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Perceived discrimination, serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region status, and the development of conduct problems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 April 2011

Gene H. Brody ,
Steven R. H. Beach ,
Yi-Fu Chen ,
Ezemenari Obasi ,
Robert A. Philibert ,
Steven M. Kogan  and
Ronald L. Simons
Gene H. Brody*
Affiliation:
University of Georgia Emory University
Steven R. H. Beach
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
Yi-Fu Chen
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
Ezemenari Obasi
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
Robert A. Philibert
Affiliation:
University of Iowa
Steven M. Kogan
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
Ronald L. Simons
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Gene H. Brody, Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, 1095 College Station Road, Athens, GA 30605-4527; E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

This study examined the prospective relations of adolescents' perceptions of discrimination and their genetic status with increases in conduct problems. Participants were 461 African American youths residing in rural Georgia (Wave 1 mean age = 15.5 years) who provided three waves of data and a saliva sample from which a polymorphism in the SCL6A4 (serotonin transporter [5-HTT]) gene polymorphism known as the 5-HTT linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) was genotyped. Data analyses using growth curve modeling indicated that perceived discrimination was significantly related to the slope of conduct problems. As hypothesized, interactions between perceived discrimination and genetic status emerged for male but not female youths. Compared with those carrying two copies of the long allele variant of 5-HTTLPR, male youths carrying one or two copies of its short allele variant evinced higher rates of conduct problems over time when they perceived high levels of racial discrimination. These findings are consistent with resilience and differential susceptibility propositions stating that genes can both foster sensitivity to adverse events and confer protection from those events.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , May 2011 , pp. 617 - 627
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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