 398) = 6.782, p = .001). The hierarchical regression model revealed an almost two-fold increase in variance of birthweight predicted by stressors as compared with distress measures (R2Δ = 0.049, F(4, 394) = 5.339, p < .001). Further, maternal characteristics moderated this association (R2Δ = 0.031, F(4, 389) = 3.413, p = .009). Specifically, the expected benefit to birthweight as a function of higher SES was observed only for mothers with lower levels of harm-avoidance and higher levels of perceived social support. Importantly, the results were not better explained by prematurity, pregnancy complications, exposure to drugs, alcohol or environmental toxins. CONCLUSIONS The findings support multidimensional theoretical models of prenatal stress. Although both objective stressors and subjectively measured distress predict birthweight, they should be considered distinct and cumulative components of stress. This study further highlights that jointly considering risk factors and protective factors in pregnancy improves the ability to predict birthweight.
Collapse
|
107
|
Mammen MA, Moore GA, Scaramella LV, Reiss D, Ganiban JM, Shaw DS, Leve LD, Neiderhiser JM. INFANT AVOIDANCE DURING A TACTILE TASK PREDICTS AUTISM SPECTRUM BEHAVIORS IN TODDLERHOOD. Infant Ment Health J 2015; 36:575-87. [PMID: 26536145 DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The experience of touch is critical for early communication and social interaction; infants who show aversion to touch may be at risk for atypical development and behavior problems. The current study aimed to clarify predictive associations between infant responses to tactile stimuli and toddler autism spectrum, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors. This study measured 9-month-old infants' (N = 561; 58% male) avoidance and negative affect during a novel tactile task in which parents painted infants' hands and feet and pressed them to paper to make a picture. Parent reports on the Pervasive Developmental Problems (PDP), Internalizing, and Externalizing scales of the Child Behavior Checklist were used to measure toddler behaviors at 18 months. Infant observed avoidance and negative affect were significantly correlated; however, avoidance predicted subsequent PDP scores only, independent of negative affect, which did not predict any toddler behaviors. Findings suggest that incorporating measures of responses to touch in the study of early social interaction may provide an important and discriminating construct for identifying children at greater risk for social impairments related to autism spectrum behaviors.
Collapse
|
108
|
Beekman C, Neiderhiser JM, Buss KA, Loken E, Moore GA, Leve LD, Ganiban JM, Shaw DS, Reiss D. The Development of Early Profiles of Temperament: Characterization, Continuity, and Etiology. Child Dev 2015; 86:1794-811. [PMID: 26332208 PMCID: PMC4562331 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
This study used a data-driven, person-centered approach to examine the characterization, continuity, and etiology of child temperament from infancy to toddlerhood. Data from 561 families who participated in an ongoing prospective adoption study, the Early Growth and Development Study, were used to estimate latent profiles of temperament at 9, 18, and 27 months. Results indicated that four profiles of temperament best fit the data at all three points of assessment. The characterization of profiles was stable over time, while membership in profiles changed across age. Facets of adoptive parent and birth mother personality were predictive of children's profile membership at each age, providing preliminary evidence for specific environmental and genetic influences on patterns of temperament development from infancy to toddlerhood.
Collapse
|
109
|
Natsuaki MN, Shaw DS, Neiderhiser JM, Ganiban JM, Harold GT, Reiss D, Leve LD. Raised by depressed parents: is it an environmental risk? Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2015; 17:357-67. [PMID: 24817170 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-014-0169-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The mechanisms explaining how parental depression compromises healthy child development are complex and multifaceted, with genetic and environmental pathways intertwined. Reexamination of whether and how maternal and paternal depression serve as environmental risk factors is important because such an investigation can be helpful to identify modifiable mechanisms that are accessible to interventions. We review studies that have employed designs that isolate the effects of the environment from genetic influences, including adoption studies and children of twins studies. Findings indicate that maternal depression is an environmental risk factor for the emotional, behavioral, and neurobiological development of children. Although more studies are needed, preliminary findings suggest that paternal depression appears to be a weaker environmental risk as compared to maternal depression, at least during infancy and toddlerhood. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.
