Parental punitive discipline, negative life events and gene-environment interplay in the development of externalizing behavior

The Heritability of Psychopathology Symptoms in Early Adolescence: Moderation by Family Cultural Values in the ABCD Study

Family cultural values that emphasize support, loyalty, and obligation to the family are associated with lower psychopathology in Hispanic/Latino/a youth, but there is a need to understand the implications of family cultural values for youth development in racially/ethnically heterogeneous samples. This study examined phenotypic associations between parent- and youth-reported family cultural values in late childhood on youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms in early adolescence, and whether family cultural values moderated genetic and environmental influences on psychopathology symptoms. The sample comprised 10,335 children (Mage=12.89 years; 47.9% female; 20.3% Hispanic/Latino/a, 15.0% Black, 2.1% Asian, 10.5% other) and their parents from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, and biometric models were conducted in the twin subsample (n = 1,042 twin pairs; 43.3% monozygotic). Parents and youth reported on their family cultural values using the Mexican American Cultural Values Scale at youth age 11-12, and parents reported on youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms using the Child Behavior Checklist at youth ages 11-12 and 12-13. Greater parent- and youth-reported family cultural values predicted fewer youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Biometric models indicated that higher parent-reported family cultural values increased the nonshared environmental influences on externalizing symptoms whereas youth-reported family cultural values decreased the nonshared environmental influences on internalizing symptoms. This study highlights the need for behavior genetic research to consider a diverse range of cultural contexts to better understand the etiology of youth psychopathology.

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

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

Gene-by-Environment Interaction Effects of Social Adversity on Externalizing Behavior in ABCD Youth

This study tested whether multiple domains of social adversity, including neighborhood opportunity/deprivation and life stress, moderate genetic (A), common environmental (C), and unique environmental (E) influences on externalizing behaviors in 760 same-sex twin pairs (332 monozygotic; 428 dizygotic) ages 10-11 from the ABCD Study. Proportion of C influences on externalizing behavior increased at higher neighborhood adversity (lower overall opportunity). A decreased and C and E increased at lower levels of educational opportunity. A increased at lower health-environment and social-economic opportunity levels. For life stress, A decreased and E increased with number of experienced events. Results for educational opportunity and stressful life experiences suggest a bioecological gene-environment interaction pattern such that environmental influences predominate at higher levels of adversity, whereas limited access to healthcare, housing, and employment stability may potentiate genetic liability for externalizing behavior via a diathesis-stress mechanism. More detailed operationalization of social adversity in gene-environment interaction studies is needed.

The Genetic, Environmental, and Cultural Forces Influencing Youth Antisocial Behavior Are Tightly Intertwined

The aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors that constitute youth antisocial behavior (ASB) are shaped by intertwined genetic, developmental, familial, spatial, temporal, cultural, interpersonal, and contextual influences operating across multiple levels of analysis. Genetic influences on ASB, for example, manifest in different ways during different developmental periods, and do so in part as a function of exposure to harsh parenting, delinquent peers, and disadvantaged neighborhoods. There is also clear evidence documenting societal effects, time-period effects, sex-assigned-at-birth effects, and cohort effects, all of which point to prominent (and possibly interconnected) cultural influences on ASB. In short, ASB is shaped by individuals' current and prior environmental experiences, genetic risks, and the time and place in which they live. This review seeks to illuminate already documented instances of interplay among the multilevel etiologic forces impinging on youth ASB, with the goal of facilitating additional research.

Mapping Pathways by Which Genetic Risk Influences Adolescent Externalizing Behavior: The Interplay Between Externalizing Polygenic Risk Scores, Parental Knowledge, and Peer Substance Use

Genetic predispositions and environmental influences both play an important role in adolescent externalizing behavior; however, they are not always independent. To elucidate gene-environment interplay, we examined the interrelationships between externalizing polygenic risk scores, parental knowledge, and peer substance use in impacting adolescent externalizing behavior across two time-points in a high-risk longitudinal sample of 1,200 adolescents (764 European and 436 African ancestry; Mage = 12.99) from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism. Results from multivariate path analysis indicated that externalizing polygenic scores were directly associated with adolescent externalizing behavior but also indirectly via peer substance use, in the European ancestry sample. No significant polygenic association nor indirect effects of genetic risk were observed in the African ancestry group, likely due to more limited power. Our findings underscore the importance of gene-environment interplay and suggest peer substance use may be a mechanism through which genetic risk influences adolescent externalizing behavior.

Developmental Cascades from Polygenic and Prenatal Substance Use to Adolescent Substance Use: Leveraging Severity and Directionality of Externalizing and Internalizing Problems to Understand Pubertal and Harsh Discipline-Related Risk

The current study leveraged the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort (n = 4504 White boys, n = 4287 White girls assessed from the prenatal period through 18.5 years of age) to test a developmental cascade from genetic and prenatal substance use through pubertal timing and parenting to the severity of (regardless of type) and directionality (i.e., differentiation) of externalizing and internalizing problems to adolescent substance use. Limited associations of early pubertal timing with substance use outcomes were only observable via symptom directionality, differently for girls and boys. For boys, more severe exposure to prenatal substance use influenced adolescent substance use progression via differentiation towards relatively more pure externalizing problems, but in girls the associations were largely direct. Severity and especially directionality (i.e., differentiation towards relatively more pure externalizing problems) were key intermediaries in developmental cascades from parental harsh discipline with substance use progressions for girls and boys.

