Environmental contingencies and genetic propensities: social capital, educational continuation, and dopamine receptor gene DRD2.
Studies of gene-environment interplay typically focus on one environmental factor at a time, resulting in a constrained view of social context. The concept of environmental contingency is introduced as a corrective. Drawing on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and qualitative comparative analysis, the authors focus on an example involving social capital, a gene associated with a dopamine receptor (DRD2), and educational continuation beyond secondary school. For boys, (1) DRD2 risk is associated with a decreased likelihood of school continuation; (2) one configuration of social capital -- high parental socioeconomic status, high parental involvement in school, and a high-quality school -- compensates for this negative relationship, consistent with environmental contingency; but (3) boys with DRD2 risk are less commonly observed in settings that are rich in social capital.
Shanahan
Michael J
MJ
Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3210, USA. mjshan@unc.edu
Vaisey
Stephen
S
Erickson
Lance D
LD
Smolen
Andrew
A
D000293:Adolescent; D044383:Black People / Q000235:genetics; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005824:Genetics, Behavioral; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000235:genetics*; D012923:Social Class; D012931:Social Environment; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics; D055815:Young Adult
D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2