Subjects: Other Disciplines >> Synthetic discipline submitted time 2023-10-09 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Humans are extremely social beings, and we attempt to repair our ruptured relationships when transgressions occur that damage interpersonal cooperation. The expression of guilt and remorse by the transgressor and the forgiveness by the victim are both vital to the repair process. To some extent, transgressors' remorse is the most prominent elicitor of victims' forgiveness. Previous studies have demonstrated that forgiveness emerges as early as 5 years old and that young children are capable of forgiving a remorseful transgressor even in the absence of an explicit apology. Given the emphasis on relationship harmony among Chinese people in a collectivistic culture, parenting and socialization might help children understand peers' remorse intentions and forgive them at a much earlier age. Furthermore, the high need for personal reputation and social image in peer interactions, which is called “face” (mianzi) by the Chinese, might lead to individuals' forgiveness decisions being influenced by bystanders who witness or participate in group interactions. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether 4- or 5-year-olds could have the capacity to infer an apology from displays of transgressors' remorse in order to reveal the influence of remorse on forgiveness and further explore the activation effect of different types of bystanders among the association between remorse and forgiveness.Study 1 was a one-factor (expression of remorse: remorse vs. no remorse) within-subject design. Forty-nine children aged 4 to 5 years (27 girls) were investigated by a classic paradigm of remorse and forgiveness. The “tear picture” game was used to create conditions of expressing remorse and not expressing remorse. Then, children were asked ten questions designed to assess whether they understood the true intention of remorse. Finally, the resource distribution task was used to assess forgiveness behavior. In Study 2, a total of 139 4- to 5-year-old children (80 girls) were recruited to participate in a 2 (expressions of remorse: remorse vs. no remorse) × 4 (types of bystander: no bystander vs. teacher vs. good friend vs. stranger) mixed experimental design. The procedure used in Study 2 was identical to that used in Study 1.The results showed that: In Study 1, both 4-year-old children and 5-year-old children truly understood the intention of the expression of remorse, and they were much more forgiving of a remorseful transgressor than of a transgressor who had not shown remorse. In Study 2, although children were still more forgiving of a remorseful transgressor than an unremorseful transgressor in the presence of bystanders, bystanders significantly increased the level of forgiveness shown toward unremorseful transgressor and reduced the level of forgiveness for remorseful transgressor. Specifically, for remorseful transgressor, child victims were more forgiving of a transgressor while in the presence of strangers than while in the presence of teachers or good friends; however, for unremorseful transgressor, child victims who were being observed by teachers or good friends showed more forgiveness behavior than did victims who were being observed by stranger bystanders. Furthermore, the results showed that young children were more likely to equally distribute flowers to remorseful and unremorseful transgressor in the presence of bystanders, especially teachers or good friends.This study successfully revealed that young Chinese children could accurately understand the intention of transgressors' remorse and thus be willing to perform forgiveness behavior at age 4, which is exactly 1 year earlier than their counterparts in the Western sample. More importantly, we also present a new theoretical hypothesis, namely, the “bystander-activation effect of social expectations”, to propose that the presence of bystanders activates individuals' socially desirable behaviors, such as “requite injury with kindness” and “egalitarianism”, in the Chinese collectivist culture. Thus, it is easier to understand why bystander onlooking could increase the level of forgiveness for unremorseful transgressor and cause young victims to distribute flowers to remorseful and unremorseful transgressor equally. Furthermore, the greater the authoritative or intimate level of bystanders is, such as teachers or good friends, the stronger the activated social expectations are and the more socially desirable the engaged-in behaviors are. This study provides important enlightenment for understanding the association between remorse and forgiveness and for rethinking the cross-cultural differences in children's socialization.