Elucidating the Links Between Mother and Father Alcohol Use Disorder and Adolescent Externalizing Psychopathology: A Test of Transmission Specificity Within Competing Factor Structures and Genetic and Environmental Liabilities

Parental alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a substantiated risk factor for adolescent externalizing psychopathology; however, the level of specificity at which risk from parental AUD is transmitted to adolescent offspring should be interrogated further. The current study modeled competing factor structures of psychopathology in a sample of 502 adolescent twin pairs (Mage = 13.24 years) and tested associations with mother and father AUD. The bifactor model exhibited the best fit to the data when contrasted with correlated factors and general factor models. Paternal AUD predicted the externalizing and internalizing correlated factors, the adolescent P-factor but not the residual externalizing and internalizing factors, and the general factor. No significant associations with maternal AUD were noted. Lastly, the latent factors of adolescent psychopathology were all moderately heritable (h2 = 0.44-0.59) and influenced by the nonshared environment. Shared genetic factors primarily explained externalizing and internalizing covariance. Findings suggest that efforts to mitigate risk in offspring of fathers exhibiting AUD require broader approaches that address the full range of adolescent symptomology.

Callous-Unemotional Behaviors and Harsh Parenting: Reciprocal Associations across Early Childhood and Moderation by Inherited Risk

Callous-unemotional (CU) behaviors increase children's risk for subsequent antisocial behavior. This risk process may begin in early childhood with reciprocal pathways between CU behaviors and harsh parenting. In a sample of 561 linked triads of biological mothers, adoptive parents, and adopted children, the present study examined bidirectional links between CU behaviors and harsh parenting across three time points from 18 to 54 months and investigated moderation by inherited risk for psychopathic traits. Child CU behaviors and harsh parenting were measured using adoptive mother and adoptive father reports, and biological mothers provided reports of their personality characteristics. Findings supported reciprocal associations between harsh parenting and CU behaviors during early childhood, especially during the transition from toddlerhood (27 months) to the preschool period (54 months). Moreover, multiple-group analyses showed that level of inherited risk moderated associations between CU behaviors and harsh parenting. Specifically, there were statistically reliable associations between CU behaviors at 27 months and adoptive mothers' harsh parenting at 54 months, and between adoptive fathers' harsh parenting at 27 months and CU behaviors at 54 months among children at higher inherited risk, but not among those at lower inherited risk. The findings illustrate the dynamic interplay between parenting, CU behaviors, and heritable risk.

Which adolescent factors predict alcohol misuse in young adulthood? A co-twin comparisons study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Research on adolescent predictors of later alcohol misuse is typically conducted on samples of singletons, and associations may be confounded by between-family differences. To address potential confounding, we applied a co-twin comparison design to evaluate whether differences between co-twins in a wide array of adolescent risk factors predicted differences in young adult alcohol misuse.

DESIGN

Longitudinal study in which associations between characteristics of the sample as adolescents were used to predict young adult alcohol misuse in individual-level analyses and co-twin comparisons.

SETTING

Finland.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 3402 individuals (1435 complete twin pairs; 36% monozygotic; 57% female) from the FinnTwin12 study.

MEASUREMENTS

The young adult alcohol misuse outcome was a composite score of alcohol use and intoxication frequency. Adolescent predictors included factor scores representing academic performance, substance use, externalizing problems, internalizing problems, peer environment, physical health and relationship with parents; and single measures tapping alcohol expectancies, life events and pubertal development.

FINDINGS

In individual-level analyses, individuals with higher adolescent substance use, externalizing problems, time with friends, peer deviance, sports involvement, sleeping difficulties, parental discipline, positive alcohol expectancies and difficulty of life events reported higher alcohol misuse in young adulthood (Ps < 0.019, R²  = 0.0003-0.0310%). Conversely, those with higher adolescent internalizing problems, parent-child relationship quality and time with parents reported lower alcohol misuse (Ps < 0021, R²  = 0.0018-0.0093%). The associations with adolescent substance use and alcohol expectancies remained significant in co-twin comparisons (Ps < 0.049, R²  = 0.0019-0.0314%). Further, academic performance emerged as a significant predictor, such that individuals with higher grades compared with their co-twin reported higher young adult alcohol misuse (Ps < 0.029, R²  = 0.0449-0.0533%).

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescent substance use, positive alcohol expectancies and higher academic performance appear to be robust predictors of later alcohol misuse.

Parenting and prenatal risk as moderators of genetic influences on conduct problems during middle childhood

This study examines interactions of heritable influences, prenatal substance use, and postnatal parental warmth and hostility on the development of conduct problems in middle childhood for boys and girls. Participants are 561 linked families, collected in 2 cohorts, including birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted children. Heritable influences on internalizing and externalizing (including substance use) problems were derived from birth mothers' and fathers' symptoms, diagnoses, and age of onset from diagnostic interviews, and the proportion of first-degree relatives with the same type of problems. Smoking during pregnancy (SDP) and alcohol use during pregnancy were assessed retrospectively from birth mothers at 5 months postpartum. Earlier externalizing problems and parental warmth and hostility and were assessed at 1 assessment prior to the outcome (Cohort II: 4.5 years; Cohort I: 7 years). Conduct problems were symptoms from a diagnostic interview assessed at age 6 (Cohort II) or 8 (Cohort I). Findings from regression analyses suggest that (a) SDP plays an important role for the development of conduct problems, (b) some relatively well-accepted effects (e.g., parental hostility) were less important when simultaneously considering multiple factors influencing the development of conduct problems, and (c) main effects of genetic risk and SDP, and interactions among genetic risk and postnatal warmth, SDP and postnatal warmth, and genetic risk, SDP, and postnatal hostility for conduct problems were important for boys' but not girls' conduct problems. Replication is needed, but the current results provide preliminary but empirically grounded hypotheses for future research testing complex developmental models of conduct problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Mother-infant interactions with firstborns and secondborns: A within-family study of European Americans

Given the large numbers of families with more than one child, understanding similarities and differences in siblings' behaviors and in parents' interactions with their sibling infants is an important goal for advancing more representative developmental science. This study employed a within-family design to examine mean-level consistency and individual-order agreement in 5-month-old sibling behaviors and maternal parenting practices with their firstborns and secondborns (ns = 61 mothers and 122 infants). Each infant was seen independently with mother. Firstborn infants were more social with their mothers and engaged in more exploration with objects than secondborn infants; firstborn and secondborn infants' behaviors were correlated for smiling, distress communication, and efficiency of exploration. Mothers engaged in more physical encouragement, social exchange, didactic interaction, material provisioning, and language with their firstborns than with their secondborns. Notably, only maternal nurturing (e.g., feeding, holding) did not differ in mean level when mothers were with their two infants. However, mean differences in mothers' social exchange and material provisioning with their two children attenuated to nonsignificance when controlling for differences in siblings' behaviors. Individual-order agreement of mothers' behaviors with firstborn and secondborn infants (across an average of almost 3 years) was only moderate. These findings suggest that mother-firstborn interactions may differ from mother-secondborn interactions. Future research should move beyond studying mother-firstborn dyads to understand broader family and developmental processes.

Are punitive parenting and stressful life events environmental risk factors for obsessive-compulsive symptoms in youth? A longitudinal twin study

Background

Punitive parenting and stressful life events are associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS). However, the lack of longitudinal, genetically-informative studies means it remains unclear whether these factors represent environmentally-mediated risks for the development of OCS.

Methods

Twins and siblings from the Genesis1219 study completed self-report questionnaires two years apart (Time 1: N = 2616, mean age = 15.0; Time 2: N = 1579, mean age = 17.0 years) assessing OCS, maternal and paternal punitive parenting, and dependent stressful life events. Multiple regression models tested cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between the putative environmental risk factors and obsessive-compulsive symptoms using: (a) individual scores; and (b) monozygotic twin difference scores. The aetiologies of significant phenotypic associations between putative risk factors and OCS were further examined using multivariate genetic models.

Results

At a phenotypic level, maternal and paternal punitive parenting and stressful life events were all associated with OCS both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. However, only stressful life events predicted the subsequent development of OCS, after controlling for earlier symptoms. Genetic models indicated that the association between life events and change in OCS symptoms was due to both genetic (48%) and environmental (52%) influences. Overall, life events associated with change in OCS accounted for 1.2% of variation in OCS at Time 2.

Conclusions

Stressful life events, but not punitive parenting, predict OCS change during adolescence at a phenotypic level. This association exists above and beyond genetic confounding, consistent with the hypothesis that stressful life events play a causal role in the development of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Genetic and Environmental Associations Between Child Personality and Parenting

Parenting is often conceptualized in terms of its effects on offspring. However, children may also play an active role in influencing the parenting they receive. Simple correlations between parenting and child outcomes may be due to parent-to-child causation, child-to-parent causation, or some combination of the two. We use a multi-rater, genetically informative, large sample (n = 1411 twin sets) to gain traction on this issue as it relates to parental warmth and stress in the context of child Big Five personality. Considerable variance in parental warmth (27%) and stress (45%) was attributable to child genetic influences on parenting. Incorporating child Big Five personality into the model explained roughly half of this variance. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that parents mold their parenting in response to their child's personality. Residual heritability of parenting is likely due to child characteristics beyond the Big Five.

Parent depressive symptomatology moderates the etiology of externalizing behavior in childhood: An examination of gene-environment interaction effects

Parent depressive symptomatology is robust risk factor for externalizing behavior in childhood (Goodman et al., 2011). Although the precise mechanisms underlying this association have yet to be fully illuminated, there is some evidence that parent depression can impact externalizing behavior via both genetic and environmental pathways. In the current study, we investigated the extent to which genetic and environmental influences on externalizing behavior are moderated by parent depressive symptoms (i.e., genotype-environment interaction) in a sample of 2,060, 6- to 11-year-old twins. Results suggest that genetic influences explain more variance in externalizing behavior as maternal depressive symptoms increase, whereas shared environmental effects decrease. These findings were specific to maternal depressive symptoms, however, and did not extend to not paternal depressive symptoms. Findings are critical for understanding the role of parental depression as a risk factor for problematic child behavior, and informing programs that seek to minimize the impact of this risk factor. (PsycINFO Database Record

The role of parental marital discord in the etiology of externalizing problems during childhood and adolescence

Previous research has established that parental marital discord is associated with higher levels of offspring externalizing behaviors, but it is unclear how parental relationship functioning is associated with the genetic and environmental variance on a factor of externalizing problems. Thus, the current study assessed how parental marital discord moderates genetic and environmental variance on offspring externalizing problems at two different ages: childhood and late adolescence. That is, the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on offspring externalizing at ages 11 and 17 was examined as a function of parental marital discord. Consistent with a diathesis-stress model of psychopathology, it was hypothesized that with increasing marital discord, genetic influences on externalizing would be more pronounced. Rather, results indicated that for the 11-year-old sample, nonshared environmental influences were greater when parental marital discord was low, and comparatively, shared environmental influences contributed more to the variance in externalizing problems when parental marital discord was high. No moderation was found for the 17-year-old cohort. In contrast to studies that do not find an effect of the shared environment, these results provide evidence that the common rearing environment has an impact on externalizing problems in preadolescent children.

Parental involvement as an etiological moderator of middle childhood oppositional defiant disorder

The goal of this study was to investigate parental involvement as an etiologic moderator of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) during middle childhood. Previous studies examining the influence of genetic and environmental factors on ODD have not considered whether and how these factors might vary by parental involvement. We thus conducted a series of "latent genetic by measured environmental" interaction analyses, in which measured parental involvement was allowed to moderate genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental influences on child ODD. Participants include 1,027 twin pairs (age ranged from 6 to 11 years old) from the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Results did indeed suggest that the etiology of ODD varies with maternal involvement, such that genetic influence on ODD became more prominent as maternal involvement decreased. However, these results were specific to children's perceptions of maternal involvement and did not extend to maternal perceptions of her involvement. There was no evidence that paternal involvement moderated the etiology of ODD, regardless of informant. The different results found in twins' and parents' data are consistent with those in previous research showing that children may have different perceptions from parents' about their family relationships and that this discrepancy needs to be taken into account in future research. (PsycINFO Database Record

Affiliation with substance-using peers: Examining gene-environment correlations among parent monitoring, polygenic risk, and children's impulsivity

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.

