The study of gene-environment interaction (G × E) has garnered widespread attention. The most common way to assess interaction effects is in a regression model with a G × E interaction term that is a product of the values specified for the genotypic (G) and environmental (E) variables. In this paper we discuss the circumstances under which interaction can be modeled as a product term and cases in which use of a product term is inappropriate and may lead to erroneous conclusions about the presence and nature of interaction effects. In the case of a binary coded genetic variant (as used in dominant and recessive models, or where the minor allele occurs so infrequently that it is not observed in the homozygous state), the regression coefficient corresponding to a significant interaction term reflects a slope difference between the two genotype categories and appropriately characterizes the statistical interaction between the genetic and environmental variables. However, when using a three-category polymorphic genotype, as is commonly done when modeling an additive effect, both false positive and false negative results can occur, and the nature of the interaction can be misrepresented. We present a reparameterized regression equation that accurately captures interaction effects without the constraints imposed by modeling interactions using a single cross-product term. In addition, we provide a series of recommendations for making conclusions about the presence of meaningful G × E interactions, which take into account the nature of the observed interactions and whether they map onto sensible genotypic models.

Gene-by-environment interactions between maternal sensitivity during infancy and child oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR rs53576) and D2 dopamine receptor gene (DRD2 TaqIA, rs1822497) genotypes were explored as predictors of toddlers' well-regulated behavioral and physiological responses to maternal compliance demands. Maternal sensitivity was assessed across a range of mother-child interactions when children were 6 months and 1 year of age (N = 186), and toddler self-regulatory responses were assessed through compliance and vagal withdrawal during a toy clean-up task when children were 2 years of age. Sensitivity-by-OXTR interactions suggested two diathesis-stress patterns, predicting compliance for the GG genotype group, and predicting physiological regulation for the AA/AG genotype group. A main effect for DRD2 genotype indicated that children with an A1 allele displayed less-compliant behavior in toddlerhood. These results suggest that genetic differences may contribute to variation both in risk for self-regulatory difficulties, and in relations between maternal sensitivity and children's responses to compliance demands at different levels of analysis.© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The classic diathesis-stress framework, which views some individuals as particularly vulnerable to adversity, informs virtually all psychiatric research on behavior-gene-environment (G x E) interaction. An alternative framework of 'differential susceptibility' is proposed, one which regards those most susceptible to adversity because of their genetic make up as simultaneously most likely to benefit from supportive or enriching experiences-or even just the absence of adversity. Recent G x E findings consistent with this perspective and involving monoamine oxidase-A, 5-HTTLPR (5-hydroxytryptamine-linked polymorphic region polymorphism) and dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) are reviewed for illustrative purposes. Results considered suggest that putative 'vulnerability genes' or 'risk alleles' might, at times, be more appropriately conceptualized as 'plasticity genes', because they seem to make individuals more susceptible to environmental influences-for better and for worse.

Evolutionary-biological reasoning suggests that individuals should be differentially susceptible to environmental influences, with some people being not just more vulnerable than others to the negative effects of adversity, as the prevailing diathesis-stress view of psychopathology (and of many environmental influences) maintains, but also disproportionately susceptible to the beneficial effects of supportive and enriching experiences (or just the absence of adversity). Evidence consistent with the proposition that individuals differ in plasticity is reviewed. The authors document multiple instances in which (a) phenotypic temperamental characteristics, (b) endophenotypic attributes, and (c) specific genes function less like "vulnerability factors" and more like "plasticity factors," thereby rendering some individuals more malleable or susceptible than others to both negative and positive environmental influences. Discussion focuses upon limits of the evidence, statistical criteria for distinguishing differential susceptibility from diathesis stress, potential mechanisms of influence, and unknowns in the differential-susceptibility equation.

Adolescent prosocial behavior suggests social competence and it is associated with greater parental warmth yet the experience of warmth through child and adolescent development is not well understood as it relates to such prosocial behavior. A nationally representative dataset from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children cohort was used. The analyses involved multiple waves beginning when children were aged 4-5. The main analyses used a sample of 2723 adolescents aged 16-17 years (Mean, S.D. = 16.45, 0.50; 49.2% female, 50.8% male). Parental warmth trajectories (from ages 4-5 through 16-17 years) were created and used to explore the accumulated effect of a lifecourse of parental warmth on adolescent prosocial behavior as measured when adolescents were aged 16-17 years. There were three trajectories described as, consistent (28.7%), slight decline (51.4%), and declining warmth (19.8%). These were associated with prosocial behavior; adolescents with a slight decline in warmth were 2.2 times less likely than those with consistent warmth to have the highest prosocial behavior. Consistent parental warmth likely provides greatest benefit for increased prosocial behavior in mid-adolescence.© 2023. The Author(s).

