title: Effects of an attachment-based intervention on daily cortisol moderated by dopamine receptor D4: a randomized control trial on 1- to 3-year-olds screened for externalizing behavior.
abstract: The effect of the Video-Feedback Intervention to Promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) on daily cortisol production was tested in a randomized controlled trial with 130 families with 1- to 3-year-old children screened for their relatively high levels of externalizing behavior. Six 1.5-hr intervention sessions focusing on maternal sensitivity and discipline were conducted with individual families at their homes. Children in the intervention group showed lower cortisol levels, with a moderating role of the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) VNTR exon III polymorphism. The VIPP-SD program proved to be effective in decreasing daily cortisol production in children with the DRD4 7-repeat allele, but not in children without the DRD4 7-repeat allele. Our findings indicate that children are differentially susceptible to intervention effects dependent on the presence of the 7-repeat DRD4 allele.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, The Netherlands. bakermans@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
authors.forename: Marian J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bakermans-Kranenburg
authors.forename: Marinus H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Van Ijzendoorn
authors.forename: Judi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mesman
authors.forename: Lenneke R A
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Alink
authors.forename: Femmie
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Juffer
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004493:Education / Q000379:methods; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D007223:Infant; D007389:Internal-External Control; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009769:Object Attachment; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D050638:Receptors, Dopamine D4 / Q000235:genetics*; D013694:Temperament / Q000502:physiology; D014741:Video Recording
chemical_list: D050638:Receptors, Dopamine D4; D006854:Hydrocortisone