Genetic influences on adolescent behavior

Adolescence is a transitional, developmental phase with marked shifts in behavior, particularly as related to risk-taking and experimentation. Genetic influences on adolescent behavior also show marked changes across this developmental period; in fact, adolescence showcases the dynamic nature of genetic influences on human behavior. Using the twin studies literature on alcohol use and misuse, we highlight several principles of genetic influence on adolescent behavior. We illustrate how genetic influences change (increase) across adolescence, as individuals have more freedom to express their predispositions and to shape their social worlds. We show how there are multiple genetic pathways to risk, and how the environment can moderate the importance of genetic predispositions. Finally, we review the literature aimed at identifying specific genes involved in adolescent behavior and understanding how identified genes impact adolescent outcomes. Ultimately, understanding how genetic predispositions combine with environmental influences to impact pathways of risk and resilience should be translated into improved prevention and intervention efforts; this remains a rich area for future research.

Temperament and peer problems from early to middle childhood: Gene-environment correlations with negative emotionality and sociability

Based in a transactional framework in which children's own characteristics and the social environment influence each other to produce individual differences in social adjustment, we investigated relationships between children's peer problems and their temperamental characteristics, using a longitudinal and genetically informed study of 939 pairs of Israeli twins followed from early to middle childhood (ages 3, 5, and 6.5). Peer problems were moderately stable within children over time, such that children who appeared to have more peer problems at age 3 tended to have also more peer problems at age 6.5. Children's temperament accounted for 10%-22% of the variance in their peer problems measured at the same age and for 2%-7% of the variance longitudinally. It is important that genetic factors accounted for the association between temperament and peer problems and were in line with a gene-environment correlation process, providing support for the proposal that biologically predisposed characteristics, particularly negative emotionality and sociability, have an influence on children's early experiences of peer problems. The results highlight the need for early and continuous interventions that are specifically tailored to address the interpersonal difficulties of children with particular temperamental profiles.

Antisocial peer affiliation and externalizing disorders: Evidence for Gene × Environment × Development interaction

Gene × Environment interaction contributes to externalizing disorders in childhood and adolescence, but little is known about whether such effects are long lasting or present in adulthood. We examined gene-environment interplay in the concurrent and prospective associations between antisocial peer affiliation and externalizing disorders (antisocial behavior and substance use disorders) at ages 17, 20, 24, and 29. The sample included 1,382 same-sex twin pairs participating in the Minnesota Twin Family Study. We detected a Gene × Environment interaction at age 17, such that additive genetic influences on antisocial behavior and substance use disorders were greater in the context of greater antisocial peer affiliation. This Gene × Environment interaction was not present for antisocial behavior symptoms after age 17, but it was for substance use disorder symptoms through age 29 (though effect sizes were largest at age 17). The results suggest adolescence is a critical period for the development of externalizing disorders wherein exposure to greater environmental adversity is associated with a greater expression of genetic risk. This form of Gene × Environment interaction may persist through young adulthood for substance use disorders, but it appears to be limited to adolescence for antisocial behavior.

Analysis of Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Children Highlights the Role of Genotype × Environment Interaction

This study tested for Genotype × Environment (G × E) interaction on behavioral and emotional problems in children using new methods that do not require identification of candidate genes or environments, can distinguish between interaction with shared and unique environment, and are insensitive to scale effects. Parental ratings of problem behavior from 14,755 twin pairs (5.3 years, SD = 0.22) indicated G × E interaction on emotional liability, social isolation, aggression, attention problems, dependency, anxiety, and physical coordination. Environmental influences increased in children who were genetically more predisposed to problem behavior, with ~20% of the variance due to G × E interaction (8% for anxiety to 37% for attention problems). Ignoring G × E interaction does not greatly bias heritability estimates, but it does offer a comprehensive model of the etiology for childhood problems.

Gene-Environment Interaction Effects of Peer Deviance, Parental Knowledge and Stressful Life Events on Adolescent Alcohol Use

The purpose of this study was to address two methodological issues that have called into question whether previously reported gene-environment interaction (GxE) effects for adolescent alcohol use are 'real'. These issues are (1) the potential correlation between the environmental moderator and the outcome across twins and (2) non-linear transformations of the behavioral outcome. Three environments that have been previously studied (peer deviance, parental knowledge, and potentially stressful life events) were examined here. For each moderator (peer deviance, parental knowledge, and potentially stressful life events), a series of models was fit to both a raw and transformed measure of monthly adolescent alcohol use in a sample that included 825 dizygotic (DZ) and 803 monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs. The results showed that the moderating effect of peer deviance was robust to transformation, and that although the significance of moderating effects of parental knowledge and potentially stressful life events were dependent on the scale of the adolescent alcohol use outcome, the overall results were consistent across transformation. In addition, the findings did not vary across statistical models. The consistency of the peer deviance results and the shift of the parental knowledge and potentially stressful life events results between trending and significant, shed some light on why previous findings for certain moderators have been inconsistent and emphasize the importance of considering both methodological issues and previous findings when conducting and interpreting GxE analyses.

The etiology of the association between child antisocial behavior and maternal negativity varies across aggressive and non-aggressive rule-breaking forms of antisocial behavior

There is a robust association between negative parenting and child antisocial behavior problems. However, the etiology of this association remains unclear. Extant literature has reported strikingly different conclusions across studies, with some highlighting genetic mediation and others highlighting environmental mediation. One possible reason for these discrepancies across studies may be the failure to differentiate between aggressive and non-aggressive (rule-breaking) dimensions of childhood antisocial behavior, given their notably different etiologies and developmental trajectories (Burt 2012). The current study sought to examine the phenotypic and etiologic associations of maternal negativity with aggressive and rule-breaking antisocial behavior, respectively. Participants included 824 mothers and their twin children between the ages of 6 and 10. Our results highlighted clear etiologic distinctions in the associations of aggression and rule-breaking with maternal negativity. Aggression was associated with maternal negativity via both genetic and environmental factors, whereas the association between non-aggressive rule-breaking and maternal negativity was entirely environmental in origin. These findings provide additional support for the presence of meaningful distinctions between aggressive and non-aggressive forms of antisocial behavior, and highlight the complex relationship between parenting and child outcome.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Adult Mental Health: Evidence for Gene-Environment Interplay as a Function of Maternal and Paternal Discipline and Affection