Collapse
|
110
|
Burt SA, Klump KL, Kashy DA, Gorman-Smith D, Neiderhiser JM. Neighborhood as a predictor of non-aggressive, but not aggressive, antisocial behaviors in adulthood. Psychol Med 2015; 45:2897-2907. [PMID: 26040779 PMCID: PMC4565769 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291715000975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prior meta-analytic work has highlighted important etiological distinctions between aggressive (AGG) and non-aggressive rule-breaking (RB) dimensions of antisocial behavior. Among these is the finding that RB is influenced by the environment more than is AGG. Relatively little research, however, has sought to identify the specific environmental experiences that contribute to this effect. The current study sought to do just this. METHOD We examined whether unrelated adults residing in the same neighborhood (n = 1915 participants in 501 neighborhoods) were more similar in their AGG and RB than would be expected by chance. Analyses focused on simple multi-level models, with the participant as the lower-level unit and the neighborhood as the upper-level unit. RESULTS Results revealed little to no evidence of neighborhood-level variance in AGG. By contrast, 11+% of the variance in RB could be predicted from participant neighborhood, results that persisted even when considering the possibility of genetic relatedness across participants and neighborhood selection effects. Moreover, 17% of this neighborhood-level variance in RB was accounted for by neighborhood structural characteristics and social processes. CONCLUSIONS Findings bolster prior suggestions that broader contextual experiences, like the structural and social characteristics of one's neighborhood, contribute in a meaningful way to RB in particular. Our results also tentatively imply that this association may be environmental in origin. Future work should seek to develop additional, stronger designs capable of more clearly leveraging genetic un-relatedness to improve causal inferences regarding the environment.
Collapse
|
111
|
Waller R, Shaw DS, Neiderhiser JM, Ganiban JM, Natsuaki MN, Reiss D, Trentacosta CJ, Leve LD, Hyde LW. Toward an Understanding of the Role of the Environment in the Development of Early Callous Behavior. J Pers 2015; 85:90-103. [PMID: 26291075 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Key to understanding the long-term impact of social inequalities is identifying early behaviors that may signal higher risk for later poor psychosocial outcomes, such as psychopathology. A set of early-emerging characteristics that may signal risk for later externalizing psychopathology is callous-unemotional (CU) behavior. CU behavior predicts severe and chronic trajectories of externalizing behaviors in youth. However, much research on CU behavior has focused on late childhood and adolescence, with little attention paid to early childhood when preventative interventions may be most effective. In this article, we summarize our recent work showing that (a) CU behavior can be identified in early childhood using items from common behavior checklists, (b) CU behavior predicts worse outcomes across early childhood, (c) CU behavior exhibits a nomological network distinct from other early externalizing behaviors, and (d) malleable environmental factors, particularly parenting, may play a role in the development of early CU behaviors. We discuss the challenges of studying contextual contributors to the development of CU behavior in terms of gene-environment correlations and present initial results from work examining CU behavior in an adoption study in which gene-environment correlations are examined in early childhood. We find that parenting is a predictor of early CU behavior even in a sample in which parents are not genetically related to the children.
Collapse
|
112
|
Leve LD, Harold GT, Ge X, Neiderhiser JM, Patterson G. Refining Intervention Targets in Family-Based Research: Lessons From Quantitative Behavioral Genetics. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2015; 5:516-26. [PMID: 21188273 DOI: 10.1177/1745691610383506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The results from a large body of family-based research studies indicate that modifying the environment (specifically dimensions of the social environment) through intervention is an effective mechanism for achieving positive outcomes. Parallel to this work is a growing body of evidence from genetically informed studies indicating that social environmental factors are central to enhancing or offsetting genetic influences. Increased precision in the understanding of the role of the social environment in offsetting genetic risk might provide new information about environmental mechanisms that could be applied to prevention science. However, at present, the multifaceted conceptualization of the environment in prevention science is mismatched with the more limited measurement of the environment in many genetically informed studies. In this article, we present a framework for translating quantitative behavioral genetic research to inform the development of preventive interventions. The measurement of environmental indices amenable to modification is discussed within the context of quantitative behavioral genetic studies. In particular, emphasis is placed on the necessary elements that lead to benefits in prevention science, specifically the development of evidence-based interventions. We provide an example from an ongoing prospective adoption study to illustrate the potential of this translational process to inform the selection of preventive intervention targets.
Collapse
|
113
|
Eley TC, McAdams TA, Rijsdijk FV, Lichtenstein P, Narusyte J, Reiss D, Spotts EL, Ganiban JM, Neiderhiser JM. The Intergenerational Transmission of Anxiety: A Children-of-Twins Study. Am J Psychiatry 2015; 172:630-7. [PMID: 25906669 PMCID: PMC8515953 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.14070818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The transmission of anxiety within families is well recognized, but the underlying processes are poorly understood. Twin studies of adolescent anxiety demonstrate both genetic and environmental influence, and multiple aspects of parenting are associated with offspring anxiety. To date, the children-of-twins design has not been used to evaluate the relative contributions of genetic transmission compared with direct transmission of anxiety from parents to their offspring. METHOD Anxiety and neuroticism measures were completed by 385 monozygotic and 486 dizygotic same-sex twin families (37% male twin pair families) from the Twin and Offspring Study in Sweden. Structural equation models tested for the presence of both genetic and environmental transmission from one generation to the next. RESULTS For both anxiety and neuroticism, the models provide support for significant direct environmental transmission from parents to their adolescent offspring. In contrast, there was no evidence of significant genetic transmission. CONCLUSIONS The association between parental and offspring anxiety largely arises because of a direct association between parents and their children independent of genetic confounds. The lack of genetic transmission may reflect there being different genetic effects on these traits in adolescence and adulthood. Direct environmental transmission is in line with developmental theories of anxiety suggesting that children and adolescents learn anxious behaviors from their parents through a number of pathways such as modeling. Future analyses should combine children-of-twins data with child twin data in order to examine whether this direct effect solely represents parental influences on the offspring or whether it also includes child/adolescent anxiety evoking parental anxiety.
Collapse
|
114
|
Vandenbergh DJ, Schlomer GL, Cleveland HH, Schink AE, Hair KL, Feinberg ME, Neiderhiser JM, Greenberg MT, Spoth RL, Redmond C. An Adolescent Substance Prevention Model Blocks the Effect of CHRNA5 Genotype on Smoking During High School. Nicotine Tob Res 2015; 18:212-20. [PMID: 25941207 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntv095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2014] [Accepted: 04/27/2015] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Prevention intervention programs reduce substance use, including smoking, but not all individuals respond. We tested whether response to a substance use prevention/intervention program varies based upon a set of five markers (rs16969968, rs1948, rs578776, rs588765, and rs684513) within the cluster of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit genes (CHRNA5/A3/B4). METHODS Participants (N = 424) were randomly assigned to either control condition, or a family-based intervention in grade 6 and a school-based drug preventive intervention in grade 7. Smoking in the past month was assessed in grades 9-12 using a four-point scale (0 = never smoked, 1 = smoked but not in last month, 2 = one or a few times, 3 = about once a week or more). RESULTS There was a main effect of both the intervention (b = -0.24, P < .05) and genotype at rs16969968 (b = 0.14, P < .05) on high school smoking. Using dummy coding to allow for nonlinear effects, individuals with the A/A genotype smoked more often than those with G/G (b = 0.33, P < .05). A genotype × intervention effect was found with reduced smoking among those with A/A and G/A genotypes to levels similar to those with the G/G genotype (G/G vs. A/A: b = -0.67, P < .05; A/G vs. A/A: b = -0.61, P < .05; G/G vs. A/G ns). Results were nonsignificant for the other four markers. CONCLUSIONS Preventive interventions can reduce the genetic risk for smoking from rs16969968.
Collapse
|
115
|
Roben CKP, Moore GA, Cole PM, Molenaar P, Leve LD, Shaw DS, Reiss D, Neiderhiser JM. Transactional Patterns of Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Mother-Child Mutual Negativity in an Adoption Sample. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2015; 24:322-342. [PMID: 26170764 PMCID: PMC4498674 DOI: 10.1002/icd.1906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Transactional models of analysis can examine both moment-to-moment interactions within a dyad and dyadic patterns of influence across time. This study used data from a prospective adoption study to test a transactional model of parental depressive symptoms and mutual negativity between mother and child over time, utilizing contingency analysis of second-by-second behavioral data. To consider both genetic and environmental influences on mutual negativity, depressive symptoms were examined in both adoptive and birth mothers. Adoptive mother depressive symptoms at 9 months increased the likelihood that, at 18 months, children reacted negatively to their mothers' negative behavior, which in turn predicted higher levels of adoptive mother depressive symptoms at 27 months, suggesting that over time, mothers' depressive symptoms influence and are influenced by moment-to-moment mutual negativity with their toddlers. Birth mother depressive symptoms moderated the association between mutual negativity at 18 months and adoptive mother depressive symptoms at 27 months, suggesting a child-driven contribution to maternal depressive symptoms that can be measured by a genetic sensitivity.
Collapse
|
116
|
Horwitz BN, Marceau K, Narusyte J, Ganiban J, Spotts EL, Reiss D, Lichtenstein P, Neiderhiser JM. Parental criticism is an environmental influence on adolescent somatic symptoms. JOURNAL OF FAMILY PSYCHOLOGY : JFP : JOURNAL OF THE DIVISION OF FAMILY PSYCHOLOGY OF THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (DIVISION 43) 2015; 29:283-289. [PMID: 25844495 PMCID: PMC4432933 DOI: 10.1037/fam0000065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have suggested that parental criticism leads to more somatic symptoms in adolescent children. However, this research has not assessed the direction of causation or whether genetic and/or environmental influences explain the association between parental criticism and adolescent somatic symptoms. As such, it is impossible to understand the mechanisms that underlie this association. The current study uses the Extended Children of Twins design to examine whether parents' genes, adolescents' genes, and/or environmental factors explain the relationship between parental criticism and adolescent somatic symptoms. Participants came from 2 twin samples, including the Twin and Offspring Study in Sweden (N = 868 pairs of adult twins and each twin's adolescent child) and from the Twin Study of Child and Adolescent Development (N = 690 pairs of twin children and their parents). Findings showed that environmental influences account for the association between parental criticism and adolescent somatic symptoms. This suggests that parents' critical behaviors exert a direct environmental effect on somatic symptoms in adolescent children. Results support the use of intervention programs focused on parental criticism to help reduce adolescents' somatic symptoms.
