An Introduction to the Special Issue: Developmental Behavior Genetics and Externalizing Psychopathology

Elam, Kit K.; DiLalla, Lisabeth F.

doi:10.1007/s10519-021-10078-4

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Furthermore, we investigate associations in childhood (age 8 years) and adolescence (age 14 years), adding to the literature on genetic nurture and genetic transmission in the earlier developmental stages of conduct problems and externalising behaviours. Effects might differ across developmental stages, as externalising behaviours such as conduct problems likely express differently in childhood and adolescence [ 46 ] and genetic effects on externalising behaviours may differ across development [ 47 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining intergenerational risk factors for conduct problems using polygenic scores in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study

Frach,

Barkhuizen,

Allegrini

et al. 2024

Mol Psychiatry

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The aetiology of conduct problems involves a combination of genetic and environmental factors, many of which are inherently linked to parental characteristics given parents’ central role in children’s lives across development. It is important to disentangle to what extent links between parental heritable characteristics and children’s behaviour are due to transmission of genetic risk or due to parental indirect genetic influences via the environment (i.e., genetic nurture). We used 31,290 genotyped mother-father-child trios from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), testing genetic transmission and genetic nurture effects on conduct problems using 13 polygenic scores (PGS) spanning psychiatric conditions, substance use, education-related factors, and other risk factors. Maternal or self-reports of conduct problems at ages 8 and 14 years were available for up to 15,477 children. We found significant genetic transmission effects on conduct problems for 12 out of 13 PGS at age 8 years (strongest association: PGS for smoking, β = 0.07, 95% confidence interval = [0.05, 0.08]) and for 4 out of 13 PGS at age 14 years (strongest association: PGS for externalising problems, β = 0.08, 95% confidence interval = [0.05, 0.11]). Conversely, we did not find genetic nurture effects for conduct problems using our selection of PGS. Our findings provide evidence for genetic transmission in the association between parental characteristics and child conduct problems. Our results may also indicate that genetic nurture via traits indexed by our polygenic scores is of limited aetiological importance for conduct problems—though effects of small magnitude or effects via parental traits not captured by the included PGS remain a possibility.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining intergenerational risk factors for conduct problems using polygenic scores in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study

Frach,

Barkhuizen,

Allegrini

et al. 2024

Mol Psychiatry

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“…According to the unified theory of development (Sameroff, 2010, 2020), child development occurs as a result of the bidirectional, interdependent effects of genetic factors and environmental influences. Indeed, a robust literature supports the biosocial foundations of externalizing behaviors (Elam & DiLalla, 2021). Twin studies demonstrate a significant genetic component of externalizing, as well as highlight the salience of environmental influences, indicating that each accounts for approximately 50% of the variance in these behaviors (Hicks et al., 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of dopamine receptor D4, temperamental negativity, and household chaos on young twins’ externalizing behaviors

Jamnik

DiLalla

2023

Developmental Psychobiology

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Biological and genetic factors, as well as contextual influences, contribute to the etiology of externalizing behaviors in children and adolescents. The current project used a longitudinal design to examine how individual vulnerability for externalizing behavior is influenced by the interplay among biological/genetic and environmental factors, and how this occurs across development. We investigated the influence of dopamine receptor D4 genotype (DRD4), child temperament, and household chaos on children's externalizing behaviors using a sample of twins/triplets tested at the ages of 4 and 5 years (n = 229), including a subset of these who were tested again in middle childhood (ages 7-13 years; n = 174). Multilevel linear regression modeling demonstrated that the DRD4-7repeat genotype, 4-year-old negative affectivity, and household chaos at the age of 4 years were related to 5-year-old externalizing behaviors. Stability in externalizing behaviors from the age of 5 years to middle childhood was demonstrated. A significant interaction between DRD4 and household chaos showed that children with no 7-repeat DRD4 alleles had significantly higher levels of externalizing in homes with extremely low levels of parent-reported chaos, suggesting a "goodness-of-fit" pattern of gene-environment interaction. These findings suggest that risk for childhood externalizing behaviors is likely multifaceted and differs across developmental periods.

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