Subjects: Other Disciplines >> Synthetic discipline submitted time 2023-10-09 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： There has been a dramatic rise in gene-environment interaction (G × E) studies of depression over the last two decades. These studies are pivotal to understanding the etiology of depression and individual differences in environmental sensitivity. However, these studies rarely take into consideration how the genotype by environment interactions change over development and how the interactions work on the developmental trajectories of depression. The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene is a good candidate for the investigation of the dynamic genetic effects on depression because it is involved in several age-related changes in behavior and brain maturation. On the one hand, the effect of the BDNF gene may depend on the basal BDNF level. The BDNF level peaks during adolescence, so the effect of the BDNF gene on depression may change during development. Moreover, peer experiences change may alter epigenetic modifications of the BDNF gene, which may change the pattern of gene-environment interactions. On the other hand, according to the developmental cascades model, the differences in genetic effects on depression may increase over time in that initial depressive symptoms may evoke poor peer experiences. Taken together, this study aimed to investigate the age differences in the G × E interaction on depression and the G × E effect on the developmental trajectories of depression.One thousand and eighty-six adolescents (aged 11-12 years with a mean of 12.32, 50% girls) were followed up for three years. Saliva samples, self-reported depressive symptoms, and peer nomination were all collected. All of the measures showed good reliability. Concurrent hierarchical regression analyses and latent growth curve models (LGCMs) were conducted. We also completed re-parameterized regression and parallel LGCMs to understand the gene by environment interaction pattern and the dynamic association between peer relationships and depression.The results showed that the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism significantly moderated the influence of peer rejection—but not peer acceptance—on youth depressive symptoms at three time points; however, the susceptible genotype changed over time. In particular, the effect of peer rejection on depression was stronger in MetMet compared to ValMet carriers at 12 years of age; the effect of peer rejection on depression was stronger in MetMet and ValVal compared to ValMet carriers at 13 years of age; the effect of peer rejection on depression was stronger in ValVal carriers compared to ValMet carriers at 14 years of age. LGCMs suggested that adolescents' depression increased in a linear trajectory from 12 to 14 years of age. In addition, there were significant genotype differences in the change of depression over time, but this effect was not moderated by peer relationships.These findings may move research in the field away from the simplistic notion of risk alleles, recognizing that an allele may be a risk factor during one period and a protective factor during another. Further, this study has progressed the conceptualization of how genes and the environment interact to influence the developmental trajectories of depression during early adolescence.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2023-06-23
Abstract： There has been a dramatic rise in gene–environment interaction (G × E) studies of depression over the last two decades. These studies are pivotal to understanding the etiology of depression and individual differences in environmental sensitivity. However, these studies rarely take into consideration how the genotype by environment interactions change over development and how the interactions work on the developmental trajectories of depression. The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene is a good candidate for the investigation of the dynamic genetic effects on depression because it is involved in several age-related changes in behavior and brain maturation. On the one hand, the effect of the BDNF gene may depend on the basal BDNF level. The BDNF level peaks during adolescence, so the effect of the BDNF gene on depression may change during development. Moreover, peer experiences change may alter epigenetic modifications of the BDNF gene, which may change the pattern of gene–environment interactions. On the other hand, according to the developmental cascades model, the differences in genetic effects on depression may increase over time in that initial depressive symptoms may evoke poor peer experiences. Taken together, this study aimed to investigate the age differences in the G × E interaction on depression and the G × E effect on the developmental trajectories of depression.
One thousand and eighty-six adolescents (aged 11–12 years with a mean of 12.32, 50% girls) were followed up for three years. Saliva samples, self-reported depressive symptoms, and peer nomination were all collected. All of the measures showed good reliability. Concurrent hierarchical regression analyses and latent growth curve models (LGCMs) were conducted. We also completed re-parameterized regression and parallel LGCMs to understand the gene by environment interaction pattern and the dynamic association between peer relationships and depression.
The results showed that the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism significantly moderated the influence of peer rejection—but not peer acceptance—on youth depressive symptoms at three time points; however, the susceptible genotype changed over time. In particular, the effect of peer rejection on depression was stronger in MetMet compared to ValMet carriers at 12 years of age; the effect of peer rejection on depression was stronger in MetMet and ValVal compared to ValMet carriers at 13 years of age; the effect of peer rejection on depression was stronger in ValVal carriers compared to ValMet carriers at 14 years of age. LGCMs suggested that adolescents’ depression increased in a linear trajectory from 12 to 14 years of age. In addition, there were significant genotype differences in the change of depression over time, but this effect was not moderated by peer relationships.
These findings may move research in the field away from the simplistic notion of risk alleles, recognizing that an allele may be a risk factor during one period and a protective factor during another. Further, this study has progressed the conceptualization of how genes and the environment interact to influence the developmental trajectories of depression during early adolescence.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2023-04-26
Abstract： Humans are extremely social beings, and we attempt to repair our ruptured relationships when transgressions occur that damage interpersonal cooperation. The expression of guilt andremorse by the transgressor and the forgiveness by the victim are both vital to the repair process. To some extent, transgressors’ remorse is the most prominent elicitor of victims’ forgiveness. Previous studies have demonstrated that forgiveness emerges as early as 5 years old and that young children are capable of forgiving a remorseful transgressor even in the absence of anexplicit apology. Given the emphasis on relationship harmony among Chinese people in a collectivistic culture, parenting and socialization might help children understand peers’ remorse intentions and forgive them at a much earlier age. Furthermore, the high need for personal reputation and social image in peer interactions, which is called “face” (mianzi) by the Chinese, might lead to individuals’ forgiveness decisions being influenced by bystanders who witness or participate in group interactions. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether 4- or 5-year- olds could have the capacity to infer an apology from displays of transgressors’ remorse in order to reveal the influence of remorse on forgiveness and further explore the activation effect of different types of bystanders among the association between remorse and forgiveness. Study 1 was a one-factor (expression of remorse: remorse vs. no remorse) within-subject design. Forty-nine children aged 4 to 5 years (27 girls) were investigated by a classic paradigmof remorse and forgiveness. The “tear picture” game was used to create conditions of expressingremorse and not expressing remorse. Then, children were asked ten questions designed to assess whether they understood the true intention of remorse. Finally, the resource distribution task was used to assess forgiveness behavior. In Study 2, a total of 139 4- to 5-year-old children (80 girls) were recruited to participate in a 2 (expressions of remorse: remorse vs. no remorse) × 4 (types of bystander: no bystander vs. teacher vs. good friend vs. stranger) mixed experimental design. The procedure used in Study 2 was identical to that used in Study 1. The results showed that: In Study 1, both 4-year-old children and 5-year-old children trulyunderstood the intention of the expression of remorse, and they were much more forgiving of a remorseful transgressor than of a transgressor who had not shown remorse. In Study 2, althoughchildren were still more forgiving of a remorseful transgressor than an unremorseful transgressor in the presence of bystanders, bystanders significantly increased the level of forgiveness showntoward unremorseful transgressor and reduced the level of forgiveness for remorseful transgressor. Specifically, for remorseful transgressor, child victims were more forgiving of a transgressor while in the presence of strangers than while in the presence of teachers or good friends; however, for unremorseful transgressor, child victims who were being observed by teachers or good friends showed more forgiveness behavior than did victims who were being observed by stranger bystanders. Furthermore, the results showed that young children were more likely to equallydistribute flowers to remorseful and unremorseful transgressor in the presence of bystanders, especially teachers or good friends. This study successfully revealed that young Chinese children could accurately understand the intention of transgressors’ remorse and thus be willing to perform forgiveness behavior at age 4, which is exactly 1 year earlier than their counterparts in the Western sample. More importantly, we also present a new theoretical hypothesis, namely, the “bystander-activation effect of social expectations”, to propose that the presence of bystanders activates individuals’ socially desirable behaviors, such as “requite injury with kindness” and “egalitarianism”, in the Chinese collectivist culture. Thus, it is easier to understand why bystander onlooking could increase the level of forgiveness for unremorseful transgressor and cause young victims to distribute flowers toremorseful and unremorseful transgressor equally. Furthermore, the greater the authoritative or intimate level of bystanders is, such as teachers or good friends, the stronger the activated social expectations are and the more socially desirable the engaged-in behaviors are. This study provides important enlightenment for understanding the association between remorse and forgiveness andfor rethinking the cross-cultural differences in children’s socialization.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《心理科学进展》
Abstract： The development of depression has important genetic underpinnings. COMT (catechol-O- methyltransferase) Val158Met polymorphism is an important candidate gene locus for depression. At present, the studies associated with the relationship between COMT Val158Met polymorphism and depression mainly adopt single gene design, single gene-environment design and multiple gene-environment design. The researches have demonstrated that negativity bias and its related brain mechanism may play an intermediary role between COMT Val158Met polymorphism and depression. However, the mechanism underlying is still not clear and need to be explored. Future research should focus on issues as the moderation effect of participants’ ethnicity, gender and age on the association between COMT Val158Met polymorphism and depression, and further investigate the role of negativity bias and the neuralbiological mechanisms between COMT Val158Met polymorphism and depression by using multiple gene-environment design and comprehensively using positive and negative environmental factors.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Early adolescence is a critical period for examining the development of depression in that there is a sharp increase in the prevalence. Existing studies suggested that depression was significantly associated with negative life events. However, it is well-known that not all adolescents who experienced negative life events would become depressed. Findings from molecular genetics indicated that catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene Val158Met polymorphism might be an important candidate gene of depression. Some researches have also investigated the moderating effect of COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism on the association between negative life events and depression. However, the findings still remain inconsistent. According to developmental system theory, family factors, such as parental rearing behavior, may also play an important role on adolescent depression. However, whether and how COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism with parenting behavior moderate the association between negative life events and early adolescent depression remain unclear. Moreover, extant evidence has demonstrated that there is a significant gender difference in the interaction between gene and environment on depression. The aim of this study was to investigate the moderating role of COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism and parenting behavior on the association between negative life events and early adolescent depression, and its possible gender differences. In this study, 637 adolescents (Mage = 13.50 years, male = 344) of two middle schools in Jinan were selected as subjects. Adolescent depressive symptoms, negative life events and parenting behavior were accessed using self-rated children’s depression inventory (CDI), adolescent life events scale and parental rearing behavior questionnaire. All measures showed good reliability. DNA was extracted from saliva. Genotype at Val158Met polymorphism was performed for each participant with MassARRAY RT software version 3.0.0.4 and analyzed using the MassARRAY Typer software version 3.4 (Sequenom). A series of hierarchical regressions, internal replication analyses and meta-analyses were conducted to examine the effects of negative life events, Val158Met polymorphism and parenting behavior on adolescent depression. The results showed that negative life events significantly positively predicted early adolescent depression. Moreover, negative life events, COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism and positive paternal behavior had a significant three-way interaction on adolescent depression, which only existed in male adolescents. Specifically, for male adolescents with Val/Val genotype, positive paternal behavior played a significant moderating effect on the association between negative life events and depression. When the level of positive paternal behavior was lower, negative life events could positively predict male adolescent depression, whereas its effect was not significant when the level of positive paternal behavior was higher. Additionally, the above mentioned interaction was not observed among male adolescents with Met allele. The findings also indicated that both positive and negative maternal behaviors had marginally significant interactions with COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism and negative life events, and were also manifested only in male adolescents. In the further simple effect analysis of the three-way interactions, male adolescents with Val/Val genotype were still more sensitive to the environment. Overall, our results suggested that the effects of negative life events on early adolescent depression were moderated by COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism and parenting behavior, and there were gender differences in the moderating effect. More importantly, this study emphasizes the effects of genes and multiple environments on depression, which lends a reference for future studies on the interaction between genes and multiple environments. Besides, the findings provide important implications for the theoretical construction and intervention of adolescent depression.