Researchers have long theorized that genetic influence on mental health may differ as a function of environmental risk factors. One likely moderator of genetic and environmental influences on psychopathological symptoms is parenting behavior, as phenotypic research shows that negative aspects of parent-child relationships are associated with greater likelihood of mental illness in adulthood. The current study examined whether levels of reported parental discipline and affection experienced in childhood act as a trigger, or buffer, for adult mental health problems. Results from a nationwide twin sample suggest level of father's discipline and affection, as reported by now-adult twins, moderated genetic and environmental influences on internalizing symptoms in adulthood, such that heritability was greatest at the highest levels of discipline and affection. Father's affection also moderated the etiological influences on alcohol use problems, with greater heritability at the lowest levels of affection. No moderating effect was found for mothers. Findings suggest relationships with fathers in childhood can have long-lasting effects on the etiological influences on adult mental health outcomes.

Gene-environment interplay between parent-child relationship problems and externalizing disorders in adolescence and young adulthood

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have shown that genetic risk for externalizing (EXT) disorders is greater in the context of adverse family environments during adolescence, but it is unclear whether these effects are long lasting. The current study evaluated developmental changes in gene-environment interplay in the concurrent and prospective associations between parent-child relationship problems and EXT at ages 18 and 25 years.

METHOD

The sample included 1382 twin pairs (48% male) from the Minnesota Twin Family Study, participating in assessments at ages 18 years (mean = 17.8, s.d. = 0.69 years) and 25 years (mean = 25.0, s.d. = 0.90 years). Perceptions of parent-child relationship problems were assessed using questionnaires. Structured interviews were used to assess symptoms of adult antisocial behavior and nicotine, alcohol and illicit drug dependence.

RESULTS

We detected a gene-environment interaction at age 18 years, such that the genetic influence on EXT was greater in the context of more parent-child relationship problems. This moderation effect was not present at age 25 years, nor did parent-relationship problems at age 18 years moderate genetic influence on EXT at age 25 years. Rather, common genetic influences accounted for this longitudinal association.

CONCLUSIONS

Gene-environment interaction evident in the relationship between adolescent parent-child relationship problems and EXT is both proximal and developmentally limited. Common genetic influence, rather than a gene-environment interaction, accounts for the long-term association between parent-child relationship problems at age 18 years and EXT at age 25 years. These results are consistent with a relatively pervasive importance of gene-environmental correlation in the transition from late adolescence to young adulthood.

Candidate gene-environment interaction research: reflections and recommendations

Studying how genetic predispositions come together with environmental factors to contribute to complex behavioral outcomes has great potential for advancing the understanding of the development of psychopathology. It represents a clear theoretical advance over studying these factors in isolation. However, research at the intersection of multiple fields creates many challenges. We review several reasons why the rapidly expanding candidate gene-environment interaction (cG×E) literature should be considered with a degree of caution. We discuss lessons learned about candidate gene main effects from the evolving genetics literature and how these inform the study of cG×E. We review the importance of the measurement of the gene and environment of interest in cG×E studies. We discuss statistical concerns with modeling cG×E that are frequently overlooked. Furthermore, we review other challenges that have likely contributed to the cG×E literature being difficult to interpret, including low power and publication bias. Many of these issues are similar to other concerns about research integrity (e.g., high false-positive rates) that have received increasing attention in the social sciences. We provide recommendations for rigorous research practices for cG×E studies that we believe will advance its potential to contribute more robustly to the understanding of complex behavioral phenotypes.

Externalizing Disorders and Environmental Risk: Mechanisms of Gene-Environment Interplay and Strategies for Intervention

Though heritable, externalizing disorders have a number of robust associations with several environmental risk factors, including family, school, and peer contexts. To account for these associations, we integrate a behavioral genetic perspective with principles of a developmental cascade theory of antisocial behavior. The major environmental contexts associated with child externalizing problems are reviewed, as are the processes of gene-environment interplay underlying these associations. Throughout, we discuss implications for prevention and intervention. Three major approaches designed to reduce child externalizing behavior are reviewed. Prevention and intervention programs appear to be most successful when they target individuals or communities most at risk for developing externalizing disorders, rather than applied universally. We end by commenting on areas in need of additional research concerning environmental influences on persistent externalizing behaviors.

Gene×Environment interactions in early externalizing behaviors: parental emotional support and socioeconomic context as moderators of genetic influences?

This study uses longitudinal population-based samples of young siblings to examine the effects of two hypothesized moderators of early externalizing behaviors: parental emotional support and family socioeconomic status. The first sample, a twin sample from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), was composed of approximately 600 twin pairs measured on externalizing at ages 4 and 5. Results indicated stronger genetic influences on externalizing at lower levels of parental emotional support but higher levels of socioeconomic status; only the latter interaction remained significant when the two moderators were simultaneously modeled. These moderation effects were not replicated in our analyses of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-Child Supplement (CNLSY) data, which contained 1939 pairs of full and half siblings measured on externalizing at ages 4-5 and ages 6-7. Our results highlight the need for replication in quantitative behavior genetics research on externalizing behaviors. Potential causes for non-replication are discussed.

Child care, socio-economic status and problem behavior: a study of gene-environment interaction in young Dutch twins

The influences of formal child care before age 4 on behavioral problems at 3, 5, and 7 years of age were assessed in 18,932 Dutch twins (3,878 attended formal child care). The effect of formal child care was studied on the average level of problem behavior and as moderator of genetic and non-genetic influences, while taking into account effects of sex and parental socio-economic status (SES). There was a small association between attending formal child care and higher externalizing problems, especially when SES was low. Heritability was lower for formal child care and in lower SES conditions. These effects were largest at age 7 and for externalizing problems. In 7 year-old boys and girls, the difference in heritability between the formal child care group of low SES and the home care group of high SES was 30% for externalizing and ~20% for internalizing problems. The decrease in heritability was explained by a larger influence of the environment, rather than by a decrease in genetic variance. These results support a bioecological model in which heritability is lower in circumstances associated with more problem behavior.

