title: Catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met genotype moderates the effect of disorganized attachment on social development in young children.
abstract: Children with histories of disorganized attachment exhibit diverse problems, possibly because disorganization takes at least two distinctive forms as children age: controlling-punitive and controlling-caregiving. This variation in the developmental legacy of disorganization has been attributed primarily to variations in children's rearing experiences. Here an alternative explanation of these divergent sequelae of disorganization is evaluated: one focused on genotype. Structural equation modeling was applied to data on 704 Norwegian children to test whether the catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met genotype moderates the effect of disorganized attachment, which was measured dimensionally at 4 years of age using the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task, on changes in aggressive behavior and social competence from ages 4 to 6. Children who scored high on disorganization and were homozygous for the valine allele displayed significantly greater increases in aggression and decreases in self-oriented social skills (e.g., self-regulation and assertiveness) over time than did their disorganized counterparts carrying the methionine allele, whereas disorganized children carrying the methionine allele increased their other-oriented social skill (e.g., cooperation and responsibility) scores more than did valine-homozygous children. These results are consistent with the controlling-punitive and controlling-caregiving behaviors observed in disorganized children, suggesting that the children's genotype contributed to variations in the social development of disorganized children.
authors.affiliation: Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
authors.forename: Beate Wold
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Hygen
authors.affiliation: Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
authors.forename: Ismail Cuneyt
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Guzey
authors.affiliation: University of California-Davis.
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Belsky
authors.affiliation: Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
authors.forename: Turid Suzanne
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Berg-Nielsen
authors.affiliation: Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wichstrøm
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D000483:Alleles; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D012917:Social Adjustment; D066107:Social Skills
chemical_list: D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase