title: Shame and Guilt-Proneness in Adolescents: Gene-Environment Interactions.
abstract: Rooted in people's preoccupation with how they are perceived and evaluated, shame and guilt are self-conscious emotions that play adaptive roles in social behavior, but can also contribute to psychopathology when dysregulated. Shame and guilt-proneness develop during childhood and adolescence, and are influenced by genetic and environmental factors that are little known to date. This study investigated the effects of early traumatic events and functional polymorphisms in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene and the serotonin transporter gene promoter (5-HTTLPR) on shame and guilt in adolescents. A sample of N = 271 healthy adolescents between 14 and 17 years of age filled in measures of early traumatic events and proneness to shame and guilt, and were genotyped for the BDNF Val66Met and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms. Results of moderator analyses indicated that trauma intensity was positively associated with guilt-proneness only in carriers of the low-expressing Met allele of BDNF Val66Met. This is the first study that identifies a gene-environment interaction that significantly contributes to guilt proneness in adolescents, with potential implications for developmental psychopathology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Cluj, Romania.
authors.forename: Aurora
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szentágotai-Tătar
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Adina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chiș
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Romana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vulturar
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Cluj, Romania.
authors.forename: Anca
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dobrean
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Cluj, Romania.
authors.forename: Diana Mirela
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Cândea
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Cluj, Romania.
authors.forename: Andrei C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Miu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012752:Shame