Genetic and environmental influences on alcohol use problems: moderation by romantic partner support, but not family or friend support

Socioeconomic status, alcohol use and the role of social support and neighbourhood environment among individuals meeting criteria for a mental health problem: a cross-sectional study

PURPOSE

Indicators of socioeconomic status (SES), such as education and occupational grade, are known to be associated with alcohol use but this has not been examined among individuals with a mental health problem. This study developed latent classes of SES, their associations with alcohol use, and examined the indirect effect via social support and neighbourhood environment.

METHODS

A secondary analysis of the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey was conducted among participants with a mental health problem (N = 1,436). SES classes were determined using a range of indicators. Alcohol use was measured using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. Social support and neighbourhood neighbourhood environment were measured using validated questionnaires. A latent class analysis was conducted to develop SES classes. Multinomial logistic regression examined associations of SES and alcohol use. Structural equation models tested indirect effects via social support and neighbourhood environment.

RESULTS

A four-class model of SES was best-fitting; "economically inactive,GCSE-level and lower educated,social renters", "intermediate/routine occupation,GCSE-level educated,mixed owner/renters", "retired, no formal education,homeowners", and "professional occupation,degree-level educated,homeowners". Compared to "professional occupation,degree-level educated, homeowners", SES classes were more likely to be non-drinkers; odds were highest for "economically inactive,GCSE-level and lower educated,social renters" (OR = 4.96,95%CI 3.10-7.93). "Retired, no formal education,homeowners" were less likely to be hazardous drinkers (OR = 0.35,95%CI 0.20-0.59). Associations between "economically inactive,GCSE-level and lower educated,social renters" and "retired, no formal education,homeowners" and non- and harmful drinking via social support and neighbourhood environment were significant.

CONCLUSIONS

In contrast to the alcohol harms paradox, among individuals with a mental health problem, lower SES groups were more likely to be non-drinkers while no associations with harmful drinking were found. There is also a need to examine the alcohol harms paradox in the context of the area in which they live.

Alcohol use polygenic risk score, social support, and alcohol use among European American and African American adults

Alcohol use is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. We examined the interactive effects between genome-wide polygenic risk scores for alcohol use (alc-PRS) and social support in relation to alcohol use among European American (EA) and African American (AA) adults across sex and developmental stages (emerging adulthood, young adulthood, and middle adulthood). Data were drawn from 4,011 EA and 1,274 AA adults from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism who were between ages 18-65 and had ever used alcohol. Participants completed the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism and provided saliva or blood samples for genotyping. Results indicated that social support from friends, but not family, moderated the association between alc-PRS and alcohol use among EAs and AAs (only in middle adulthood for AAs); alc-PRS was associated with higher levels of alcohol use when friend support was low, but not when friend support was high. Associations were similar across sex but differed across developmental stages. Findings support the important role of social support from friends in buffering genetic risk for alcohol use among EA and AA adults and highlight the need to consider developmental changes in the role of social support in relation to alcohol use.

Social Support as a Protective Factor for Alcohol Use Disorders: Results from a Nationally Representative Family History Study

AIMS

The current study examined the buffering effect of social support on the relationship between family history and alcohol use disorder symptoms (AUDsx).

METHODS

The current study analyzes data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (N = 34,653). Count of AUDsx were measured using the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-DSM-IV Version, the independent variable was a weighted density measure of family history of AUDsx and the moderating variable was social support measured using the 12-item Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL-12). Negative binomial regression models were used to estimate the association between (1) family history and AUDsx and (2) social support and AUDsx. Average marginal effects were estimated to explore the buffering effect of social support on the association between family history and AUDsx.

RESULTS

Family history was positively associated with AUDsx (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.39-1.54) and social support was negatively associated with AUDsx (IRR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.74-0.86). The marginal effects of family history decreased at higher levels of social support, indicating a buffering influence of social support on the association between family history and AUDsx.

CONCLUSIONS

Results reveal a buffering effect of social support, where greater levels of social support reduce the association between family history and AUDsx. These results indicate that the social context, and social support specifically, may be important for diminishing the risk of AUDsx.