Ample evidence suggested that parental responsiveness, demandingness, and autonomy granting protect adolescents from depressive symptoms. However, what is less well understood is how parenting practices reduce the risk of depressive symptoms. This study tested the protective effects of parenting practices and inhibitory control on depressive symptoms, along with the mediating role of inhibitory control and the moderating role of the COMT gene in linking parenting practices to depressive symptoms. The study utilized cross-sectional data from a community sample of Chinese Han adolescents (N = 943, M = 15.25 years, SD = 0.70 years; 51.9% girls). Results showed that parental responsiveness and autonomy granting promoted higher inhibitory control, which in turn was associated with lower depressive symptoms. Further, the mediation effects were moderated by the COMT gene. For adolescents with ValVal homozygotes, both responsiveness and autonomy granting were related to higher levels of inhibitory control, which reduced risk for depressive symptoms, but the mediation effects were not observed among Met allele carriers. The mediating role of inhibitory control did not hold in the parental demandingness model. Findings support the cognitive theory that inhibitory control is a proximal factor linking parenting practices to depressive symptoms exclusively in ValVal homozygotes. These results also suggested that differentiating different dimensions of parenting practices may help to further clarify the processes by which parenting practices eventuate depressive symptoms.© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

<p id="C2">For decades, there is increasing evidence for the importance of single-gene by environment interactions (G × E) in understanding the etiology of depression. However, several concerns have been raised about the ignoring the polygenic traits of depression when conducting G × E research using single loci. Within this context, the multilocus genetic profile score (MGPS) have recently emerged as an approach of capturing polygenic nature across multiple genes. In line with the monoamine deficiency hypothesis, recent research has begun to show that the combined effects of multiple dopaminergic genetic variants are stronger than the influence of any single gene examined in isolation. Additionally, genes related to the functioning of the dopaminergic system, which coordinates individual’s response to stress. However, existing G × E research has largely focused on adverse family environments (i.e., maltreatment, maternal unresponsiveness) and to a lesser extent on positive environment, such as positive parenting. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the interaction between dopaminergic genetic variants and maternal parenting on adolescent depressive symptoms, by adopting the approach of multilocus genetic profile score. </p><p>Participants were 1052 mother-offspring (adolescents mean age 12.31 ± 0.37 years old at the first time point, 50.2% females) dyads recruited from the community. Youth completed assessments twice with an interval of one year. Saliva samples, self-reported depressive symptoms and mother-reported parenting were collected. All measures showed good reliability. Genotyping in three dopaminergic genes were performed for each participant in real time with MassARRAY RT software version 3.0.0.4 and analyzed using the MassARRAY Typer software version 3.4 (Sequenom). To examine whether multilocus genetic profile score moderates the effects of parenting on adolescent depressive symptoms and whether this potential moderating effect act in a diathesis-stress or differential susceptibility manner, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. We also tested above questions by recoding into categorical variables and re-conducted analyses. </p><p>The results found that multilocus genetic profile score was a significant risk factor of depression, with higher dopamine genetic risk scores (indicating lower dopaminergic neurotransmission) predicting higher levels of depression. After controlling for gender and prior depressive symptoms, the G × E effect with positive and negative parenting were also significant, suggesting that G × E interaction significantly predicted change in depression level between Time 1 and Time 2. Specifically, adolescents with higher MGPS exhibited higher risk for depression when encountered with lower levels of positive parenting and higher levels of negative parenting, compared to their counterparts with lower MGPS. The results support the diathesis-stress model and highlight the complex ways that genes and environment interact to influence development. </p><p>These finding underscores complex polygenic underpinnings of depression and lends support for the mulitlocus genetic profile scores-environment interactions implicated in the etiology of depressive symptoms.</p>

近年来, 伴随着对单基因研究局限性的认识及对“遗传率缺失”的探索, 越来越多的研究强调考察抑郁的多基因遗传机制的重要性。本研究对1052名汉族青少年(12.31 ± 0.37, 50.2%女生)进行一年的追踪, 采用多基因累加得分研究范式考察多巴胺系统基因与母亲教养行为对青少年抑郁的纵向影响及其作用模式。结果发现：(1)多基因累加得分和母亲消极教养正向预测青少年抑郁风险; (2)控制早期抑郁后, 多基因累加得分与母亲积极、消极教养交互影响青少年抑郁, 在低积极/高消极教养环境中, 相比多基因累加得分较低的青少年, 多基因累加得分较高的青少年抑郁水平更高; 但是在高积极/低消极教养环境中, 不同多基因累加得分的青少年抑郁水平无差异。该交互作用模式符合“素质-压力”模型。研究结果为抑郁的多基因遗传基础提供了证据。

This article examined parenting styles and prosocial behaviors as longitudinal predictors of academic outcomes in U.S. Mexican youth. Adolescents (N = 462; Wave 1 M  = 10.4 years; 48.1% girls), parents, and teachers completed parenting, prosocial behavior, and academic outcome measures at 5th, 10th, and 12th grades. Authoritative parents were more likely to have youth who exhibited high levels of prosocial behaviors than those who were moderately demanding and less involved. Fathers and mothers who were less involved and mothers who were moderately demanding were less likely than authoritative parents to have youth who exhibited high levels of prosocial behaviors. Prosocial behaviors were positively associated with academic outcomes. Discussion focuses on parenting, prosocial behaviors, and academic attitudes in understanding youth academic performance.© 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Gene-environment interaction research in psychiatry is new, and is a natural ally of neuroscience. Mental disorders have known environmental causes, but there is heterogeneity in the response to each causal factor, which gene-environment findings attribute to genetic differences at the DNA sequence level. Such findings come from epidemiology, an ideal branch of science for showing that a gene-environment interactions exist in nature and affect a significant fraction of disease cases. The complementary discipline of epidemiology, experimental neuroscience, fuels gene-environment hypotheses and investigates underlying neural mechanisms. This article discusses opportunities and challenges in the collaboration between psychiatry, epidemiology and neuroscience in studying gene-environment interactions.