Collapse
|
117
|
Schlomer GL, Cleveland HH, Vandenbergh DJ, Feinberg ME, Neiderhiser JM, Greenberg MT, Spoth R, Redmond C. Developmental differences in early adolescent aggression: a gene × environment × intervention analysis. J Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:581-97. [PMID: 25319639 PMCID: PMC4324089 DOI: 10.1007/s10964-014-0198-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2014] [Accepted: 10/07/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Aggression-related problems such as assault and homicide among adolescents and young adults exact considerable social and economic costs. Although progress has been made, additional research is needed to help combat this persistent problem. Several lines of research indicate that parental hostility is an especially potent predictor of adolescent aggression, although most longitudinal research has focused on clarifying the direction of effects. In this study, we used longitudinal data from the PROSPER project (N = 580; 54.8% female), a primarily rural Caucasian preventative intervention sample, to examine developmental change in early- to mid-adolescent aggressive behavior problems (age 11-16 years). In addition, we examined maternal hostility as a predictor of developmental change in aggression and the PROSPER preventative intervention, designed to reduce substance use and aggression, as a potential influence on this association. Lastly, several studies indicate that variation in the DRD4 7-repeat gene moderates both parenting and intervention influences on externalizing behavior. Accordingly, we examined the potential moderating role of DRD4. As hypothesized, there was a significant maternal hostility by intervention interaction indicating that the intervention reduced the negative impact of maternal hostility on adolescent change in aggressive behavior problems. DRD4 7-repeat status (7+ vs. 7-) further conditioned this association whereby control group 7+ adolescents with hostile mothers showed increasing aggressive behavior problems. In contrast, aggression decreased for 7+ adolescents with similarly hostile mothers in the intervention. Implications for prevention are discussed as well as current perspectives in candidate gene-by-environment interaction research.
Collapse
|
118
|
Marceau K, Narusyte J, Lichtenstein P, Ganiban JM, Spotts EL, Reiss D, Neiderhiser JM. Parental knowledge is an environmental influence on adolescent externalizing. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2015; 56:130-7. [PMID: 24975929 PMCID: PMC4280345 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is evidence both that parental monitoring is an environmental influence serving to diminish adolescent externalizing problems and that this association may be driven by adolescents' characteristics via genetic and/or environmental mechanisms, such that adolescents with fewer problems tell their parents more, and therefore appear to be better monitored. Without information on how parents' and children's genes and environments influence correlated parent and child behaviors, it is impossible to clarify the mechanisms underlying this association. METHOD The present study used the Extended Children of Twins model to distinguish types of gene-environment correlation and direct environmental effects underlying associations between parental knowledge and adolescent (age 11-22 years) externalizing behavior with a Swedish sample of 909 twin parents and their adolescent offspring and a US-based sample of 405 White adolescent siblings and their parents. RESULTS Results suggest that more parental knowledge is associated with less adolescent externalizing via a direct environmental influence independent of any genetic influences. There was no evidence of a child-driven explanation of the association between parental knowledge and adolescent externalizing problems. CONCLUSIONS In this sample of adolescents, parental knowledge exerted an environmental influence on adolescent externalizing after accounting for genetic influences of parents and adolescents. Because the association between parenting and child development originates in the parent, treatment for adolescent externalizing must not only include parents but should also focus on altering their parental style. Thus, findings suggest that teaching parents better knowledge-related monitoring strategies is likely to help reduce externalizing problems in adolescents.
Collapse
|
119
|
Marceau K, Laurent HK, Neiderhiser JM, Reiss D, Shaw DS, Natsuaki MN, Fisher PA, Leve LD. Combined Influences of Genes, Prenatal Environment, Cortisol, and Parenting on the Development of Children's Internalizing Versus Externalizing Problems. Behav Genet 2014; 45:268-82. [PMID: 25355319 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-014-9689-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2014] [Accepted: 10/14/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Research suggests that genetic, prenatal, endocrine, and parenting influences across development individually contribute to internalizing and externalizing problems in children. The present study tests the combined contributions of genetic risk for psychopathology, prenatal environments (maternal drug use and internalizing symptoms), child cortisol at age 4.5 years, and overreactive parenting influences across childhood on 6-year-old children's internalizing and externalizing problems. We used data from an adoption design that included 361 domestically adopted children and their biological and adopted parents prospectively followed from birth. Only parenting influences contributed (independently) to externalizing problems. However, genetic influences were indirectly associated with internalizing problems (through increased prenatal risk and subsequent morning cortisol), and parenting factors were both directly and indirectly associated with internalizing problems (through morning cortisol). Results suggest that prenatal maternal drug use/symptoms and children's morning cortisol levels are mechanisms of genetic and environmental influences on internalizing problems, but not externalizing problems, in childhood.
Collapse
|
120
|
Brooker RJ, Neiderhiser JM, Ganiban JM, Leve LD, Shaw DS, Reiss D. Birth and adoptive parent anxiety symptoms moderate the link between infant attention control and internalizing problems in toddlerhood. Dev Psychopathol 2014; 26:347-59. [PMID: 24472311 PMCID: PMC3981904 DOI: 10.1017/s095457941300103x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Attention control plays an important role in the development of internalizing symptoms in children. We explored the degree to which infants' genetic and environmentally based risk moderated the link between attention control and internalizing problems during toddlerhood. These associations were examined within a prospective adoption design, enabling the disentanglement of genetic and environmental risk for internalizing problems. Attention control in adopted infants was observed during periods of distress at age 9 months. Birth parents' anxiety symptoms were used as an index of genetic risk, while adoptive parents' anxiety symptoms were used as an index of environmental risk. Adoptive mothers and fathers reported on children's internalizing problems when children were 18 and 27 months old. Greater attention control in infancy appeared to mitigate genetically based risk for internalizing problems during toddlerhood when children were raised by adoptive parents who were low in anxiety. Findings suggest that for genetically susceptible children who are raised in low-risk environments, attention control may provide a protective factor against developing internalizing problems across early life.
Collapse
|
121
|
McAdams TA, Neiderhiser JM, Rijsdijk FV, Narusyte J, Lichtenstein P, Eley TC. Accounting for genetic and environmental confounds in associations between parent and child characteristics: a systematic review of children-of-twins studies. Psychol Bull 2014; 140:1138-73. [PMID: 24749497 DOI: 10.1037/a0036416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Parental psychopathology, parenting style, and the quality of intrafamilial relationships are all associated with child mental health outcomes. However, most research can say little about the causal pathways underlying these associations. This is because most studies are not genetically informative and are therefore not able to account for the possibility that associations are confounded by gene-environment correlation. That is, biological parents not only provide a rearing environment for their child, but also contribute 50% of their genes. Any associations between parental phenotype and child phenotype are therefore potentially confounded. One technique for disentangling genetic from environmental effects is the children-of-twins (COT) method. This involves using data sets comprising twin parents and their children to distinguish genetic from environmental associations between parent and child phenotypes. The COT technique has grown in popularity in the last decade, and we predict that this surge in popularity will continue. In the present article we explain the COT method for those unfamiliar with its use. We present the logic underlying this approach, discuss strengths and weaknesses, and highlight important methodological considerations for researchers interested in the COT method. We also cover variations on basic COT approaches, including the extended-COT method, capable of distinguishing forms of gene-environment correlation. We then present a systematic review of all the behavioral COT studies published to date. These studies cover such diverse phenotypes as psychosis, substance abuse, internalizing, externalizing, parenting, and marital difficulties. In reviewing this literature, we highlight past applications, identify emergent patterns, and suggest avenues for future research.
Collapse
|
122
|
Laurent HK, Neiderhiser JM, Natsuaki MN, Shaw DS, Fisher PA, Reiss D, Leve LD. Stress system development from age 4.5 to 6: family environment predictors and adjustment implications of HPA activity stability versus change. Dev Psychobiol 2014; 56:340-54. [PMID: 23400689 PMCID: PMC3883974 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2012] [Accepted: 01/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
This study addressed early calibration of stress systems by testing links between adversity exposures, developmental stability of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, and behavior problems in a sample of adopted children. Families (n=200) were assessed when the child was 9, 18, and 27 months, 4.5 and 6 years to collect adversity information-parent psychopathology, stress, financial need, and home chaos. Morning and evening cortisol samples at the final two assessments indexed child HPA activity, and parent-reported internalizing and externalizing at the final assessment represented child behavior outcomes. Increases in cumulative adversity from 4.5 to 6 related to higher child morning cortisol, whereas age six cumulative adversities related to lower, unstable child evening cortisol. Examination of specific adversity dimensions revealed associations between (1) increasing home chaos and stable morning cortisol, which in turn related to internalizing problems; and (2) high parental stress and psychopathology and lower, unstable evening cortisol, which in turn related to externalizing problems.
Collapse
|
123
|
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.
Collapse
|
124
|
Elam KK, Harold GT, Neiderhiser JM, Reiss D, Shaw DS, Natsuaki MN, Gaysina D, Barrett D, Leve LD. Adoptive parent hostility and children's peer behavior problems: examining the role of genetically informed child attributes on adoptive parent behavior. Dev Psychol 2013; 50:1543-52. [PMID: 24364829 DOI: 10.1037/a0035470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Socially disruptive behavior during peer interactions in early childhood is detrimental to children's social, emotional, and academic development. Few studies have investigated the developmental underpinnings of children's socially disruptive behavior using genetically sensitive research designs that allow examination of parent-on-child and child-on-parent (evocative genotype-environment correlation [rGE]) effects when examining family process and child outcome associations. Using an adoption-at-birth design, the present study controlled for passive genotype-environment correlation and directly examined evocative rGE while examining the associations between family processes and children's peer behavior. Specifically, the present study examined the evocative effect of genetic influences underlying toddler low social motivation on mother-child and father-child hostility and the subsequent influence of parent hostility on disruptive peer behavior during the preschool period. Participants were 316 linked triads of birth mothers, adoptive parents, and adopted children. Path analysis showed that birth mother low behavioral motivation predicted toddler low social motivation, which predicted both adoptive mother-child and father-child hostility, suggesting the presence of an evocative genotype-environment association. In addition, both mother-child and father-child hostility predicted children's later disruptive peer behavior. Results highlight the importance of considering genetically influenced child attributes on parental hostility that in turn links to later child social behavior. Implications for intervention programs focusing on early family processes and the precursors of disrupted child social development are discussed.
Collapse
|
125
|
Marceau K, Ram N, Neiderhiser JM, Laurent HK, Shaw DS, Fisher P, Natsuaki MN, Leve LD. Disentangling the effects of genetic, prenatal and parenting influences on children's cortisol variability. Stress 2013; 16:607-15. [PMID: 23947477 PMCID: PMC3928628 DOI: 10.3109/10253890.2013.825766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Developmental plasticity models hypothesize the role of genetic and prenatal environmental influences on the development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and highlight that genes and the prenatal environment may moderate early postnatal environmental influences on HPA functioning. This article examines the interplay of genetic, prenatal and parenting influences across the first 4.5 years of life on a novel index of children's cortisol variability. Repeated measures data were obtained from 134 adoption-linked families, adopted children and both their adoptive parents and birth mothers, who participated in a longitudinal, prospective US domestic adoption study. Genetic and prenatal influences moderated associations between inconsistency in overreactive parenting from child age 9 months to 4.5 years and children's cortisol variability at 4.5 years differently for mothers and fathers. Among children whose birth mothers had high morning cortisol, adoptive fathers' inconsistent overreactive parenting predicted higher cortisol variability, whereas among children with low birth mother morning cortisol adoptive fathers' inconsistent overreactive parenting predicted lower cortisol variability. Among children who experienced high levels of prenatal risk, adoptive mothers' inconsistent overreactive parenting predicted lower cortisol variability and adoptive fathers' inconsistent overreactive parenting predicted higher cortisol variability, whereas among children who experienced low levels of prenatal risk there were no associations between inconsistent overreactive parenting and children's cortisol variability. Findings supported developmental plasticity models and uncovered novel developmental, gene × environment and prenatal × environment influences on children's cortisol functioning.
Collapse
|