遗传因素和环境因素对儿童亲社会行为影响的双生子研究

目的 应用双生子设计的定量遗传分析方法探讨遗传因素与环境因素对于儿童亲社会行为的影响.方法 使用长处与困难问卷(strengths and difficulties questionnaire,SDQ)家长版本调查了147对成都地区6～16岁双生子的亲社会行为,使用SPSS13.0统计软件、Mx软件进行描述性统计分析、差异性分析、相关分析及遗传分析.结果 (1)除<11岁组外,女性亲社会因子得分显著高于男性(P3<0.05);(2)共享环境因素对儿童亲社会行为的贡献为0.48(95%CI:0.09～0.73),遗传因素的贡献为0.27(95%CI:0～0.66),个体特异性环境因素的贡献为0.25(95%CI:0.18～0.35);(3)女性、家庭实际及理想的亲密度和适应性越好者亲社会行为越好(r:0.17～0.29),而存在孕产期异常情况者、家长管教态度越不一致者亲社会行为越不良(r:-0.16～-0.28).结论 遗传因素和环境因素对儿童的亲社会行为均有影响,年龄和性别与儿童亲社会行为的遗传度相关,影响儿童亲社会行为的环境因素包括家庭功能和教养环境.     

Parenting quality interacts with genetic variation in dopamine receptor D4 to influence temperament in early childhood

We examined the influence of a common allelic variation in the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene and caregiver quality on temperament in early childhood. Children 18-21 months of age were genotyped for the DRD4 48 base pair tandem repeat polymorphism, which has been implicated in the development of attention, sensation seeking, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The children also interacted with their caregiver for 10 min in a laboratory setting, and these videotaped interactions were coded for parenting quality using an observational rating procedure. The presence of the DRD4 7-repeat allele was associated with differences in the influence of parenting on a measure of temperamental sensation seeking constructed from caregiver reports on children's activity level, impulsivity, and high-intensity pleasure. Children with the 7-repeat allele were influenced by parenting quality, with lower quality parenting associated with higher levels of sensation seeking; children without the 7-repeat allele were uninfluenced by parenting quality. Differences between alleles were not related to the child's self-regulation as assessed by the effortful control measure. Previous studies have indicated that the 7-repeat allele is under positive selective pressure, and our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the DRD4 7-repeat allele increased children's sensitivity to environmental factors such as parenting. This study shows that genes influence the relation between parenting and temperament in ways that are important to normal development and psychopathology.     

Differential susceptibility to rearing environment depending on dopamine-related genes: new evidence and a meta-analysis

In the current paper we present new empirical data and meta-analytic evidence for the role of dopamine-related genes as a susceptibility factor interacting with the rearing environment for better and for worse, that is, increasing children's susceptibility to both the adverse effects of unsupportive environments and the beneficial effects of supportive rearing. In Study 1 we examined the readiness of 91 7-year-old children to donate their money to a charity (UNICEF). We tested whether the association between attachment and donating behavior was moderated by the presence of the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) 7-repeat allele. The attachment story completion task was used to assess attachment as an index of the quality of the rearing environment. Children with secure attachment representations donated more but only if they had the DRD4 7-repeat allele. In Study 2 we present the results of a meta-analysis of gene-environment studies on children up to 10 years of age involving dopamine-related genes (dopamine receptor D2, DRD4, dopamine transporter). The cumulative negative effects of these "risk genes" and adverse rearing environments have been stressed, but potentially cumulative positive effects of these same genes interacting with positive rearing environments remained largely unnoticed. We examined the associations between negative and positive rearing environments and developmental outcomes as moderated by dopamine-related gene polymorphisms. Children with the less efficient dopamine-related genes did worse in negative environments than the comparisons without the "genetic risk," but they also profited most from positive environments. Findings are discussed in light of evolutionary theory, and illustrated with some practical implications of differential susceptibility.     

Children's primary health care services: social-cognitive factors related to utilization

OBJECTIVE: To test social-cognitive influences on parent decision-making processes related to children's health care use. METHODS: Eighty-seven primary caretakers of children ages 4 to 9 years completed measures of child health and behavior, parent functioning, and social-cognitive factors related to parenting and health care use. Primary care use was obtained from the children's primary care physician(s) for the 2 years prior to recruitment. RESULTS: Social-cognitive variables accounted for 13.2% of the variance in primary health care use, above and beyond the influence of child health status and psychosocial variables. The best predictive model, accounting for 29.8% of the variance in primary care use, included the interaction between parental stress and self-efficacy to cope with parenting demands, child behavior problems, self-efficacy for accessing physician assistance, medication use, and parent health care use. CONCLUSIONS: Results documented the relationship between self-efficacy and parent stress in decision making about pediatric primary care use. Social-cognitive theory provides a new perspective for evaluating factors that influence health care use.     

Examining the association between parenting and childhood anxiety: a meta-analysis

Theoretical models emphasize the role of parenting in the development and maintenance of child anxiety, but reviews of the empirical literature have provided mixed support for existing theories. To help clarify the role parenting plays in childhood anxiety, we conducted a meta-analysis of 47 studies testing the association between parenting and child anxiety. Across these studies, parenting accounted for only 4% of the variance in child anxiety. Moderator tests indicated that methodological factors (i.e., how child anxiety and parenting were conceptualized and assessed) may be a source of inconsistent findings within the literature. In addition, our analyses revealed that parental control was more strongly associated with child anxiety than was parental rejection. Specific subdimensions within parental rejection and control differed in their association with child anxiety (e.g., autonomy-granting accounted for 18% of the variance, but warmth <1%), indicating that efforts to disaggregate parenting dimensions may inform theory development and future research. Overall, however, the modest association between parenting and child anxiety suggests that understanding the origins of children's anxiety will require identifying factors other than parenting that account for the bulk of the variance.     

Parental problem drinking,parenting, and adolescent alcohol use

The present study examined whether parental problem drinking affected parenting (i.e., behavioral control, support, rule-setting, alcohol-specific behavioral control), and whether parental problem drinking and parenting affected subsequent adolescent alcohol use over time. A total of 428 families, consisting of both parents and two adolescents (mean age 13.4 and 15.2 years at Time 1) participated in a three-wave longitudinal study with annual waves. A series of path analyses were conducted using a structural equation modeling program (Mplus). Results demonstrated that, unexpectedly, parental problem drinking was in general not associated with parenting. For the younger adolescents, higher levels of both parenting and parental problem drinking were related to lower engagement in drinking over time. This implies that shared environment factors (parenting and modeling effects) influence the development of alcohol use in young adolescents. When adolescents grow older, and move out of the initiation phase, their drinking behavior may be more affected by other factors, such as genetic susceptibility, and peer drinking.     

DRD4 7-repeat polymorphism moderates the association between maternal unresolved loss or trauma and infant disorganization

Previous studies have related attachment disorganization in children to either dopamine D4 receptor polymorphisms or maternal unresolved loss or trauma and frightening or anomalous parenting. In this study it was examined whether the interaction between genetic (DRD4 7-repeat and -521 C/T) and environmental risk factors (maternal unresolved loss/trauma and maternal frightening behavior) was associated with infant disorganization. A moderating role of the DRD4 gene was found. Maternal unresolved loss or trauma was associated with infant disorganization, but only in the presence of the DRD4 7-repeat polymorphism. The increase in risk for disorganization in children with the 7-repeat allele exposed to maternal unresolved loss/trauma compared to children without these combined risks was 18.8 fold. Similar moderating effects were not found for maternal frightening behavior. Our findings indicate that children are differentially susceptible to unresolved loss or trauma dependent on the presence of the 7-repeat DRD4 allele.     

DRD4 7-repeat polymorphism moderates the association between maternal unresolved loss or trauma and infant disorganization

Abstract

Previous studies have related attachment disorganization in children to either dopamine D4 receptor polymorphisms or maternal unresolved loss or trauma and frightening or anomalous parenting. In this study it was examined whether the interaction between genetic (DRD4 7-repeat and -521 C/T) and environmental risk factors (maternal unresolved loss/trauma and maternal frightening behavior) was associated with infant disorganization. A moderating role of the DRD4 gene was found. Maternal unresolved loss or trauma was associated with infant disorganization, but only in the presence of the DRD4 7-repeat polymorphism. The increase in risk for disorganization in children with the 7-repeat allele exposed to maternal unresolved loss/trauma compared to children without these combined risks was 18.8 fold. Similar moderating effects were not found for maternal frightening behavior. Our findings indicate that children are differentially susceptible to unresolved loss or trauma dependent on the presence of the 7-repeat DRD4 allele.     

Gene-environment interaction of the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) and observed maternal insensitivity predicting externalizing behavior in preschoolers

Previous studies have related aggression and other externalizing problems in children to either dopamine D4 receptor polymorphisms or harsh and insensitive parenting. In this study it was determined whether the combination of the DRD4 7-repeat polymorphism and maternal insensitivity predicted significantly more externalizing behavior in preschoolers. The results pointed to a gene-environment interaction effect: maternal insensitivity was associated with externalizing (oppositional, aggressive) behaviors, but only in the presence of the DRD4 7-repeat polymorphism. The increase in externalizing behaviors in children with the 7-repeat allele exposed to insensitive care compared to children without these combined risks was sixfold. The data indicate that children are differentially susceptible to insensitive parenting dependent on the presence of the 7-repeat DRD4 allele.     

Genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behavior and alcohol dependence from adolescence to early adulthood

Genetic and environmental influences on symptoms of adult antisocial behavior (AAB) and alcohol dependence at ages 17, 20, and 24 were examined cross-sectionally and longitudinally in 188 monozygotic and 101 dizygotic male twin pairs. A moderate genetic influence on both AAB and alcohol dependence was found at each age, with a substantial proportion of this influence common to the two disorders, suggesting they share susceptibility genes. Biometrical models showed that continuity effects accounted for most of the stable variance in symptoms of both AAB and alcohol dependence, indicating that genetic and environmental effects associated with each of these disorders were similar at each age. Significant cross-lag effects (effects of alcohol dependence contributing to variance in AAB and vice versa) were observed at ages 20 and 24 for both disorders. The largest and theoretically most interesting of these effects indicated that one sixth of the genetic influence on AAB at age 20 was due to genetic effects associated with alcohol dependence at age 17. Thus, alcohol dependence symptoms at age 17 in particular had an effect on antisocial behavior symptoms at age 20, suggesting that alcohol involvement in adolescence may ensnare otherwise desisting youth in persistent antisocial behavior.     

Parenting practices as mediators of child physical activity and weight status

Understanding the environmental factors that influence children's physical activity is an important prerequisite before effective physical activity interventions can be developed and implemented. Parenting is one environmental factor that has been empirically shown to positively influence children's physical activity. However, in order to promote physical activity in children, a better understanding of how parents influence children's physical activity behavior is required. Previously, Birch and Davison developed a model depicting parental factors hypothesized to influence child dietary behaviors. We extended this model by identifying parental factors hypothesized to promote physical activity in children. This review focuses on the mediational role that parenting practices and behaviors play in influencing child mediators of physical activity behavior, and, ultimately, weight status. Priorities for future research are discussed.     

西南双生子登记系统:遗传因素与环境因素对儿童青少年行为发育及心理健康的影响研究

目的 描述西南双生子登记系统的目的 ,样本收集方法,目前现状以及应用前景.研究遗传因素和环境因素对于儿童青少年行为、认知发育以及心理健康的影响.方法 采用儿童自评、家长以及教师评定量表作为测量儿童行为和心理健康水平的工具,同时对儿童认知功能、家庭环境、儿童气质以及父母健康状况进行测评,研究上述指标与儿童行为的相互关系以及遗传因素和环境因素的影响.结果 目前已经登记了成都9339对0～16岁双生子,并对324对双生子进行了DNA卵型鉴定以及详细的行为和认知测评,并对遗传因素和环境因素对于儿童行为的相互影响进行了研究.结论 学校途径招募双生子是进行儿童青少年双生子研究有效的途径.西南双生子登记系统可以为儿童行为发育以及儿童病理心理研究提供重要的国内和国际资源.     