Engaging in prosocial behavior can provide positive outcomes for self and others. Prosocial tendencies contribute to the propensity to engage in prosocial behavior. The oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) has also been associated with prosocial tendencies and behaviors. There has been little research, however, investigating whether the relationship between OXTR and prosocial behaviors is mediated by prosocial tendencies. This relationship may also vary among different types of prosocial behavior. The current study examines the relationship between OXTR, gender, prosocial tendencies, and both altruistic and public prosocial behavior endorsement. Students at a midwestern university (N = 398; 89.2% Caucasian; Mage  = 20.76; 26.6% male) provided self-report measures of prosocial tendencies and behaviors and buccal cells for genotyping OXTR polymorphisms. Results indicated that OXTR single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2268498 genotype significantly predicted empathic concern, whereas gender moderated the association between several other OXTR SNPs and prosocial tendencies. Increased prosocial tendencies predicted increased altruistic prosocial behavior endorsement and decreased public prosocial behavior endorsement. Our findings suggest an association between genetic variation in OXTR and endorsement of prosocial behavior indirectly through prosocial tendencies, and that the pathway is dependent on the type of prosocial behavior and gender. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) has long been implicated in a wide variety of emotional, cognitive and behavioural control processes. However, its precise contribution is still not well understood. Depletion of 5-HT enhances behavioural and brain responsiveness to punishment or other aversive signals, while disinhibiting previously rewarded but now punished behaviours. Findings suggest that 5-HT modulates the impact of punishment-related signals on learning and emotion (aversion), but also promotes response inhibition. Exaggerated aversive processing and deficient response inhibition could underlie distinct symptoms of a range of affective disorders, namely stress- or threat-vulnerability and compulsive behaviour, respectively. We review evidence from studies with human volunteers and experimental animals that begins to elucidate the neurobiological systems underlying these different effects.

Although the influence of maternal behavior on child outcomes has been extensively studied, there has not been the same attention to the role of paternal behavior in development. This gap in research stands in contrast to the observable shift in parental roles and responsibilities in contemporary society. The goal of this study was to examine the roles of fathers, mothers, and children in the development of children's prosocial behavior. In the current study we examined the development of reciprocal relations between paternal and maternal behavior and child prosociality over 36 months. Three hundred eighty-one families were assessed when children were 18, 36, and 54 months of age. Fathers and mothers reported on their own warmth and negativity using standardized questionnaires. Child prosociality was measured using averaged parental reports. Actor-partner interdependence models revealed that paternal and maternal warmth predicted subsequent increases in child prosocial behavior, but child prosocial behavior did not predict subsequent parenting. Father and mother parenting practices were reciprocally interrelated. The results point to the important roles paternal and maternal warmth play in the development of children's prosocial behavior.(c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

This study examined how and why dopamine transporter (DAT1) susceptibility alleles moderate the relation between maternal unresponsiveness and young children's behavior problems in a disadvantaged, predominantly minority sample of 201 two-year-old children and their mothers. Using a multimethod, multisource design, the findings indicated that a genetic composite of DAT1 susceptibility alleles (rs27072, rs40184) potentiated associations between maternal unresponsive caregiving and increases in children's behavior problems 2 years later. Moderator-mediated-moderation analyses further revealed that the DAT1 diathesis was more proximally mediated by the potentiating effects of children's uninhibited temperament in the pathway between maternal unresponsiveness and disruptive behavior problems. Results are interpreted in the context of supporting and advancing the biosocial developmental model (Beauchaine & Gatzke-Kopp, 2012).© 2014 The Authors. Child Development © 2014 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Prosocial behaviors (i.e., actions that benefit others) are important markers of healthy social functioning, and understanding the factors that predict such outcomes among recent immigrant Latino adolescents is important. The current study examines the longitudinal associations between maternal involvement and prosocial behaviors via collectivism values. Data comes from a longitudinal project (Construyendo Oportunidades Para los Adolescentes Latinos) of 302 recently immigrated U.S. Latina/o adolescents (53.3% male, average age = 14.51 years old). The current study uses data from three times points across 2 years. The results demonstrated that maternal involvement was positively associated with collectivism values. Collectivism was positively associated with changes in prosocial behaviors. There was also partial support for a reverse-causal model. Discussion focuses on the links among parenting, cultural values, and prosocial behaviors among immigrant U.S. Latina/o adolescents.

Catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT), the major enzyme determining cortical dopamine flux, has a common functional polymorphism (val(158)met) that affects prefrontal function and working memory capacity and has also been associated with anxiety and emotional dysregulation.To examine COMT val(158)met effects on corticolimbic circuitry reactivity and functional connectivity during processing of biologically salient stimuli, as well as the relationship to the temperamental trait of novelty seeking.Within-subject functional magnetic resonance imaging study.National Institute of Mental Health, Genes, Cognition, and Psychosis Program, Bethesda, Md. Patients One hundred one healthy subjects of both sexes.We found that the met allele was associated with a dose-dependent increase in hippocampal formation and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex activation during viewing of faces displaying negative emotion. In met/met homozygotes, limbic and prefrontal regions showed increased functional coupling. Moreover, in these same subjects, the magnitude of amygdala-orbitofrontal coupling was inversely correlated with novelty seeking, an index of temperamental inflexibility.Our results indicate that heritable variation in dopamine neurotransmission associated with the met allele of the COMT polymorphism results in heightened reactivity and connectivity in corticolimbic circuits. This may reflect a genetic predisposition for inflexible processing of affective stimuli, a mechanism possibly accounting for aspects of arousal and behavioral control that contribute to emotional dysregulation previously reported in met/met individuals.

The current study examined the effects of good and poor control and changes in blood glucose following self-control depletion on task persistence. Good self-control attenuated the effect of depletion on task persistence. Poor control exerted a main effect; however, there were no significant interactions between poor control and self-control depletion. In addition, the association between depletion and task persistence was partially mediated by decreases in blood glucose. Task persistence in the experimental, but not control, condition was correlated with several risk behaviors. These correlations provide support for the external validity of the laboratory experiment. The differential effects of good and poor control support a two-mode model of self-control. The interaction between the depletion manipulation and good self-control suggests that associations between good self-control and behavior may be due, in part, to good self-control reducing the effects of self-control demands on behavior.

Children's prosocial behavior and personal distress are likely affected by children's temperament as well as parenting quality. In this study, we examined bidirectional relations from age 30 to 42 months between children's (N = 218) prosocial or self-focused (presumably distressed) reactions to a relative stranger's distress and both supportive emotion-related maternal reactions to children's emotions and children's shyness/inhibition. When controlling for 30-month prosocial behavior and personal distress behavior, maternal supportive (emotion-focused and problem-focused) reactions were positively related to prosocial behavior and marginally negatively related to children's personal distress behaviors and shyness/inhibition at 42 months. Thirty-month personal distress behavior predicted greater shyness/inhibition at 42 months, and 30-month shyness/inhibition was negatively related to prosocial behavior at 30 months.© 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

This study examined longitudinal development of prosocial behavior, assessed by the parent-reported Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire, and inhibitory control, measured by the Opposite Worlds Task, in a sample aged 9 and 12 years (n = 9468, 49.9% girls, 85.8% White) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. The goal was to assess whether the level of prosocial behavior at age 9 relates to change in inhibitory control, and vice versa. Sex differences were also explored. Latent change score models showed that low inhibitory control in boys at age 9 was associated with more decreases in prosocial behavior from 9 to 12 years of age. This may suggest that interventions targeting inhibitory control in boys may also foster their social competence.© 2023 The Authors. Child Development published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Research in Child Development.

Prenatal maternal depression and a multilocus genetic profile of two susceptibility genes implicated in the stress response were examined in an interaction model predicting negative emotionality in the first 3 years. In 179 mother-infant dyads from the Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability, and Neurodevelopment cohort, prenatal depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depressions Scale) was assessed at 24 to 36 weeks. The multilocus genetic profile score consisted of the number of susceptibility alleles from the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region gene (5-HTTLPR): no long-rs25531(A) (LA: short/short, short/long-rs25531(G) [LG], or LG/LG] vs. any LA) and the dopamine receptor D4 gene (six to eight repeats vs. two to five repeats). Negative emotionality was extracted from the Infant Behaviour Questionnaire-Revised at 3 and 6 months and the Early Child Behavior Questionnaire at 18 and 36 months. Mixed and confirmatory regression analyses indicated that prenatal depression and the multilocus genetic profile interacted to predict negative emotionality from 3 to 36 months. The results were characterized by a differential susceptibility model at 3 and 6 months and by a diathesis-stress model at 36 months.

Children's prosocial behaviors show considerable variability. Here we discuss the genetic and environmental contributions to individual differences in children's prosocial behavior. Twin research systematically shows, at least from the age of 3 years, a genetic contribution to individual differences in prosocial behavior, both questionnaire-based and observed. This finding is demonstrated across a wide variety of cultures. We discuss the possibility that different prosocial behaviors have different genetic etiologies. A re-analysis of past twin data shows that sharing and comforting are affected by overlapping genetic factors at age 3.5 years. In contrast, the association between helping and comforting is attributed to environmental factors. The few molecular genetic studies of children's prosocial behavior are reviewed, and we point out genome-wide and polygenic methods as a key future direction. Finally, we discuss the interplay of genetic and environmental factors, focusing on both gene×environment interactions and gene-environment correlations.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Although parenting styles constitute a well-known concept in parenting research, two issues have largely been overlooked in existing studies. In particular, the psychological control dimension has rarely been explicitly modelled and there is limited insight into joint parenting styles that simultaneously characterize maternal and paternal practices and their impact on child development. Using data from a sample of 600 Flemish families raising an 8-to-10 year old child, we identified naturally occurring joint parenting styles. A cluster analysis based on two parenting dimensions (parental support and behavioral control) revealed four congruent parenting styles: an authoritative, positive authoritative, authoritarian and uninvolved parenting style. A subsequent cluster analysis comprising three parenting dimensions (parental support, behavioral and psychological control) yielded similar cluster profiles for the congruent (positive) authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles, while the fourth parenting style was relabeled as a congruent intrusive parenting style. ANOVAs demonstrated that having (positive) authoritative parents associated with the most favorable outcomes, while having authoritarian parents coincided with the least favorable outcomes. Although less pronounced than for the authoritarian style, having intrusive parents also associated with poorer child outcomes. Results demonstrated that accounting for parental psychological control did not yield additional parenting styles, but enhanced our understanding of the pattern among the three parenting dimensions within each parenting style and their association with child outcomes. More similarities than dissimilarities in the parenting of both parents emerged, although adding psychological control slightly enlarged the differences between the scores of mothers and fathers.

