Understanding the Relative Contributions of Direct Environmental Effects and Passive Genotype-Environment Correlations in the Association between Familial Risk Factors and Child Disruptive Behavior Disorders

Authors

Marina A. Bornovalova, University of South FloridaFollow
Jenna R. Cummings, University of South Florida
E Hunt, University of South Florida
Ryan Blazei, University of Minnesota
Steve Malone, University of Minnesota
William G. Iacono, University of Minnesota

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2014

Keywords

Child disruptive behavior disorders, familial environment, gene–environment correlations, parental antisociality

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291713001086

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Previous work reports an association between familial risk factors stemming from parental characteristics and offspring disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs). This association may reflect (a) the direct effects of familial environment and (b) a passive gene-environment correlation (r_GE), wherein the parents provide both the genes and the environment. The current study examined the contributions of direct environmental influences and passive r_GE by comparing the effects of familial risk factors on child DBDs in genetically related (biological) and non-related (adoptive) families.

METHOD: Participants were 402 adoptive and 204 biological families. Familial environment was defined as maternal and paternal maladaptive parenting and antisociality, marital conflict and divorce; offspring DBDs included attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Mixed-level regressions estimated the main effects of familial environment, adoption status and the familial environment by adoption status interaction term, which tested for the presence of passive r_GE.

RESULTS: There was a main effect of maternal and paternal maladaptive parenting and marital discord on child DBDs, indicating a direct environmental effect. There was no direct environmental effect of maternal or paternal antisociality, but maternal and paternal antisociality had stronger associations with child DBDs in biological families than adoptive families, indicating the presence of a passive r_GE.

CONCLUSIONS: Many familial risk factors affected children equally across genetically related and non-related families, providing evidence for direct environmental effects. The relationship of parental antisociality and offspring DBDs was best explained by a passive r_GE, where a general vulnerability toward externalizing psychopathology is passed down by the parents to the children.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

Yes

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Psychological Medicine, v. 44, no. 4, p. 831-844

Scholar Commons Citation

Bornovalova, Marina A.; Cummings, Jenna R.; Hunt, E; Blazei, Ryan; Malone, Steve; and Iacono, William G., "Understanding the Relative Contributions of Direct Environmental Effects and Passive Genotype-Environment Correlations in the Association between Familial Risk Factors and Child Disruptive Behavior Disorders" (2014). Psychology Faculty Publications. 155.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/155