Advancing our understanding of the intersection between emotion regulation and alcohol and drug use problems: Dyadic analysis in couples with intimate partner violence and alcohol use disorder

BACKGROUND

An extensive body of literature has linked emotion regulation to alcohol and drug use problems, including among populations characterized by intimate partner violence (IPV). Advancing this research, the goal of the current study was to examine cognitive emotion regulation strategies and alcohol and drug use problems within a dyadic framework. Specifically, we examined actor and partner effects of maladaptive and adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies on alcohol and drug use problems.

METHODS

Eighty-four romantic couples (N = 168 total participants) participating in a randomized controlled trial who reported physical IPV and an alcohol use disorder completed self-reported measures of cognitive emotion regulation as well as alcohol and drug use problems.

RESULTS

Regarding actor effects, men's greater use of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies was positively related to their alcohol use problems (p < .001), whereas both women's (p = .02) and men's (p = .047) greater use of adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies was negatively related to their own alcohol use problems. In terms of partner effects, men's greater use of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (p = .001) and less use of adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (p = .017) was related to their partners' greater drug use problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings replicate and extend existing work in this area, showing that men's and women's emotion regulation strategies are related to their own alcohol and drug use problems and that men's cognitive emotion regulation strategies are also related to their partners' drug use problems.

Marital Satisfaction as a Moderator of Molecular Genetic Influences on Mental Health

The quality of one's romantic relationship is associated with mental health. Low levels of relationship quality may be a stressor that triggers a predisposition or diathesis to mental illness. Analyses were conducted to examine whether relationship quality moderated the association between polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for several mental health syndromes on phenotypic measures of those syndromes. Data were drawn from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study of health and well-being. A subsample was genotyped, and PRSs were calculated. The PRS for anxiety was more strongly related to the anxiety phenotype when satisfaction was low than when satisfaction was high, providing evidence of a genetic susceptibility process between marital distress and anxiety. The expression of genetic influences on a phenotype in the presence of certain environmental stressors is complex and may depend on the specific phenotype and the methodology by which genetic influences are estimated.

A dyadic approach to attachment anxiety and avoidance, marital conflict, and drinking

In this research, we integrate attachment theory and dyadic methodology to examine how attachment anxiety and avoidance might interact with marital conflict to influence alcohol consumption, drinking motives, and alcohol-related problems in a sample of 280 married and cohabiting couples over 3 years. Both husband and wife attachment anxiety were related to higher levels of own drinking to cope and alcohol-related problems. Additionally, both husband and wife reports of marital conflict were associated with own alcohol-related problems. For wives, significant interactions between anxiety and marital conflict suggested that anxiety was more strongly associated with alcohol consumption, coping, and problems at higher levels of conflict. For husbands, significant interactions between avoidance and conflict indicated that avoidance was more strongly associated with coping and problems at lower levels of conflict. This research suggests two main patterns of attachment and alcohol use, both exacerbated by marital conflict and different for husbands and wives.

Quantile-Specific Heritability of Intakes of Alcohol but not Other Macronutrients

Genetic heritability (h²) of alcohol use is reported to be greater in rural dwellers, distressed marriages, low socioeconomic status, in girls who are unmarried or lacking closeness with their parents or religious upbringing, in less-educated men, and in adolescents with peers using alcohol. However, these are all risk factors for heavy drinking, and the greater heritability could be due to quantile-dependent expressivity, i.e., h² dependent upon whether the phenotype (alcohol intake) is high or low relative to its distribution. Quantile regression showed that h² estimated from the offspring-parent regression slope increased significantly from lowest to highest gram/day of alcohol consumption (0.006 ± 0.001 per percent, P = 1.1 × 10^-7). Heritability at the 90th percentile of the sample distribution (0.557 ± 0.116) was 4.5-fold greater than at the 10th percentile (0.122 ± 0.037). Heritabilities for intakes of other macronutrients were not quantile-dependent. Thus quantile-dependent expressivity may explain the higher estimated heritability associated with risk factors for high alcohol consumption.

Neighborhood density of alcohol outlets moderates genetic and environmental influences on alcohol problems

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Geographic differences in rates of alcohol use disorder suggest that environmental factors and gene-environment interactions are likely to play an important role in its genesis. We aimed to examine whether living in a community with more alcohol outlets would facilitate the expression of the genetic propensity to develop alcohol problems.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional twin/sibling study.

SETTING

United States.

PARTICIPANTS

The participants were 18-26-year-old twin, full- and half-sibling pairs from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health.

MEASUREMENTS

Participants completed in-home interviews in which past year alcohol problems were assessed. Alcohol outlet densities were extracted from state-level liquor license databases aggregated at the census tract level.

FINDINGS

There was evidence that estimates of genetic and environmental influences on alcohol problems varied as a function of the density of alcohol outlets in the community. The heritability of alcohol problems for those residing in a neighborhood with more than 10 on-premises outlets was 78% (95% confidence limits = 52-100%), compared with 11% (95% confidence limits = 0-29%) for those in a neighborhood with no on-premises outlets. This moderating effect of alcohol outlet density was not explained by state of residence, population density or neighborhood socio-demographic characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals who are genetically predisposed to develop alcohol problems may be especially sensitive to the influence of many alcohol outlets in their community.

The Role of Emergence in Genetically Informed Relationships Research: A Methodological Analysis

This paper provides a critical analysis of genetically informed research on relationships, with an emphasis on relationships among unrelated individuals (e.g., spouses). To date, research in this area has used traditional behavioral genetic frameworks to either partition the variance in relationship-related outcomes into genetic and environmental components, or to examine gene-environment interplay between relationship factors and other outcomes. However, this conventional approach is at odds with the long-standing understanding from the field of relationship science that both partners' characteristics matter when predicting shared outcomes-that is, outcomes that are emergent. We examine briefly the philosophical concept of emergence, and discuss ways to model dyadic outcomes in genetically informed relationships research. We also review the related topic of social genetic effects, which refer to the influence of a social partner's genotype on a proband's phenotype. A genetically informed dyadic perspective has potentially important consequences for our understanding of the pathways from genotype→shared or individual-level phenotypes, and more fully recognizes the complexity of how genetic and social/environmental factors come together to influence human behavior.

Partner Conflict and Support as Moderators of Alcohol Use on Alcohol Problems and Marital Satisfaction in Young Adult Marital Dyads

BACKGROUND

This cross-sectional study used data from 483 young adult marital dyads to evaluate conflict-with-partner and support-from-partner as moderators of alcohol use on 2 outcomes: alcohol problems and marital satisfaction. A path analytic modeling approach was used to test stress-exacerbating and stress-buffering hypotheses, and to accommodate the interdependent nature of the dyadic data.

METHODS

This cross-sectional sample was selected from an adolescent-to-young adult longitudinal study in which spouses were recruited into the study during a later young adult assessment when the sample was, on average, 32.5 years old. Individual interviews using computerized technology were conducted with participants.

RESULTS

Findings for the outcome of alcohol problems indicated stress exacerbation in that higher conflict by each partner in interaction with higher alcohol use was associated with more alcohol problems for wives. Husbands' and wives' alcohol problems were lower when higher partner support buffered the association between alcohol use and alcohol problems. For the outcome of marital satisfaction, higher support-from-partner buffered the association between alcohol use and marital satisfaction. Finally, the combination of alcohol use and conflict-with-partner had more adverse implications for women's alcohol problems relative to men's alcohol problems.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight that interactions between interpersonal dimensions of romantic relationships and alcohol use by both partners contribute to our understanding of their associations with alcohol problems and marital satisfaction within the marital relationship. Furthermore, there was some sex specificity in that some interactions were more prominently associated with alcohol problems for wives than husbands.

Romantic Partner Alcohol Misuse Interacts with GABRA2 Genotype to Predict Frequency of Drunkenness in Young Adulthood

Previous research has identified the importance of romantic partners-including spouses, significant others, and dating partners-for influencing the engagement in health-risking behaviors, such as alcohol misuse during emerging adulthood. Although genetic factors are known to play a role in the development of young adult alcohol misuse, little research has examined whether genetic factors affect young adults' susceptibility to their romantic partners' alcohol misusing behaviors. The current study tests whether a single nucleotide polymorphism in the GABRA2 gene (rs279845) moderates the relationship between romantic partner alcohol misuse and frequency of drunkenness in young adulthood. Results revealed differential risk associated with romantic partner alcohol misuse and young adult drunk behavior according to GABRA2 genotype, such that individuals with the TT genotype displayed an elevated risk for frequency of drunkenness when romantic partner alcohol misuse was also high (IRR = 1.06, p ≤ 0.05). The findings demonstrate the potential for genetic factors to moderate the influence of romantic partners' alcohol misuse on drunk behavior during the transition to young adulthood.

Incorporating Functional Genomic Information to Enhance Polygenic Signal and Identify Variants Involved in Gene-by-Environment Interaction for Young Adult Alcohol Problems

BACKGROUND

Characterizing aggregate genetic risk for alcohol misuse and identifying variants involved in gene-by-environment (G × E) interaction effects has so far been a major challenge. We hypothesized that functional genomic information could be used to enhance detection of polygenic signal underlying alcohol misuse and to prioritize identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) most likely to exhibit G × E effects.

METHODS

We examined these questions in the young adult FinnTwin12 sample (n = 1,170). We used genomewide association estimates from an independent sample to derive 2 types of polygenic scores for alcohol problems in FinnTwin12. Genomewide polygenic scores included all SNPs surpassing a designated p-value threshold. DNase polygenic scores were a subset of the genomewide polygenic scores including only variants in DNase I hypersensitive sites (DHSs), which are open chromatin marks likely to index regions with a regulatory function. We conducted parallel analyses using height as a nonpsychiatric model phenotype to evaluate the consistency of effects. For the G × E analyses, we examined whether SNPs in DHSs were overrepresented among SNPs demonstrating significant G × E effects in an interaction between romantic relationship status and intoxication frequency.

RESULTS

Contrary to our expectations, we found that DNase polygenic scores were not more strongly predictive of alcohol problems than conventional polygenic scores. However, variants in DNase polygenic scores had per-SNP effects that were up to 1.4 times larger than variants in conventional polygenic scores. This same pattern of effects was also observed in supplementary analyses with height. In G × E models, SNPs in DHSs were modestly overrepresented among SNPs with significant interaction effects for intoxication frequency.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the potential utility of integrating functional genomic annotation information to increase the signal-to-noise ratio in polygenic scores and identify genetic variants that may be most susceptible to environmental modification.

Anxiety-like behavior and neuropeptide receptor expression in male and female prairie voles: The effects of stress and social buffering

Strong social support can negate negative health outcomes - an effect defined as 'social buffering'. In the present study, using the socially monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), we examined whether the presence of a bonded partner during a stressful event can reduce stress responses. Adult, pair-bonded female and male voles were assigned into experimental groups that were either handled (Control), experienced a 1-h immobilization (IMO) stress alone (IMO-Alone), or experienced IMO with their partner (IMO-Partner). Thereafter, subjects were tested for anxiety-like behavior, and brain sections were subsequently processed for oxytocin receptor (OTR) and vasopressin V1a-type receptor (V1aR) binding. Our data indicate that while IMO stress significantly decreased the time that subjects spent in the open arms of an elevated plus maze, partner's presence prevented this behavioral change - this social buffering on anxiety-like behavior was the same for both male and female subjects. Further, IMO stress decreased OTR binding in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), but a partner's presence dampened this effect. No effects were found in V1aR binding. These data suggest that the neuropeptide- and brain region-specific OTR alterations in the NAcc may be involved in both the mediation and social buffering of stress responses. Some sex differences in the OTR and V1aR binding were also found in selected brain regions, offering new insights into the sexually dimorphic roles of the two neuropeptides. Overall, our results suggest a potential preventative approach in which the presence of social interactions during a stressor may buffer typical negative outcomes.

Social Relationships Moderate Genetic Influences on Heavy Drinking in Young Adulthood

OBJECTIVE

Social relationships, such as committed partnerships, limit risky behaviors like heavy drinking, in part, because of increased social control. The current analyses examine whether involvement in committed relationships or social support extend beyond a main effect to limit genetic liability in heavy drinking (gene-environment interaction) during young adulthood.

METHOD

Using data from the young adult wave of the Finnish Twin Study, FinnTwin12 (n = 3,269), we tested whether involvement in romantic partnerships or social support moderated genetic influences on heavy drinking using biometric twin modeling for gene-environment interaction.

RESULTS

Involvement in a romantic partnership was associated with a decline in genetic variance in both males and females, although the overall magnitude of genetic influence was greater in males. Sex differences emerged for social support: increased social support was associated with increased genetic influence for females and reduced genetic influence for males.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings demonstrate that social relationships are important moderators of genetic influences on young adult alcohol use. Mechanisms of social control that are important in limiting genetic liability during adolescence extend into young adulthood. In addition, although some relationships limit genetic liability equally, others, such as extensive social networks, may operate differently across sex.

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.

Gene-Environment Interplay in the Context of Romantic Relationships

A growing body of research supports an important role for genetic factors on intimate, romantic relationships. In this article, we review research that has examined the interplay between genetic and environmental influences on romantic relationships and the associations between relationship outcomes and important individual differences related to relationships. We first elaborate on how behavioral genetic and molecular genetic methods can be used to understand the etiology of relationship outcomes. We then review empirical studies that have examined gene-environment correlations and gene-by-environment interactions in predicting romantic relationship outcomes (e.g., relationship formation, relationship quality and functioning, relationship dissolution) and their association with the physical health, mental health, and well-being of relationship partners.

A Comparative study of Personality as a common pathway in HIV Sero-positive and Alcohol dependent cases on Five Factor Model

AIM

The aim of this study was to identify the personality traits of alcohol and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients and to compare them with normal controls.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 100 consecutive patients with alcohol dependence and HIV each and a control group of 100 normal cases without any physical or psychiatric illness. A score of 2 or less on the General Health Questionnaire was taken as cutoff, and the participants were included in the study with written informed consent. All participants were assessed with the NEO personality inventory revised and sensation-seeking scale (SSS).

RESULTS

There were significant differences among the study group on all the five factors, i.e., neuroticism (N), extraversion (E), conscientiousness (C), openness to experience (O), and agreeableness (A). On factor "N," HIV and alcohol group scored significantly more as compared to normal group. Odds ratio revealed high neuroticism to be a risk factor in alcohol-dependent and HIV cases (P < 0.05). The normal group scored significantly higher on factor "E" as compared to HIV and alcohol cases. High scores on factor "E" and "C" have a protective. Odds ratio found low score of factor "C" as a risk factor; however, "O" did not emerge as a risk factor. The logistic regression revealed that high scores on "N" and "E" and low "A" score had a significant association with alcohol dependence (P < 0.05). Among HIV cases, high score on "N" and "E" and low "C" score emerged significant. Alcohol cases scored significantly more on boredom susceptibility (BS) on SSS as compared to HIV and normal controls. On disinhibition (DIS), HIV cases and alcohol cases scored significantly higher as compared to normal group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

High "N" scores on NEO personality inventory are significantly associated with alcohol dependence and HIV while high scores on "E" and "C" have a protective effect. On SSS, HIV-positive cases are characterized by high DIS scores while alcohol dependence is associated with high scores on BS and DIS.