Behaviour change interventions are effective in supporting individuals in achieving temporary behaviour change. Behaviour change maintenance, however, is rarely attained. The aim of this review was to identify and synthesise current theoretical explanations for behaviour change maintenance to inform future research and practice.Potentially relevant theories were identified through systematic searches of electronic databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO). In addition, an existing database of 80 theories was searched, and 25 theory experts were consulted. Theories were included if they formulated hypotheses about behaviour change maintenance. Included theories were synthesised thematically to ascertain overarching explanations for behaviour change maintenance. Initial theoretical themes were cross-validated.One hundred and seventeen behaviour theories were identified, of which 100 met the inclusion criteria. Five overarching, interconnected themes representing theoretical explanations for behaviour change maintenance emerged. Theoretical explanations of behaviour change maintenance focus on the differential nature and role of motives, self-regulation, resources (psychological and physical), habits, and environmental and social influences from initiation to maintenance.There are distinct patterns of theoretical explanations for behaviour change and for behaviour change maintenance. The findings from this review can guide the development and evaluation of interventions promoting maintenance of health behaviours and help in the development of an integrated theory of behaviour change maintenance.

<p id="p00005">Dopaminergic genes have been frequently found to be associated with aggressive behavior, but the results are inconsistent. One reason for the inconsistencies is there might be the U-shaped relationship between dopaminergic genetic variants and aggressive behavior. More specifically, evidence has suggested an inverted U-shaped relationship between dopamine activity and prefrontal cortex (PFC) function (a critical region related to aggression), with both dopaminergic hypofunction and hyperfunction, were related to poor PFC function. It is possible that the relationship between dopaminergic genes and aggression approximates a U-shaped function. However, such U-shaped relationship is rarely investigated in previous studies. Moreover, several concerns have been raised about the ignoring the polygenic traits of aggressive behavior when conducting gene by environment interaction (G×E) research using single loci. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the interaction between dopaminergic genetic variants and maternal negative parenting on adolescent aggressive behavior by adopting the approach of multilocus genetic profile score (MGPS).</p> <p id="p00010">Participants were 1044 adolescents (mean age 13.32 ± 0.49 years old at Time 1, 50.2% females) recruited from the community. The adolescents completed two assessments with an interval of one year. Saliva samples, mother-reported parenting data and data on peer-nominated aggressive behavior were collected. All measures showed good reliability. The MGPS was created by <i>COMT</i> rs4680 polymorphisms, <i>DRD2</i> rs1799978 polymorphisms and <i>DAT1</i> rs27072 polymorphisms. Genotyping in three dopaminergic genes were performed for each participant in real time with MassARRAY RT software version 3.0.0.4 and analyzed using the MassARRAY Typer software version 3.4 (Sequenom). To examine whether negative parenting moderates the effects of MGPS on adolescent aggressive behavior, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted.</p> <p id="p00015">The results found that after controlling for gender, maternal negative parenting was a significant risk factor for adolescent aggressive behavior, with higher negative parenting related to more aggressive behavior. The main effect of the quadratic term of MGPS on adolescents’ aggressive behavior was significant at Time 2, indicating a U-shaped relationship between MGPS and adolescent aggressive behavior. Moreover, the quadratic term of MGPS significantly interacted with maternal negative parenting in predicting aggressive behavior at Time 1 and Time 2, respectively. Specifically, there was a U-shaped relationship between MGPS and adolescent aggressive behavior, indicating that adolescents with higher and lower MGPS exhibited higher levels of aggressive behavior when experiencing higher levels of maternal negative parenting. No significant effect of MGPS on adolescent aggressive behavior when experiencing lower levels of maternal negative parenting existed.</p> <p id="p00020">This study provides evidence for the molecular mechanisms of multilocus genetic profile scores and gene-environment interactions in adolescent aggressive behavior.</p>

多巴胺活性与攻击相关的脑功能活动呈倒U型关系。本研究对1044名汉族青少年(初次测评时M _age=13.32 ± 0.49岁, 50.2%女生)的攻击行为进行间隔一年的两次测评, 采用多基因累积分范式考察多巴胺系统的多基因功能积分与青少年攻击行为间的关系以及母亲消极教养的调节作用。结果发现, 多巴胺系统多基因累积分二次项与母亲消极教养交互影响两个时间点的青少年攻击行为：在较高母亲消极教养条件下, 携带较多或较少低多巴胺活性相关等位基因的青少年表现出高水平的攻击行为, 呈U型关系; 在较低母亲消极教养条件下, 多基因累积分二次项与青少年的攻击行为关系不显著。本研究为多巴胺系统基因的联合效应与母亲消极教养调节青少年攻击行为的基因作用机制提供证据。

Fear of negative evaluation and prosocial behavior have been identified as predictive factors influencing the development of loneliness in adolescence, representing typical factors in the cognitive and behavioral processes of re-affiliation. The elucidation of plausible direct and indirect pathways linking these pivotal factors to adolescents' loneliness need further exploration. This study aimed to investigate the direct and indirect relationships between the fear of negative evaluation, prosocial behavior, and adolescents' loneliness through the lens of developmental changes. A total of 533 adolescents (49.0% girls, M = 15.18 years, SD = 0.71) participated in this longitudinal study, assessed at three timepoints over a span of two years with 12-month intervals. Latent growth modeling uncovered direct associations between the developmental trajectories of both fear of negative evaluation and prosocial behavior with the developmental trajectory of adolescents' loneliness. The developmental trajectory of fear of negative evaluation exhibited an indirect association with the developmental trajectory of loneliness through the mediating role of prosocial behavior. These findings highlighted the roles of cognitive and behavioral re-affiliation processes, both independently and as mediators, in influencing adolescent loneliness, suggesting that interventions aimed at reducing fear of negative evaluation and promoting prosocial behavior could effectively mitigate adolescents' loneliness.© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

A new inventory (EMBU) to assess the own memories of parental rearing behaviour was constructed. EMBU is comprised of 81 questions grouped in 15 subscales and two additional questions referring to consistency and strictness of parental rearing behaviour to be answered in a four-step scale for the father and for the mother separately. The subscales cover rearing practices as for eexample overinvolment, affection, overprotectiveness, guilt engendering, rejection. 152 healthy subjects of both sexes (108 males and 44 females) completed the inventory. The item analysis showed that both parents attained similar scores in about half of the questions. Fathers scored higher in items referring to strictness, punishment and a low degree of involvement whereas mothers scored higher in items referring to involvement and affection. A principal component factor analysis permitted the hypothesized subscales to be identified. An analysis of the internal consistency of the subscales revealed a high frequency of significant internal correlations. A principal component factor analysis of the total scores of the 15 subscales allowed three main dimensions of rearing behaviour to be identified quite close to those reported in similar studies in the literature where other scales had been used.