Parent-child conflict as an etiological moderator of childhood conduct problems: an example of a 'bioecological' gene-environment interaction

BACKGROUND

Prior research has suggested that, consistent with the diathesis-stress model of gene-environment interaction (G × E), parent-child conflict activates genetic influences on antisocial/externalizing behaviors during adolescence. It remains unclear, however, whether this model is also important during childhood, or whether the moderation of child conduct problems by negative/conflictive parenting is better characterized as a bioecological interaction, in which environmental influences are enhanced in the presence of environmental risk whereas genetic influences are expressed most strongly in their absence. The current study sought to distinguish between these possibilities, evaluating how the parent-child relationship moderates the etiology of childhood-onset conduct problems.

METHOD

We conducted a series of 'latent G by measured E' interaction analyses, in which a measured environmental variable was allowed to moderate both genetic and environmental influences on child conduct problems. Participants included 500 child twin pairs from the Michigan State University Twin Registry (MSUTR).

RESULTS

Shared environmental influences on conduct problems were found to be several-fold larger in those with high levels of parent-child conflict as compared with those with low levels. Genetic influences, by contrast, were proportionally more influential at lower levels of conflict than at higher levels.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that, although the diathesis-stress form of G × E appears to underlie the relationship between parenting and conduct problems during adolescence, this pattern of moderation does not extend to childhood. Instead, results were more consistent with the bioecological form of G × E which postulates that, in some cases, genetic influences may be most fully manifested in the absence of environmental risk.

The implications of genotype-environment correlation for establishing causal processes in psychopathology

The significance of genotype-environment interplay is its focus on how causal factors, whether environmental or genetic, have their effects. It is difficult to establish causality in observational research because of the potential for reverse causation and confounding. Most environmental measures are heritable, which means that their effects on the risk for psychopathology are potentially confounded by genotype. In contrast, genetic influences on psychopathology may be mediated by their effect on environmental exposures. The existence of genetic influences on putative environmental risk factors offers both possibilities and pitfalls for research into environmental epidemiology. We use the example of parenting and its influence on childhood externalizing problems to review how genotype-environment correlations can be exploited to demonstrate causal processes in pyschopathology.

Genes of experience: explaining the heritability of putative environmental variables through their association with behavioural and emotional traits

An increasing body of evidence shows that many ‘environmental’ measures are heritable, indicating genetic involvement in environmental exposure (or gene–environment correlation). In the present study we attempt to clarify why three such ‘environmental’ measures (maternal negativity, paternal negativity and negative life events) are consistently found to be heritable. Through multivariate genetic analysis of a sample of adolescent twins from the UK we show that the heritability of these putative environmental measures can be explained via their association with five behavioural phenotypes: oppositionality, delinquency, physical aggression, depression and anxiety. This is consistent with the notion that being genetically susceptible to certain behavioural difficulties could lead to exposure to certain life events, and this may account for the reported heritability of ‘environmental’ measures. Results are discussed in the context of possible active, evocative and passive gene–environment correlations.

Four factors for the initiation of substance use by young adulthood: a 10-year follow-up twin and sibling study of marital conflict, monitoring, siblings, and peers

This study examined genetic and environmental influences on associations among marital conflict about the child, parental monitoring, sibling relationship negativity, and peer delinquency during adolescence and initiation of illegal drug use by young adulthood. The sample comprised data collected longitudinally from same-sex sibling pairs and parents when the siblings were 10-18 years old (M = 14.5 and 12.9 years for Child 1 and Child 2, respectively) and 20-35 years old (M = 26.8 and 25.5 years for Child 1 and Child 2, respectively). Findings indicate four factors that explain the initiation of illegal drug use: two shaped by genetic influences and two shaped by environments shared by siblings. The two genetically shaped factors probably have distinct mechanisms: one a child-initiated coercive process in the family and the other parent and peer processes shaped by the child's disclosure. The environmentally influenced factors seem distinctively shaped by poor parental monitoring of both sibs and the effects of siblings on each other's deviancy.

Confluence of genes, environment, development, and behavior in a post Genome-Wide Association Study world

This article serves to outline a research paradigm to investigate main effects and interactions of genes, environment, and development on behavior and psychiatric illness. We provide a historical context for candidate gene studies and genome-wide association studies, including benefits, limitations, and expected payoffs. Using substance use and abuse as our driving example, we then turn to the importance of etiological psychological theory in guiding genetic, environmental, and developmental research, as well as the utility of refined phenotypic measures, such as endophenotypes, in the pursuit of etiological understanding and focused tests of genetic and environmental associations. Phenotypic measurement has received considerable attention in the history of psychology and is informed by psychometrics, whereas the environment remains relatively poorly measured and is often confounded with genetic effects (i.e., gene-environment correlation). Genetically informed designs, which are no longer limited to twin and adoption studies thanks to ever-cheaper genotyping, are required to understand environmental influences. Finally, we outline the vast amount of individual difference in structural genomic variation, most of which remains to be leveraged in genetic association tests. Although the genetic data can be massive and burdensome (tens of millions of variants per person), we argue that improved understanding of genomic structure and function will provide investigators with new tools to test specific a priori hypotheses derived from etiological psychological theory, much like current candidate gene research but with less confusion and more payoff than candidate gene research has to date.

