title: Differential susceptibility in a developmental perspective: DRD4 and maternal sensitivity predicting externalizing behavior.
abstract: This study is the first to investigate the longitudinal effects of gene-environment interplay between DRD4 genotype and maternal sensitivity on child externalizing behavior. Multiple measures of maternal sensitivity (14, 36, and 48 months) and externalizing behavior (18 months, 36 months, and 5 years) were assessed in a large cohort study (N = 548). Early maternal insensitivity (14 months) was associated with early externalizing behavior (18 months) in a for better and for worse manner, but only in children with at least one DRD4 7-repeat, consistent with a differential susceptibility model. Later insensitivity (48 months) predicted externalizing behavior at age 5 independent of DRD4 genotype. A structural equation model including all measures across time supported the differential susceptibility model: The overall effect of early maternal sensitivity on later externalizing behavior was significant only for children with a DRD4 7-repeat allele. The results highlight the importance of studying gene-environment interactions across development.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dafna A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Windhorst
authors.forename: Viara R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Mileva-Seitz
authors.forename: Mariëlle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Linting
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofman
authors.forename: Vincent W V
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Jaddoe
authors.forename: Frank C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Verhulst
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tiemeier
authors.forename: Marinus H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: van IJzendoorn
authors.forename: Marian J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bakermans-Kranenburg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000483:Alleles; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D050638:Receptors, Dopamine D4 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: C493599:DRD4 protein, human; D050638:Receptors, Dopamine D4
keywords: DRD4; differential susceptibility; externalizing behavior; gene-environment interaction; parenting