Fourteen years ago, the first article on molecular genetics was published in this journal: Child Development, Molecular Genetics, and What to Do With Genes Once They Are Found (R. Plomin & M. Rutter, 1998). The goal of the article was to outline what developmentalists can do with genes once they are found. These new directions for developmental research are still relevant today. The problem lies with the phrase "once they are found": It has been much more difficult than expected to identify genes responsible for the heritability of complex traits and common disorders, the so-called missing heritability problem. The present article considers reasons for the missing heritability problem and possible solutions.© 2012 The Author. Child Development © 2012 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

A large number of studies document that children differ in the degree they are shaped by their developmental context with some being more sensitive to environmental influences than others. Multiple theories suggest that Environmental Sensitivity is a common trait predicting the response to negative as well as positive exposures. However, most research to date has relied on more or less proximal markers of Environmental Sensitivity. In this paper we introduce a new questionnaire-the Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) scale-as a promising self-report measure of Environmental Sensitivity. After describing the development of the short 12-item HSC scale for children and adolescents, we report on the psychometric properties of the scale, including confirmatory factor analysis and test-retest reliability. After considering bivariate and multivariate associations with well-established temperament and personality traits, we apply Latent Class Analysis to test for the existence of hypothesized sensitivity groups. Analyses are conducted across 5 studies featuring 4 different U.K.-based samples ranging in age from 8-19 years and with a total sample size of N = 3,581. Results suggest the 12-item HSC scale is a psychometrically robust measure that performs well in both children and adolescents. Besides being relatively independent from other common traits, the Latent Class Analysis suggests that there are 3 distinct groups with different levels of Environmental Sensitivity-low (approx. 25-35%), medium (approx. 41-47%), and high (20-35%). Finally, we provide exploratory cut-off scores for the categorization of children into these different groups which may be useful for both researchers and practitioners. (PsycINFO Database Record(c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Promoting children's prosocial behavior is a goal for parents, healthcare professionals, and nations. Does positive parenting promote later child prosocial behavior, or do children who are more prosocial elicit more positive parenting later, or both? Relations between parenting and prosocial behavior have to date been studied only in a narrow band of countries, mostly with mothers and not fathers, and child gender has infrequently been explored as a moderator of parenting-prosocial relations. This cross-national study uses 1,178 families (mothers, fathers, and children) from 9 countries to explore developmental transactions between parental acceptance-rejection and girls' and boys' prosocial behavior across 3 waves (child ages 9 to 12). Controlling for stability across waves, within-wave relations, and parental age and education, higher parental acceptance predicted increased child prosocial behavior from age 9 to 10 and from age 10 to 12. Higher age 9 child prosocial behavior also predicted increased parental acceptance from age 9 to 10. These transactional paths were invariant across 9 countries, mothers and fathers, and girls and boys. Parental acceptance increases child prosocial behaviors later, but child prosocial behaviors are not effective at increasing parental acceptance in the transition to adolescence. This study identifies widely applicable socialization processes across countries, mothers and fathers, and girls and boys. (PsycINFO Database Record(c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Research suggests that genetic variants linked to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis functioning moderate the association between environmental stressors and depression, but examining gene-environment interactions with single polymorphisms limits power. The current study used a multilocus genetic profile score (MGPS) approach to measuring HPA-axis-related genetic variation and examined interactions with acute stress, chronic stress, and childhood adversity (assessed using contextual threat interview methods) with depressive symptoms as outcomes in an adolescent sample (ages 14-17, N = 241; White subsample n = 192). Additive MGPSs were calculated using 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms within HPA-axis genes (CRHR1, NR3C2, NR3C1, FKBP5). Higher MGPS directly correlated with adolescent depressive symptoms. Moreover, MGPS predicted stronger associations between acute and chronic stress and adolescent depressive symptoms and also moderated the effect of interpersonal, but not noninterpersonal, childhood adversity. Gene-environment interactions individually accounted for 5%-8% of depressive symptom variation. All results were retained following multiple test correction and stratification by race. Results suggest that using MGPSs provides substantial power to examine gene-environmental interactions linked to affective outcomes among adolescents.

Low self-control is associated with increased consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and unhealthy food. This systematic review aimed to assess whether individual differences in self-control modify the effectiveness of interventions to reduce consumption of these products, and hence their potential to reduce consumption amongst those whose consumption is generally greater. Searches of six databases were supplemented with snowball searches and forward citation tracking. Narrative synthesis summarised findings by: consumption behaviour (alcohol, tobacco, food); psychological processes targeted by the intervention (reflective, non-reflective, or both); and study design (experiment, cohort, or cross-sectional). Of 54 eligible studies, 22 reported no evidence of modification, 18 reported interventions to be less effective in those with low self-control, and 14 reported interventions to be more effective in those with low self-control. This pattern did not differ from chance. Whilst self-control often influenced intervention outcomes, there was no consistent pattern of effects, even when stratifying studies by consumption behaviour, intervention type, or study design. There was a notable absence of evidence regarding interventions that restructure physical or economic environments. In summary, a heterogeneous, low-quality evidence base suggests an inconsistent moderating effect of low self-control on the effectiveness of interventions to change consumption behaviours.