Biometric Modeling of Gene-Environment Interplay: The Intersection of Theory and Method and Applications for Social Inequality

For more than a decade, biometric moderation models have been used to examine whether genetic and environmental influences on individual differences might vary within the population. These quantitative Gene × Environment interaction models have the potential to elucidate not only when genetic and environmental influences on a phenotype might differ, but also why, as they provide an empirical test of several theoretical paradigms that serve as useful heuristics to explain etiology-diathesis-stress, bioecological, differential susceptibility, and social control. In the current article, we review how these developmental theories align with different patterns of findings from statistical models of gene-environment interplay. We then describe the extant empirical evidence, using work by our own research group and others, to lay out genetically informative plausible accounts of how phenotypes related to social inequality-physical health and cognition-might relate to these theoretical models.

Romantic Relationship Satisfaction Moderates the Etiology of Adult Personality

The heritability of major normative domains of personality is well-established, with approximately half the proportion of variance attributed to genetic differences. In the current study, we examine the possibility of gene × environment interaction (G×E) for adult personality using the environmental context of intimate romantic relationship functioning. Personality and relationship satisfaction are significantly correlated phenotypically, but to date no research has examined how the genetic and environmental components of variance for personality differ as a function of romantic relationship satisfaction. Given the importance of personality for myriad outcomes from work productivity to psychopathology, it is vital to identify variables present in adulthood that may affect the etiology of personality. In the current study, quantitative models of G×E were used to determine whether the genetic and environmental influences on personality differ as a function of relationship satisfaction. We drew from a sample of now-adult twins followed longitudinally from adolescence through age 29. All participants completed the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) and an abbreviated version of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Biometric moderation was found for eight of the eleven MPQ scales examined: well-being, social potency, negative emotionality, alienation, aggression, constraint, traditionalism, and absorption. The pattern of findings differed, suggesting that the ways in which relationship quality moderates the etiology of personality may depend on the personality trait.

Importance of social support in preventing alcohol-exposed pregnancies with American Indian communities

Recent research concludes that prevention of alcohol-exposed pregnancies (AEP) must occur with preconceptional women, either by reducing alcohol consumption in women at-risk or planning pregnancy or preventing pregnancy in women drinking at risky levels. One AEP prevention program currently underway with non-pregnant American Indian women is the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) Changing High-risk alcohOl use and Increasing Contraception Effectiveness Study (CHOICES) Program. The OST CHOICES Program shows promise in lowering the AEP risk in American Indian women, and it is a natural next step to evaluate the potential impact that social support can have on further encouraging behavioral changes. Focus groups with community members and key informant interviews with health and social service professionals were completed. To uncover and interpret interrelated themes, a conventional content analysis methodology was used. Eight focus groups were held with 58 American Indian participants, including adult women of child-bearing age, elder women, and adult men. Key informant interviews were completed with 25 health and social service professionals. Based on input from the focus groups and key informant interviews, several subthemes regarding social support in the prevention of AEP stood out, including the role of family (especially elders), the impact community can have, and the important function of culture. In this study, we highlighted the important influence that social support can have on AEP prevention, especially among the American Indian population, where social support has cultural and historical significance.

Overlapping genetic and environmental influences among men's alcohol consumption and problems, romantic quality and social support

BACKGROUND

Alcohol consumption and problems are associated with interpersonal difficulties. We used a twin design to assess in men the degree to which genetic or environmental influences contributed to the covariance between alcohol consumption and problems, romantic quality and social support.

METHOD

The sample included adult male-male twin pairs (697 monozygotic and 487 dizygotic) for whom there were interview-based data on: alcohol consumption (average monthly alcohol consumption in the past year); alcohol problems (lifetime alcohol dependence symptoms); romantic conflict and warmth; friend problems and support; and relative problems and support.

RESULTS

Key findings were that genetic and unique environmental factors contributed to the covariance between alcohol consumption and romantic conflict; genetic factors contributed to the covariance between alcohol problems and romantic conflict; and common and unique environmental factors contributed to the covariance between alcohol problems and friend problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Recognizing and addressing the overlapping genetic and environmental influences that alcohol consumption and problems share with romantic quality and other indicators of social support may have implications for substance use prevention and intervention efforts.

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.