父母养育方式与学习不良儿童行为问题及自我意识的相关研究

目的 :探讨学习成绩不良儿童的行为问题、自我意识与父母养育方式的关系。方法 :采用Conners儿童行为问卷 (父母版 )、Piers -Harris儿童自我意识量表以及父母养育方式问卷对 34名成绩不良儿童和 4 7名成绩优良儿童进行评定。结果 :学习成绩不良儿童较成绩优良儿童行为问题较多 ,自我意识水平较低。相关分析显示 ,成绩不良儿童的行为问题与父母的温暖和理解呈负相关 ,与父母的偏爱呈正相关 ;父母的温暖和理解与成绩不良儿童的自我意识水平呈正相关 ,而父母的惩罚、拒绝否认、偏爱以及过度保护等与儿童自我意识的不同维度呈负相关。结论 :某些不适当的父母养育方式对学习成绩不良儿童的心理健康具有不利影响。     

Emerging self-regulation in toddlers born preterm or low birth weight: differential susceptibility to parenting?

The differential susceptibility to parenting model was examined in relation to toddler self-regulation in a prospective longitudinal study of infants born preterm or low birth weight. We followed 153 mother-infant dyads across five time points between the infant's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit stay and 24 months postterm. Assessments of infant temperament, quality of early parenting interactions, contextual variables, and toddler effortful control and behavior problems were conducted. Results supported differential susceptibility and dual risk models in addition to documenting main effects of early parenting on children's emerging self-regulation. Our data suggested that preterm or low birth weight infants who were prone to distress or rated by mothers as more difficult were particularly susceptible to the effects of early negative parenting.     

The genetic epidemiology of parental discipline

BACKGROUND: Previous studies of parental discipline have identified little influence of heritability on parental control, and some influence of gene-environment correlations, shared environment and child temperament. METHOD: Using interview data from 2003 female twins from a population-based twin registry and 1472 of their parents, we examined reports of parental discipline from four perspectives: (1) father and mother reporting separately on the type of discipline they provided for their offspring; (2) each twin reporting on the type of discipline they received from their parents; (3) each parent reporting on the discipline provided by their spouse; and, (4) each twin reporting on the discipline they provided for their own offspring. Using factor analysis and univariate structural equation modelling, we examined the structure of parental discipline, and the genetic and environmental influences thereon. RESULTS: The seven discipline items yielded two factors, physical discipline and limit setting, which were moderately positively correlated. Parents perceived discipline as largely a common environmental experience for the twins, whereas the twins indicated that discipline was influenced by unique environmental factors and the genotype of the child. Twins as parents indicated no influence of shared environment on discipline, with the majority of influence accounted for by non-shared environment and parental genotype. CONCLUSIONS: Parents recall providing similar discipline to their children, whereas children emphasize the differences in parental discipline. Sources of individual variation in parental discipline vary according to which family member report is examined. In total, parental discipline is partially influenced by the genotype of both the parent and child, and by environmental factors shared by the twins and unique to the individual.     

Etiology of obsessions and compulsions: a meta-analysis and narrative review of twin studies

The relative importance of genetic and environmental factors in the etiology of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms is unclear. Cognitive-behavioral models propose that shared environment (e.g., parenting style) is important. Family segregation studies suggest that nonadditive genetic factors may be involved. To investigate the etiology of OC symptoms, a meta-analysis was conducted of 37 twin samples from 14 studies, supplemented by a narrative review. Results indicated that in terms of mean effect sizes, (a) additive genetic effects and nonshared environment accounted for most of the variance in OC symptoms, (b) shared environment and nonadditive genetic effects made little or no contribution; (c) these findings did not vary with sex or symptom severity; (d) variance due to nonshared environment increased with age; (e) gene-environment interactions play an etiologic role; (f) OC symptoms are shaped by etiologic factors common to all types of OC symptoms but also have symptom-specific etiologies; and (g) OC symptoms are also shaped by very general etiologic factors (e.g., those influencing negative emotionality). Overall, the findings indicate that OC symptoms have a complex etiologic architecture that is not adequately explained by contemporary etiological models.     

Are there meaningful etiological differences within antisocial behavior? Results of a meta-analysis

There is mounting evidence of etiologically driven distinctions between aggressive (AGG) and non-aggressive rule-breaking (RB) forms of antisocial behavior. To date, however, these differences remain somewhat speculative. The current meta-analysis of twin and adoption studies sought to clarify these distinctions by comparing meta-analytic estimates of genetic, shared environmental, and non-shared environmental influences across AGG and RB to more clearly ascertain whether they evidence differential patterns of genetic and environmental influence. A comprehensive literature search resulted in the collection of 103 twin and adoption studies, of which 15 RB samples and 19 AGG samples were ultimately included in the analyses. Results reveal clear evidence of etiological distinctions between AGG and RB. Namely, AGG appears to be a highly heritable condition (genetic factors account for 65% of the variance), with little role for the shared or common environment, particularly after childhood. By contrast, while genetic influences also contribute to RB (48% of the variance), there is an important role for shared environmental effects as well (18% of the variance). Such findings are indicative of meaningful etiologic distinctions between aggressive and rule-breaking forms of antisocial behavior, and underscore the advantage of differentiating between these behavioral subtypes when studying the causal processes that underlie antisocial behavior.     

Mothers' representations of relationships with their children: relations with mother characteristics and feeding sensitivity

OBJECTIVE: To examine parenting representations and feeding interactions of mothers and their children with cerebral palsy (CP) and the extent to which mothers' representations predict their feeding behavior beyond other mother and child characteristics. METHODS: Fifty-eight mothers of children with mild to severe CP ages 16 to 52 months were interviewed with an adapted form of the Parent Development Interview (PDI). Correlation and regression analyses examined relations between representations (compliance with parental requests, achievement, secure base, enmeshment, worry about the child's future, and emotional pain), demographic characteristics, diagnostic severity, and developmental status. RESULTS: Mothers with more compliance-related concerns showed less sensitivity, acceptance, and delight during feeding. Mothers experiencing more emotional pain displayed more hostility. Mothers reporting worries about the child displayed sensitivity and delight. Representations of compliance-related experiences and worry about the child's future accounted for significant increments in explained variance in mothers' feeding behavior, after we controlled for children's skills and abilities. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest maternal representations of relationships are associated with caregiving behavior for mothers of children with CP apart from other child and maternal characteristics and may be a useful focus for research and practice related to parenting children with special needs.     

Maternal prenatal smoking, parental antisocial behavior, and early childhood physical aggression

This study investigated joint effects of maternal prenatal smoking and parental history of antisocial behavior on physical aggression between ages 17 and 42 months in a population sample of children born in Québec (N = 1,745). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant main effects of maternal prenatal smoking and a significant interaction between maternal prenatal smoking and mother's history of antisocial behavior in the prediction of children's probability to display high and rising physical aggression. The interaction indicated that the effects of heavy smoking during pregnancy (> or =10 cigarettes/day) were greater when the mother also had a serious history of antisocial behavior. The effects remained significant after the introduction of control variables (e.g., hostile-reactive parenting, family functioning, parental separation/divorce, family income, and maternal education). Another significant interaction not accounted for by control variables was observed for maternal prenatal smoking and family income, indicating more serious effects of maternal prenatal smoking under relatively low-income, conditions. Both interactions indicate critical adversities that, in combination with maternal prenatal smoking, have supra-additive effects on (the development of) physical aggression during early childhood. These findings may have implications for the selection of intervention targets and strategies.     

The effect of physical abuse on children's social and affective status: a model of cognitive and behavioral processes explaining the association.

This study proposes a model explaining the association between physical abuse of children and children's social and affective status as one in which children's social expectations and behavior, developed within the context of abusive parenting, mediate current functioning in these two outcome domains. Subjects included one hundred 9 to 12-year-old physically abused children recruited from consecutive entries onto the New York State Register for Child Abuse for New York City and 100 case-matched classmate nonabused comparison children. Sociometric assessments were carried out in classrooms, interviews were conducted with the children and their parents, and teachers, parents, and classmates rated the children's behavior. Path analysis was utilized to test the conceptually derived models. Children's social expectations regarding peers, and two social behaviors--aggressive behavior and prosocial behavior--were found to mediate between abuse and positive and negative social status, as well as between abuse and positive and negative reciprocity. Social expectations and withdrawn behavior mediated between abuse and positive social status, but only where withdrawn behavior was a function of social expectations. Social expectations were generally found to mediate between abuse and internalizing problems. Negative social status (peer rejection) added to social expectations in producing internalizing problems. Identification of these mediating pathways can serve to guide secondary preventive intervention efforts so that they best address the problems abused children face in the absence of adequate parental and peer support as the children enter adolescence.