We examined whether adolescents' genetic sensitivity, measured by a polygenic index score, moderated the longitudinal associations between parenting and adolescents' psychological adjustment. The sample included 323 mothers, fathers, and adolescents (177 female, 146 male; Time 1 [T1] average age = 12.61 years, SD = 0.54 years; Time 2 [T2] average age = 13.59 years, SD = 0.59 years). Parents' warmth and hostility were rated by trained, independent observers using videotapes of family discussions. Adolescents reported their symptoms of anxiety, depressed mood, and hostility at T1 and T2. The results from autoregressive linear regression models showed that adolescents' genetic sensitivity moderated associations between observations of both mothers' and fathers' T1 parenting and adolescents' T2 composite maladjustment, depression, anxiety, and hostility. Compared to adolescents with low genetic sensitivity, adolescents with high genetic sensitivity had worse adjustment outcomes when parenting was low on warmth and high on hostility. When parenting was characterized by high warmth and low hostility, adolescents with high genetic sensitivity had better adjustment outcomes than their counterparts with low genetic sensitivity. The results support the differential susceptibility model and highlight the complex ways that genes and environment interact to influence development.

Research shows that genetics and effortful control play an important role in the link between parenting and problem behavior. However, little is known about how these factors act simultaneously. This article used a moderated mediation model to examine whether effortful control mediated the link between parenting and externalizing problem behavior, and whether dopaminergic genes (i.e., polygenic index score including DAT1, DRD2, DRD4, COMT) moderated this link. Two three-wave studies were conducted on community samples (adolescents: Study 1: N = 457; M = 15.74; Study 2: N = 221; M = 12.84). There was no mediation by effortful control, but a moderation by dopaminergic reactivity was observed. Despite inconsistent evidence, this article indicates that the development of externalizing problem behavior is subject to genetic characteristics and parenting.

Parental warmth and hostility are two key dimensions of parenting for child development, but the differential effects of these parenting dimensions on child prosocial and antisocial development has not been adequately investigated. The current study hypothesized that parental warmth would be uniquely related to child callous-unemotional traits and prosocial behavior, whereas parental hostility would be uniquely related to child delinquency and aggression. These hypotheses were investigated in a diverse sample of 1,216 adolescent males (13 to 17 years old, 46% Latino, 37% Black) with justice-system involvement in the 5 years following their first arrest. Hybrid models estimated within- and between-individual associations over time, while controlling for the overlap between parental warmth and hostility and between child prosocial and antisocial outcomes. Results indicated that maternal warmth showed consistent associations with callous-unemotional traits and prosocial behavior over time, whereas maternal hostility showed consistent associations with delinquency and aggression over time. Further, the findings were similar across racial and ethnic groups. Implications for developmental models of antisocial behavior, particularly for those including the role of callous-unemotional traits, are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

采用环境×基因×环境(E×G×E)研究设计, 以637名青少年为被试, 考察了负性生活事件、COMT基因Val158Met多态性和父母教养行为对青少年早期抑郁的影响。结果发现：负性生活事件对青少年早期抑郁具有显著正向预测作用, 且COMT基因Val158Met多态性和父亲积极教养行为在其中起调节作用, 但该调节作用仅存在于男青少年群体中：在携带Val/Val基因型的男青少年中, 当父亲积极教养行为水平较低时, 青少年的抑郁水平随负性生活事件的增多而显著上升, 当父亲积极教养行为水平较高时, 负性生活事件对抑郁无显著预测作用; 在携带Met等位基因的男青少年中, 上述交互作用不显著。

Research suggests that genetic variants linked to serotonin functioning moderate the association between environmental stressors and depressive symptoms, but examining gene-environment interactions with single polymorphisms limits power.A multilocus genetic profile score (MGPS) approach to measuring serotonergic multilocus genetic variation and examined interactions with interpersonal relationship, insomnia with depressive symptoms as outcomes in an adolescent sample (average age = 14.15 ± 0.63 years since first measurement; range: 13 to 15).(1) interpersonal relationship predicted adolescent depressive symptoms; (2) insomnia mediated the effect of interpersonal relationships on adolescent depressive symptoms; (3) the THP2 gene rs4570625 polymorphism G allele was a key risk factor for depressive symptom, and the MGPS moderated the effects of teacher-student relationship and insomnia on adolescent depressive symptom. Specifically, as the MGPS increased, the effects of insomnia on adolescent depressive symptom were enhanced; further, when the MGPS score increased, the effect of teacher-student relationship on depression showed a similar phenomenon with an increased slope and enhanced prediction; and (4) the results of sensitivity analysis showed that multilocus genetic interaction with the environment had a better explanatory power and stability for depression than single polymorphism studies.MGPS provides substantial power to examine gene-environmental interactions linked to affective outcomes among adolescents.Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.

