Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T14:33:03.510Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Bidirectional genetic and environmental influences on mother and child behavior: The family system as the unit of analyses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2007

W. Roger Mills-Koonce ,
Cathi B. Propper ,
Jean-Louis Gariepy ,
Clancy Blair ,
Patricia Garrett-Peters  and
Martha J. Cox
W. Roger Mills-Koonce*
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Cathi B. Propper
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jean-Louis Gariepy
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Clancy Blair
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
Patricia Garrett-Peters
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Martha J. Cox
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Roger Mills-Koonce, Center for Developmental Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 100 East Franklin Street, CB 8115, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8115; E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Family systems theory proposes that an individual's functioning depends on interactive processes within the self and within the context of dyadic family subsystems. Previous research on these processes has focused largely on behavioral, cognitive, and psychophysiological properties of the individual and the dyad. The goals of this study were to explore genetic and environmental interactions within the family system by examining how the dopamine receptor D2 gene (DRD2) A1+ polymorphism in mothers and children relates to maternal sensitivity, how maternal and child characteristics might mediate those effects, and whether maternal sensitivity moderates the association between DRD2 A1+ and child affective problems. Evidence is found for an evocative effect of child polymorphism on parenting behavior, and for a moderating effect of child polymorphism on the association between maternal sensitivity and later child affective problems. Findings are discussed from a family systems perspective, highlighting the role of the family as a context for gene expression in both mothers and children.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , Fall 2007 , pp. 1073 - 1087
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abidin, R. R. (1995). The Parenting Stress Index professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2000). Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms and profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.Google Scholar
Aroian, K., & Patsdaughter, C. (1989). Multiple-method, cross-cultural assessment of psychological distress. IMAGE: Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 21, 90–93.Google ScholarPubMed
Atkinson, L., Chisholm, V. C., Scott, B., Goldberg, S., Vaughn, B. E., Blackwell, J., et al. (1999). Maternal sensitivity, child functional level, and attachment in Down syndrome. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 64, 45–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2006). Gene–environment interaction of the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) and observed maternal insensitivity predicting externalizing behavior in preschoolers. Developmental Psychobiology, 48, 406–409.Google Scholar
Barr, C. L., & Kidd, K. K. (1993). Population frequencies of the A1 allele at the dopamine D2 receptor locus. Biological Psychiatry, 34, 204–209.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benjamin, J., Ebstein, R. P., & Belmaker, R. H. (2002). Molecular genetics and the human personality. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.Google Scholar
Benjamin, J., Li, L., Patterson, C., Greenberg, B. D., Murphy, D. L., & Hamer, D. H. (1996). Population and familial association between the D4 dopamine receptor gene and measures of novelty seeking. Nature Genetics, 12, 81–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Belsky, J. (1984). The determinants of parenting: A process model. Child Development, 55, 83–96.Google Scholar
Belsky, J., Rha, J.-H., & Park, S.-Y. (2000). Exploring reciprocal parent and child effects in the case of child inhibition in US and Korean samples. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 24, 338–347.Google Scholar
Bowirrat, A., & Oscar-Berman, M. (2005). Relationship between dopaminergic neurotransmission, alcoholism, and reward deficiency syndrome. American Journal of Medical genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 132B, 29–37.Google Scholar
Brody, G. H., Murry, V. M., Kim, S., & Brown, A. C. (2002). Longitudinal pathways to competence and psychological adjustment among African American children living in rural single-parent households. Child Development, 73, 1505–1516.Google Scholar
Cairns, R. (1997). Socialization and sociogenesis. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Calkins, S. D., & Dedmon, S. E. (2000). Physiological and behavioral regulation in two-year-old children with aggressive/destructive behavior problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 28, 103–118.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caspi, A., McClay, J., Moffitt, T., Mill, J., Martin, J., Craig, I., et al. (2002). Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children. Science, 297, 851–854.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caspi, A., Sugden, K., Moffitt, T., Taylor, A., Craig, I., Harrington, H., et al. (2003, July). Influence of life stress on depression: Moderation by a polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene. Science, 301, 386–389.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cloninger, C. (1987). A systematic method for clinical description and classification of personality variants. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 573–588.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cloninger, C. R., Sigvardsson, S., & Bohman, M. (1996). Type I and type II alcoholism: An update. Alcohol Health and Research World, 20, 18–23.Google ScholarPubMed
Comings, D. E., Muhleman, D., & Gysin, R. (1996). Dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene and susceptibility to posttraumatic stress disorder: A study and replication. Biological Psychiatry, 40, 368–372.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Comings, D. E., Rosenthal, R. J., Lesieur, H. R., Rugle, L. J., Muhleman, D., Chiu, C., et al. (1996). A study of the dopamine D2 receptor gene in pathological gambling. Pharmacogenetics, 6, 223–234.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cox, M. J., Owen, M. T., Henderson, V. K., & Margand, N. A. (1992). Prediction of infant–mother and infant–father attachment. Developmental Psychology, 28, 474–483.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, M. J., & Payley, B. (2003). Understanding families as systems. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12, 193–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crockenberg, S., & Leerkes, E. (2003). Parental acceptance, postpartum depression, and maternal sensitivity: Mediating and moderating processes. Journal of Family Psychology, 17, 80–93.Google Scholar
Crockenberg, S. B. (1981). Infant irritability, mother responsiveness, and social support influences on the security of infant–mother attachment. Child Development, 52, 857–865.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Croog, S., Levine, S., Testa, M., & Brown, B. (1986). The effects of antihypertensive therapy on the quality of life. New England Journal of Medicine, 314, 1657–1664.Google Scholar
Derogatis, L. R., & Spencer, P. M. (1982). Administration and procedures: BSI manual: I. Clinical psychometric research. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.Google Scholar
Ebstein, R. P., Levine, J., Geller, V., Auerbach, J., Gritsenko, I., & Belmaker, R.H. (1998). Dopamine D4 receptor and serotonin transporter promoter in the determination of neonatal temperament. Molecular Psychiatry, 3, 238–246.Google Scholar
Espinosa, M., Beckwith, L., Howard, J., Tyler, R., & Swanson, K. (2001). Maternal psychopathology and attachment in toddlers of heavy cocaine-using mothers. Infant Mental Health Journal, 22, 316–333.Google Scholar
Faraone, S. V., Doyle, A. E., Mick, E., & Biederman, J. (2001). Meta-analysis of the association between the 7-repeat allele of the dopamine D(4) receptor gene and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 1052–1057.Google Scholar
Gartstein, M. A., & Rothbart, M. K. (in press). Studying infant temperament via a revision of The Infant Behavior Questionnaire. Journal of Infant Behavior and Development.Google Scholar
Gelernter, J., Kranzler, H., Coccaro, E., Siever, L., New, A., & Mulgrew, C. L. (1997). D4 dopamine-receptor (DRD4) alleles and novelty seeking in substance-dependent, personality-disorder, and control subjects. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 61, 1144–1152.Google ScholarPubMed
Goldsmith, H. H., & Rothbart, M. K. (1991). Contemporary instruments for assessing early temperament by questionnaire and in the laboratory. In Angleitner, A. & Strelau, J.Explorations in temperament: International perspectives on theory and measurement (pp. 249–272). New York: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Gurling, H. M. D., & Cook, C. C. H. (1999). The genetic predisposition to alcohol dependence. Current Opinions in Psychiatry, 12, 269–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hummer, K., & Samuels, A. (1988). The influence of the recent death of a spouse on the parenting function of the surviving parent. In Altshcul, S.Childhood bereavement and its aftermath. Madison, CT: International Universities Press.Google Scholar
Jonsson, E., Nothen, M., Gustavsson, J., & Neidt, H. (1997, May). Lack of evidence for the allelic association between personality traits and the dopamine D-sub-4 receptor gene polymorphisms. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 697–699.Google Scholar
Kirley, A., Lowe, N., Mullins, C., McCarron, M., Daly, G., Waldman, I., et al. (2004). Phenotype studies of the DRD4 gene polymorphisms in ADHD: Association with oppositional defiant disorder and positive family history. American Journal of Medical Genetics: Neuropsychiatric Genetetics, 131, 38–42.Google Scholar
Kochanska, G. (2001). Emotional development in children with different attachment histories: The first three years. Child Development, 72, 474–490.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lahti, J., Räikkönen, K., Ekelund, J., Peltonen, L., Raitakari, O., & Keltikangas-Järvinen, L. (2005, June). Novelty seeking: Interaction between parental alcohol use and dopamine D4 receptor gene exon III polymorphism over 17 years. Psychiatric Genetics, 15, 133–139.Google Scholar
Lawford, B. R., Young, R. M., Noble, E. P., Sargent, J., Rowell, J., Shadforth, S., et al. (2000). The D2 dopamine receptor A1 allele and opioid dependence: Association with heroin use and response to methadone treatment. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 96, 592–598.3.0.CO;2-Y>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leerkes, E., & Crockenberg, S. (2002). The development of maternal self-efficacy and its impact on maternal behavior. Infancy, 3, 227–247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, T., Liu, X., Sham, P. C., Aitchison, K. J., Cai, G., Arranz, M. J., et al. (1999). Association analysis between dopamine receptor genes and bipolar affective disorder. Psychiatry Research, 86, 193–201.Google Scholar
Marino, C., Vanzin, L., Giorda, R., Frigerio, A., Lorusso, M. L., & Nobile, M. (2004). An assessment of transmission disequilibrium between quantitative measures of childhood problem behaviors and DRD2/Taq1 and DRD4/48 bp-repeat polymorphisms. Behavior Genetics, 34, 495–502.Google Scholar
