1. Parental Serotonin Transporter Polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) Moderates Associations of Stress and Child Behavior With Parenting Behavior
- Author
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Morgan, Julia E, Hammen, Constance, and Lee, Steve S
- Subjects
Biological Psychology ,Psychology ,Brain Disorders ,Mental Health ,Basic Behavioral and Social Science ,Behavioral and Social Science ,Pediatric ,Prevention ,Neurosciences ,Genetics ,Aetiology ,2.3 Psychological ,social and economic factors ,Mental health ,Adolescent ,Adult ,Child ,Child Behavior ,Female ,Gene-Environment Interaction ,Humans ,Male ,Middle Aged ,Parent-Child Relations ,Parenting ,Parents ,Polymorphism ,Genetic ,Problem Behavior ,Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins ,Stress ,Psychological ,Cognitive Sciences ,Developmental & Child Psychology ,Applied and developmental psychology ,Clinical and health psychology ,Social and personality psychology - Abstract
The serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) is associated with caregiving in nonhuman animals and with affective and cognitive correlates of human parenting, yet its association with human parenting is largely unknown. Using a well-characterized sample of parents and offspring, we evaluated the association of parental 5-HTTLPR with observed positive and negative parenting behavior, as well as its biologically plausible moderation of child-related stress and disruptive child behavior as predictors of parenting. One hundred and sixty-two parents (86% mothers) and their 6- to 9-year-old children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were ascertained using multiple methods including structured interviews, rating scales, and observed parent-child interaction, yielding strong measures of key constructs. Controlling for multiple youth-level (e.g., sex, 5-HTTLPR genotype, disruptive behavior) and parent-level (e.g., demographics, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) factors, parents with an S allele exhibited significantly less observed positive parenting than those with the LL genotype. Significant Gene × Environment interactions were also observed: Child-related stress was negatively associated with observed parental negativity among SS/SL genotype parents but not LL genotype parents; next, observed disruptive child behavior was positively associated with parental negativity for both genotypes, but the effect was strongest in SS/SL parents. These preliminary findings suggest that parental 5-HTTLPR is uniquely associated with positive and negative parenting behavior, with more specific patterns according to child-related stress and disruptive child behavior. We consider implications for future research evaluating genetic influences on parenting as well as considerations for designing and delivering parenting-based interventions.
- Published
- 2018