<p id="p00005">Prosocial behaviour, that is, behaviour intended to benefit others, has been linked to a variety of desirable traits, including positive relationships, better academic performance and lower levels of antisocial behaviours. As such, the origins and the mechanisms underlying the remarkable individual differences in prosocial behaviour are the focus of an increasing number of studies, with numerous research consistently documenting the important role of positive parenting and empathy. Notably, differentiating between cognitive and emotional components of empathy may help further clarify the processes by which parenting eventuates in prosocial behaviour. Although all children may be impacted by parenting, some children benefit more than others from good-quality rearing. Recent research has suggested that the oxytocin receptor (<i>OXTR</i>) gene rs53576 polymorphism could determine the degree to which a child is influenced by environment. The biological function of rs53576 polymorphism has yet to be delineated, and the literature is mixed with regard to heterozygote (AG) grouping; thus, the implications for AG grouping are not well understood. Therefore, the dummy coding, additive coding, dominant coding and recessive coding models were all investigated in this study to test the nature of gene effect. This study aimed to extend previous studies on the association between parenting and prosocial behaviour by examining the mediating role of cognitive and emotional empathy and the moderating role of the <i>OXTR</i> gene.</p> <p id="p00010">The participants were 1082 mother-offspring dyads (adolescents&#x02019; mean age: 12.32 &#x000b1; 0.48 years, 50.3% females) recruited from the community. At Time 1, mothers reported their positive parenting via the Chinese version of the Child-Rearing Practices Report (CRPR) and peer-rated adolescents&#x02019; prosocial behaviours. At Time 2, adolescent-reported perspective-taking and empathic concern, peer-rated prosocial behaviours and saliva samples were collected. All measures showed good reliability. Genotyping at <i>OXTR</i> gene was performed with MassARRAY RT software version 3.0.0.4 and analysed using the MassARRAY Typer software version 3.4 (Sequenom).</p> <p id="p00015">Results showed that adolescents who received higher levels of maternal positive parenting exhibited more prosocial behaviours. However, the direct effect of positive parenting on prosocial behaviour became nonsignificant after controlling for baseline prosocial behaviour. Cognitive empathy, but not emotional empathy, mediated the association between positive parenting and prosocial behaviour. Specifically, positive parenting was positively associated with cognitive empathy, which in turn was positively associated with adolescent prosocial behaviour. Further, this mediation was moderated by the <i>OXTR</i> gene rs53576 polymorphism. For adolescents with AA and GG genotypes, positive parenting was related to higher levels of cognitive empathy, which increased prosocial behaviour. However, this mediation effect was not observed among adolescents with AG genotype. In addition, the results revealed evidence for an overdominance model for <i>OXTR</i> rs53576. Moreover, the G &#x000D7; E term predicted cognitive empathy but not prosocial behaviour. This finding suggests that cognitive empathy may be an endophenotype closer along the causal chain to the genotype and that the strength of the G &#x000D7; E effects was greater for empathy than for distal behavioural outcomes.</p> <p id="p00020">These findings add to our understanding of how empathy and genetic factors contribute to adolescents&#x02019; prosocial behaviour within the family context. In addition, these results suggest that cognitive and emotional aspects of empathy are likely to be involved&#x02014;in somewhat different psychosocial mechanisms&#x02014;in the development of prosocial behaviour. Notably, the overdominance effect of <i>OXTR</i> should be interpreted with caution until replicated. However, when a three-category polymorphic genotype is used, as is commonly applied when modelling a dominant or recessive effect, both false positive and false negative results can occur, and the nature of the interaction can be misrepresented.</p>

诸多研究显示母亲积极教养能够促进青少年亲社会行为的发展, 但是迄今对其内在作用机制尚不清楚。本研究基于&#x0201c;基因-环境-内表型-行为&#x0201d;模型, 采用问卷法和DNA分型技术, 对1082名青少年(初测年龄为12.32 &#x000b1; 0.48岁, 50.3%女生)及其母亲进行为期2年的追踪研究, 考察共情在母亲积极教养与青少年亲社会行为间的中介作用, 以及OXTR基因rs53576多态性对该中介机制的调节作用。结果发现：(1)青少年认知共情(观点采择)在母亲积极教养和亲社会行为之间起中介作用, 而情绪共情(移情关心)的中介作用不显著; (2) OXTR基因对积极教养与亲社会行为间直接路径的调节作用不显著; (3) OXTR基因能够调节&#x0201c;母亲积极教养-认知共情-亲社会行为&#x0201d;中介机制的前半路径, 并且显现出一种超显性的基因效应。在携带GG和AA基因型的青少年中, 母亲积极教养显著正向预测认知共情, 进而增加了其亲社会行为, 而在携带AG杂合子基因型的青少年中, 这一中介效应则不显著。研究结果有助于从催产素受体基因多态性、共情能力和家庭教养等方面阐明青少年亲社会行为的发生机制及个体差异。

Prior studies have indicated that prosocial behavior might be a protective factor for developing internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. However, little research has been conducted on within-person changes of prosocial behavior and behavioral problems over time. With random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs), the current study analyzed longitudinal associations between prosocial behavior and behavioral problems in two twin cohorts (98% Western European): in early childhood (age = 4.77, =.58, 52% girls, = 440) and middle childhood (age = 7.94, =.67, 51% girls, = 512). To obtain robust results, two parental reported questionnaires and an observational task were used as prosocial behavior assessments. In line with the literature, we found a significant between-person association between externalizing behavior and parent reported prosocial behavior in middle childhood, but not in early childhood. Some evidence indicated that changes in externalizing problems affect later prosocial behavior in middle childhood. Overall, however, the RI-CLPMs provided most support for the hypothesis that within-person changes in prosocial behavior are not related to within-person changes in behavioral problems. Thus, our findings did not support the hypothesis that increased prosocial behavior directly results in decreased behavioral problems, but emphasizes the need to take into account the multifaceted nature of prosocial behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).