McGue, M., Slutske, W., Taylor, J., & Iacono, W.G. (1997). Personality and substance use disorders: I. Effects of gender and alcoholism subtype. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 21, 513–520.Google Scholar
Mills-Koonce, W. R., Gariépy, J.-L., Propper, C. B., Sutton, K., Calkins, S., Moore, G., et al. (2007). Infant and parent factors associated with early maternal sensitivity: A caregiver-attachment systems approach. Infant Behavior and Development, 30, 114–126.Google Scholar
Miyake, H., Nagashima, K., Onigata, K., Nagashima, T., Takano, Y., & Morikawa, A. (1999). Allelic variations of the D2 dopamine receptor gene in children with idiopathic short stature. Journal of Human Genetics, 44, 26–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moore, G., & Calkins, S. (2004, November). Infants' vagal regulation in the still-face paradigm is related to dyadic coordination of mother–infant interaction. Developmental Psychology, 40, 1068–1080.Google Scholar
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (1999). Child care and mother–child interaction in the first three years of life. Developmental Psychology, 35, 1399–1413.Google Scholar
Noble, E., Blum, K., Khalsa, M., & Ritchie, T. (1993). Allelic association of the D-sub-2 dopamine receptor gene with cocaine dependence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 33, 271–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Noble, E. P. (1998). The D2 dopamine receptor gene: A review of association studies in alcoholism and phenotypes. Alcohol, 16, 33–45.Google Scholar
Noble, E. P. (2003). D2 dopamine receptor gene in psychiatric and neurologic disorders and its phenotypes. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 116, 103–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Noble, E. P., Ozkaragoz, T. Z., Ritchie, T. L., Zhang, X., Belin, T. R., & Sparkes, R. S. (1998). D2 and D4 dopamine receptor polymorphisms and personality. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 81, 257–267.3.0.CO;2-E>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Connor, T., Deater-Deckard, K., Fulker, D., Rutter, M., & Plomin, R. (1998). Genotype–environment correlations in late childhood and early adolescence: Antisocial behavioral problems and coercive parenting. Developmental Psychology, 34, 970–981.Google Scholar
O'Hara, B. F., Smith, S. S., Bird, G., Persico, A. M., Suarez, B. K., Cutting, G. R., et al. (1993). Dopamine D2 receptor RFLPs, haplotypes and their association with substance use in Black and Caucasian research volunteers. Human Heredity, 43, 209–218.Google Scholar
Ozkaragoz, T., & Noble, E. P. (2000). Extraversion interaction between D2 dopamine receptor polymorphisms and parental alcoholism. Alcohol, 22, 139–146.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pogue-Geile, M., Ferrell, R., Deka, R., Debski, T., & Manuck, S. (1998). Human novelty seeking personality traits and dopamine D4 receptor polymorphisms: A twin and genetic association study. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 8, 44–48.3.0.CO;2-N>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pohjalainen, T., Rinne, J. O., Nâgren, K.Lehikoinen, P., Anttila, K., Syvalahti, E. K. G., et al. (1998). The A1 allele of the human D2 dopamine receptor gene predicts low D2 receptor availability in healthy volunteers. Molecular Psychiatry, 3, 256–260.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Propper, C. B., Moore, G., Mills-Koonce, W. R., Halpern, C. T., Hill, A., Calkins, S., et al. (2007). Parenting quality, DRD4, and the prediction of externalizing and internalizing behaviors in early childhood. Manuscript submitted for publication.Google Scholar
Propper, C. B., Willoughby, M., Halpern, C. T., Cox, M. J., & Carbone, M. A. (in press). Gene–environment contributions to the development of vagal tone. Developmental Psychobiology.Google Scholar
Riggins-Caspers, K., Cadoret, R., Knutson, J., & Langbehn, D. (2003). Biology–environment interaction and evocative biology–environment correlation: Contributions of harsh discipline and parental psychopathology to problem adolescent behaviors. Behavior Genetics, 33, 205–220.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (2006). Genes and behavior: Nature–nurture interplay explained. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Schmidt, A. L., Fox, N. A., Rubin, K. H., Hu, S., & Hamer, D. H. (2002). Molecular genetics of shyness and aggression in preschoolers. Personality and Individual Differences, 33, 227–238.Google Scholar
Shamir-Essakow, G., Ungerer, J. A., Rapee, R. M., & Safier, R. (2004). Caregiving representations of mothers of behaviorally inhibited and uninhibited preschool children. Developmental Psychology, 40, 899–910.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Suhara, T., Yasuno, F., Sudo, Y., Yamamoto, M., Inoue, M., Okubo, Y., et al. (2001). Dopamine D2 receptors in the insular cortex and the personality trait of novelty seeking. Neuroimage, 13, 891–895.Google Scholar
Thompson, R. A. (1997). Sensitivity and security: New questions to ponder. Child Development, 68, 595–597.Google Scholar
van den Boom, D. C. (1994). The influence of temperament and mothering on attachment and exploration: An experimental manipulation of sensitive responsiveness among lower-class mothers with irritable infants. Child Development, 65, 1457–1477.Google Scholar
van den Boom, D. C. (1997). Sensitivity and attachment: Next steps for developmentalists. Child Development, 68, 592–594.Google Scholar
Wiers, R. W., Sergeant, J. A., & Gunning, W. B. (1994). Psychological mechanisms of enhanced risk of addiction in children of alcoholics: A dual pathway? Acta Paediatrica Supplement, 404, 9–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zuckerman, M. (1993). P-impulsive sensation seeking and its behavioral, psychophysiological and biochemical correlates. Neuropsychobiology, 28, 30–36.Google Scholar