Serotonin Transporter Gene Polymorphisms and Maternal Overprotection Regulate Adult Social Expectations on Close Relationships

Parental overcontrol is associated with dysmorphic concern severity: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Dysmorphic concern (DC) is a symptom affecting both clinical and non-clinical populations, with a severe impact on individuals' physical and psychological well-being. While Childhood Trauma (CT) has been identified as a risk factor for DC, there is a lack of research on a specific form of CT, that is, parental overcontrol. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the association between DC and parental overcontrol in a community sample of adults, controlling for other forms of CT and potential confounding variables.

METHOD

714 adults (508 females; mean age: 30.29 ± 11.67 years; age range: 18-77) participated in an online survey including the Body Image Concern Inventory (BICI), the Overcontrol subscale of the Measure Of Parental Style, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - Short Form (CTQ-SF).

RESULTS

Parental overcontrol was independently associated with DC symptoms (β = 0.111; p = .005; CI = [0.119;0.666]), even after controlling for other forms of CT and sociodemographic and clinical confounding variables.

LIMITATIONS

The cross-sectional design of the study, the unbalanced sex ratio, the retrospective self-reported data about parental overcontrol and CT should be considered.

CONCLUSIONS

This finding suggests that parental overcontrol may play a role in the development and maintenance of DC symptoms, remarking the urge to take more into account parental overcontrol in the assessment of CT.

The Interaction between Serotonin Transporter Allelic Variation and Maternal Care Modulates Instagram Sociability in a Sample of Singaporean Users

Human social interactions ensure recognition and approval from others, both in offline and online environments. This study applies a model from behavioral genetics on Instagram sociability to explore the impact of individual development on behavior on social networks. We hypothesize that sociable attitudes on Instagram resulted from an interaction between serotonin transporter gene alleles and the individual’s social relationship with caregivers. We assess the environmental and genetic components of 57 Instagram users. The self-report questionnaire Parental Bonding Instrument is adopted to determine the quality of parental bonding. The number of posts, followed users (“followings”), and followers are collected from Instagram as measures of online social activity. Additionally, the ratio between the number of followers and followings (“Social Desirability Index”) was calculated to estimate the asymmetry of each user’s social network. Finally, buccal mucosa cell samples were acquired, and the polymorphism rs25531 (T/T homozygotes vs. C-carriers) within the serotonin transporter gene was examined. In the preliminary analysis, we identified a gender effect on the number of followings. In addition, we specifically found a gene–environment interaction on the standardized Instagram “Social Desirability Index” in line with our predictions. Users with the genotype more sensitive to environmental influences (T/T homozygotes) showed a higher Instagram “Social Desirability Index” than nonsensitive ones (C-carriers) when they experienced positive maternal care. This result may contribute to understanding online social behavior from a gene*environment perspective.