title: Parental Serotonin Transporter Polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) Moderates Associations of Stress and Child Behavior With Parenting Behavior.
abstract: The serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) is associated with caregiving in nonhuman animals and with affective and cognitive correlates of human parenting, yet its association with human parenting is largely unknown. Using a well-characterized sample of parents and offspring, we evaluated the association of parental 5-HTTLPR with observed positive and negative parenting behavior, as well as its biologically plausible moderation of child-related stress and disruptive child behavior as predictors of parenting. One hundred and sixty-two parents (86% mothers) and their 6- to 9-year-old children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were ascertained using multiple methods including structured interviews, rating scales, and observed parent-child interaction, yielding strong measures of key constructs. Controlling for multiple youth-level (e.g., sex, 5-HTTLPR genotype, disruptive behavior) and parent-level (e.g., demographics, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) factors, parents with an S allele exhibited significantly less observed positive parenting than those with the LL genotype. Significant Gene × Environment interactions were also observed: Child-related stress was negatively associated with observed parental negativity among SS/SL genotype parents but not LL genotype parents; next, observed disruptive child behavior was positively associated with parental negativity for both genotypes, but the effect was strongest in SS/SL parents. These preliminary findings suggest that parental 5-HTTLPR is uniquely associated with positive and negative parenting behavior, with more specific patterns according to child-related stress and disruptive child behavior. We consider implications for future research evaluating genetic influences on parenting as well as considerations for designing and delivering parenting-based interventions.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Julia E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Constance
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hammen
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Steve S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D000066553:Problem Behavior; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins