Overview of Behavioral Genetics Research for Family Researchers

Addressing diversity and inclusion challenges in global neuro-psychiatric and behavioral genomics research

Advancements in neuro-psychiatric and behavioral genomics offer significant opportunities for better understanding the human brain, behavior and associated disorders. Such advancements may help us prevent, manage and/or cure complex conditions. The serious challenge confronted by these disciplines however is diversity. Both fields lack diversity in terms of genomic reference datasets needed for discovery research, engagement of diverse communities in translational research and in terms of diverse and multidisciplinary scientific teams. This is a challenge because diversity is needed on all levels in order to increase representation and inclusion of all populations across the globe as we move research activities forward. The lack of diversity can translate to an inability to use scientific innovations from these fields for the benefit of all people everywhere and signifies a missed opportunity to address pervasive global health inequities. In this commentary we identify three persistent barriers to reaching diversity targets while focusing on discovery and translational science. Additionally, we propose four suggestions on how to advance efforts and rapidly move towards achieving diversity and inclusion in neuro-psychiatric and behavioral genomics. Without systematically addressing the diversity gap within these fields, the benefits of the science may not be relevant and accessible to all people.

Parent involvement, sibling companionship, and adolescent substance use: A longitudinal, genetically informed design

A large literature shows that parent and sibling relationship factors are associated with an increased likelihood of adolescent substance use. Less is known about the etiology of these associations. Using a genetically informed sibling design, we examined the prospective associations between parent involvement, sibling companionship, and adolescent substance use at 2 points in mid- and late-adolescence. Adolescents were adopted (n = 568) or the biological offspring of both parents (n = 412). Cross-lagged panel results showed that higher levels of parent involvement in early adolescence were associated with lower levels of substance use later in adolescence. Results did not significantly differ across adoption status, suggesting this association cannot be due to passive gene-environment correlation. Adolescent substance use at Time 1 was not significantly associated with parent involvement at Time 2, suggesting this association does not appear to be solely due to evocative (i.e., "child-driven") effects either. Together, results support a protective influence of parent involvement on subsequent adolescent substance use that is environmental in nature. The cross-paths between sibling companionship and adolescent substance use were significant and negative in direction (i.e., protective) for sisters, but positive for brothers (in line with a social contagion hypothesis). These effects were consistent across genetically related and unrelated pairs, and thus appear to be environmentally mediated. For mixed gender siblings, results were consistent with environmentally driven, protective influence hypothesis for genetically unrelated pairs, but in line with a genetically influenced, social contagion hypothesis for genetically related pairs. Implications are discussed.