The Genesis 12–19 (G1219) Study: A Twin and Sibling Study of Gene–Environment Interplay and Adolescent Development in the UK

The Genesis 12–19 (G1219) Study is an ongoing longitudinal study of a sample of UK twin pairs, non-twin sibling pairs, and their parents. G1219 was initially designed to examine the role of gene–environment interplay in adolescent depression. However, since then data have continued to be collected from both parents and their offspring into young adulthood. This has allowed for longitudinal analyses of depression and has enabled researchers to investigate multiple phenotypes and to ask questions about intermediate mechanisms. The study has primarily focused on emotional development, particularly depression and anxiety, which have been assessed at multiple levels of analysis (symptoms, cognitions, and relevant environmental experiences). G1219 has also included assessment of a broader range of psychological phenotypes ranging from antisocial behaviors and substance use to sleep difficulties, in addition to multiple aspects of the environment. DNA has also been collected. The first wave of data collection began in the year 1999 and the fifth wave of data collection will be complete before the end of 2012. In this article, we describe the sample, data collection, and measures used. We also summarize some of the key findings to date.

From correlates to causes: can quasi-experimental studies and statistical innovations bring us closer to identifying the causes of antisocial behavior?

Longitudinal, epidemiological studies have identified robust risk factors for youth antisocial behavior, including harsh and coercive discipline, maltreatment, smoking during pregnancy, divorce, teen parenthood, peer deviance, parental psychopathology, and social disadvantage. Nevertheless, because this literature is largely based on observational studies, it remains unclear whether these risk factors have truly causal effects. Identifying causal risk factors for antisocial behavior would be informative for intervention efforts and for studies that test whether individuals are differentially susceptible to risk exposures. In this article, we identify the challenges to causal inference posed by observational studies and describe quasi-experimental methods and statistical innovations that may move researchers beyond discussions of risk factors to allow for stronger causal inference. We then review studies that used these methods, and we evaluate whether robust risk factors identified from observational studies are likely to play a causal role in the emergence and development of youth antisocial behavior. There is evidence of causal effects for most of the risk factors we review. However, these effects are typically smaller than those reported in observational studies, suggesting that familial confounding, social selection, and misidentification might also explain some of the association between risk exposures and antisocial behavior. For some risk factors (e.g., smoking during pregnancy, parent alcohol problems), the evidence is weak that they have environmentally mediated effects on youth antisocial behavior. We discuss the implications of these findings for intervention efforts to reduce antisocial behavior and for basic research on the etiology and course of antisocial behavior.

Genetic risk by experience interaction for childhood internalizing problems: converging evidence across multiple methods

BACKGROUND

Identifying how genetic risk interacts with experience to predict psychopathology is an important step toward understanding the etiology of mental health problems. Few studies have examined genetic risk by experience interaction (G×E) in the development of childhood psychopathology.

METHODS

We used both co-twin and parent mental health as markers of genetic risk to test whether G×E predicted internalizing problems in a sample of 8-year-old twins. Multi-instrument composites were used to characterize both parent and child psychopathology, and five experiential risk factors (socioeconomic status, single parent upbringing, negative parent-child interactions, number of negative life events, negative impact of negative life events) composed a cumulative risk index.

RESULTS

We found consistent evidence for G×E for child internalizing problems, with significant interaction effects emerging both when genetic risk was indexed by co-twin mental health and when it was based on parent mental health. When co-twin mental health was used to estimate genetic risk, child internalizing problems were more heritable for children at low rather than high experiential risk. When parent mental health was used to estimate genetic risk, the association between genetic risk and internalizing problems was stronger for children at elevated experiential risk. Consideration of the interaction effect sizes helps to reconcile these findings.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that the processes involved in both diathesis-stress and bioecological models of development may operate for child internalizing problems. Effect sizes indicated that the main effects of genetic and experiential risk were much better predictors of child internalizing problems than was their interaction.

Associations between diurnal preference, sleep quality and externalizing behaviours: a behavioural genetic analysis

BACKGROUND

Certain aspects of sleep co-occur with externalizing behaviours in youth, yet little is known about these associations in adults. The present study: (1) examines the associations between diurnal preference (morningness versus eveningness), sleep quality and externalizing behaviours; (2) explores the extent to which genetic and environmental influences are shared between or are unique to these phenotypes; (3) examines the extent to which genetic and environmental influences account for these associations. method: Questionnaires assessing diurnal preference, sleep quality and externalizing behaviours were completed by 1556 young adult twins and siblings.

RESULTS

A preference for eveningness and poor sleep quality were associated with greater externalizing symptoms [r=0.28 (95% CI 0.23-0.33) and 0.34 (95% CI 0.28-0.39), respectively]. A total of 18% of the genetic influences on externalizing behaviours were shared with diurnal preference and sleep quality and an additional 14% were shared with sleep quality alone. Non-shared environmental influences common to the phenotypes were small (2%). The association between diurnal preference and externalizing behaviours was mostly explained by genetic influences [additive genetic influence (A)=80% (95% CI 0.56-1.01)], as was the association between sleep quality and externalizing behaviours [A=81% (95% CI 0.62-0.99)]. Non-shared environmental (E) influences accounted for the remaining variance for both associations [E=20% (95% CI -0.01 to 0.44) and 19% (95% CI 0.01-0.38), respectively].

CONCLUSIONS

A preference for eveningness and poor sleep quality are moderately associated with externalizing behaviours in young adults. There is a moderate amount of shared genetic influences between the phenotypes and genetic influences account for a large proportion of the association between sleep and externalizing behaviours. Further research could focus on identifying specific genetic polymorphisms common to both sleep and externalizing behaviours.

Gene-environment interaction in psychological traits and disorders

There has been an explosion of interest in studying gene-environment interactions (GxE) as they relate to the development of psychopathology. In this article, I review different methodologies to study gene-environment interaction, providing an overview of methods from animal and human studies and illustrations of gene-environment interactions detected using these various methodologies. Gene-environment interaction studies that examine genetic influences as modeled latently (e.g., from family, twin, and adoption studies) are covered, as well as studies of measured genotypes. Importantly, the explosion of interest in gene-environment interactions has raised a number of challenges, including difficulties with differentiating various types of interactions, power, and the scaling of environmental measures, which have profound implications for detecting gene-environment interactions. Taking research on gene-environment interactions to the next level will necessitate close collaborations between psychologists and geneticists so that each field can take advantage of the knowledge base of the other.

Examining the etiology of associations between perceived parenting and adolescents' alcohol use: common genetic and/or environmental liabilities?

OBJECTIVE

Although twin studies yield consistent evidence of heritability in the frequency of adolescent alcohol use, parallel findings on parenting are more equivocal, supporting the role of genes in affective parenting but not as supportive in relation to parental control. The extent to which these patterns generalize to more nuanced forms of parenting is less clear. Furthermore, despite evidence linking parents' socialization practices with adolescents' alcohol-use behaviors, this study is the first attempt to determine the sources of this covariation.

METHOD

The present study used epidemiological data from 4,729 adolescent twins (2,329 females) to examine the nature of associations between their perceptions of parenting at age 12 and frequencies of alcohol use at age 14. Univariate analyses assessed the relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences on variability within six domains of parenting. Among those displaying consistent evidence of heritability, bivariate models were used to explore sources of covariation with drinking frequency.

RESULTS

Univariate models suggested both genetic and environmental sources of variability across parenting phenotypes, including sex-specific sources of genetic liability within one dimension of parenting. However, despite evidence for heritability, bivariate analyses indicated that the covariation between alcohol use and perceptions of parental knowledge and warmth were entirely mediated through shared environmental pathways.

CONCLUSIONS

This study elucidates genetic and environmental sources of variability within individual parenting behaviors and characterizes the etiological nature of the association between parental socialization and adolescent alcohol use. The identification of specific and modifiable socialization practices will be crucial for the future development of parent-based prevention/intervention strategies.

Consilient research approaches in studying gene x environment interactions in alcohol research

This review article discusses the importance of identifying gene-environment interactions for understanding the etiology and course of alcohol use disorders and related conditions. A number of critical challenges are discussed, including the fact that there is no organizing typology for classifying different types of environmental exposures, many key human environmental risk factors for alcohol dependence have no clear equivalents in other species, much of the genetic variance of alcohol dependence in human is not 'alcohol specific', and the potential range of gene-environment interactions that could be considered is so vast that maintaining statistical control of Type 1 errors is a daunting task. Despite these and other challenges, there appears to be a number of promising approaches that could be taken in order to achieve consilience and ecologically valid translation between human alcohol dependence and animal models. Foremost among these is to distinguish environmental exposures that are thought to have enduring effects on alcohol use motivation (and self-regulation) from situational environmental exposures that facilitate the expression of such motivations but do not, by themselves, have enduring effects. In order to enhance consilience, various domains of human approach motivation should be considered so that relevant environmental exposures can be sampled, as well as the appropriate species to study them in (i.e. where such motivations are ecologically relevant). Foremost among these are social environments, which are central to the initiation and escalation of human alcohol consumption. The value of twin studies, human laboratory studies and pharmacogenetic studies is also highlighted.

The role of socioregional factors in moderating genetic influences on early adolescent behavior problems and alcohol use

BACKGROUND

Twin and family studies have demonstrated that adolescent alcohol use and behavior problems are influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. More recently, studies have begun to investigate how genetic and environmental influences may interact, with efforts underway to identify specific environmental variables that moderate the expression of genetic predispositions. Previously, we have reported that community-level factors, including urban/rural residency, migration rates, and prevalence of young adults, moderate the importance of genetic effects on alcohol use in late adolescence (ages 16 to 18). Here, we extend these findings to test for moderating effects of these socioregional factors on alcohol use and behavior problems assessed in a younger sample of adolescent Finnish twins.

METHODS

Using data from the population-based Finnish twin study, FinnTwin12, biometric twin models were fit to data on >1,400 twin pairs to examine the significance of each of the socioregional moderating variables on alcohol use measured at age 14, and behavior problems, measured at age 12.

RESULTS

We find no evidence of a moderating role of these socioregional variables on alcohol use; however, there was significant moderation of genetic influences on behavior problems, with effects limited to girls. Genetic influences assumed greater importance in urban settings, communities with greater migration, and communities with a higher percentage of slightly older adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS

The moderation effects observed on behavior problems in early adolescence paralleled the effects found on alcohol use late in adolescence in an independent sample, providing further support for the idea that behavior problems may represent an earlier manifestation of the predisposition to subsequent alcohol problems. Our findings also support the growing body of evidence suggesting that females may be more susceptible to a variety of environmental influences than males.

The heritability of P300 amplitude in 18-year-olds is robust to adolescent alcohol use

P3 amplitude reduction (P3AR) is associated with adolescent alcohol use (AAU) and highly heritable, suggesting that P3AR may index a genetic predisposition (e.g., an endophenotype) for AAU. However, because P3AR and AAU covary naturally in the population, these observations are also consistent with P3AR reflecting neurotoxic effects of AAU on the developing adolescent brain. In this report, we describe the use of recent advancements in biometric modeling to examine changes in the genetic and environmental contributions to variability in P3 amplitude related to cumulative AAU by late adolescence in a large community-based twin sample. We found that the genetic and environmental contributions to variability in P3 amplitude were unaffected by AAU. This suggests that P3AR indexes risk for alcoholism independent of any deleterious effect of AAU on adolescent brain development.

The construct validity of rule-breaking and aggression in an adult clinical sample

Previous research has demonstrated that aggression (AGG) and non-aggressive rule-breaking (RB) represent elements of antisocial behavior with different etiological mechanisms and associations to personality and psychopathology. However, these constructs have not been investigated in an adult clinical sample. In the current study, interview and self-report derived AGG and RB were associated with personality traits and disorders as well as functioning across several domains, family history, concurrent psychopathology, and prospective behaviors. Both AGG and RB were similarly related to disagreeableness. RB was uniquely related to low conscientiousness, cluster B personality disorders, functioning, problems in childhood, suicide risk, arrests, and substance use disorders. AGG (+) and RB (-) were differentially related to obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and conscientiousness. Gender moderation effects were limited. It was concluded that AGG and RB represent separable components of antisocial behavior with differential and clinically meaningful correlates in an adult clinical sample.