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Well-being is an important aspect of an adolescent’s mental health, and it has been recognized as such by a majority of developmental psychologists. Relatively few studies, however, have examined the latent growth of well-being, particularly during early adolescence. School assets include the school environment, relationships with teachers, and the young person’s attitude toward school. Existing research has shown that school assets are closely related to the current and future levels of well-being of adolescents. However, little is known about the longitudinal mediating mechanism between two variables. The current study used latent growth curve modeling to examine developmental trends in school assets, intentional self-regulation and well-being, incorporating a three-wave longitudinal design. On this basis, a longitudinal mediation model was constructed to examine the effect and longitudinal mediation of the level and slope of intentional self-regulation between school assets and the development of well-being.A sample of 1214 school children (mean age = 12.89 years, SD = 0.51) was followed up for three years from the first year of junior high school to the third year of junior high school. In three waves, they anonymously filled out questionnaires regarding school assets, intentional self-regulation and well-being. All of the measures showed good reliability and validity. The adolescents’ socio-demographic information was collected at the first wave. We used SPSS 21.0 and Mplus 7.4 to analyze the data. A series of models were tested in the following sequence. First, we used the latent growth models to examine the development trend of each variable; second, we examined the effects of school assets on well-being by using the parallel process models; third, we used a longitudinal mediating model to examine the mediation hypothesis. In this model we first used a causal-step strategy to inspect the specific paths, and we used the bootstrap method to test the indirect effects. Results showed that, during early adolescence, school assets remained stable, self-regulation and well-being increased in a linear manner during the follow-up period, but, the higher the initial level, the slower the growth rate. After controlling for gender and district, the structural equation model showed that school assets had a positive effect on the level of well-being, but it could not directly predict the growth rate of well-being; School assets can indirectly affect the initial level of well-being through the initial level of intentional self-regulation. These findings suggest that early adolescence may be a critical period for the development of intentional self-regulation and well-being. They not only highlight the importance of school assets for the growth of intentional self-regulation and well-being during early adolescence, but also confirm the indirect role of the adolescent’s own developmental strength in the relationship between school assets and well-being.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Bullying victimization represents the experience of being the target of aggression by one or several peers while not being able to defend oneself. This phenomenon has high prevalence among children and youth, with approximately 32% school-aged children across the world being bullied by their class- or schoolmates. Exposure to bullying victimization puts children at risk for a variety of social-psychological maladjustment, both internalizing and externalizing. However, the likelihood of victimization leading to maladjustment might vary across contexts. Recent research found that victims were more likely to be maladjusted in relatively healthier contexts (i.e. classrooms with low overall levels of victimization) -- a phenomenon that has been referred to as the "healthy context paradox (HCP)". Specifically, extant studies found that victimized children were more likely to exhibit internalizing problems in classrooms with low levels of victimization. However, little is known about whether classroom-level victimization moderates the link between bullying victimization and externalizing problems. More importantly, no empirical study has specifically examined the underlying mechanisms of HCP. According to the social information processing theory and existing studies, it is reasonable to assume that in relatively healthier contexts, victimized children are more likely to feel targeted by peers and develop a hostile attribution bias, which in turn leads to more externalizing problems. Therefore, hostile attribution bias, a tendency to attribute hostile intent to another person in ambiguous and even neutral situations, can be a potential mechanism explaining the paradoxical effect of classroom-level victimization on victim's externalizing behaviors. The present study examined whether classroom-level victimization moderated such victimization-externalizing associations, and further examined the mediating role of children’s hostile attribution bias in the associations. The sample comprised 1764 fifth- to eighth- graders (956 boys, Mage = 14.46) from 47 classes in 5 schools in Shandong, China. Bullying victimization was assessed via the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. Hostile attribution bias was measured through the Assessment of Intent Attributions for Ambiguous Provocation Situation. Externalizing problems were assessed on the Child Behavior Checklist-Youth Self-Report (CBCL-YSR). Classroom-level victimization was calculated by averaging individual bullying victimization scores for each classroom. All measures had good reliability and validity. Multi-level structural equation models were conducted to test the hypothesis. The results revealed that: (1) after controlling for sex, parental education, grade, and class size, classroom-level victimization moderated the association between bullying victimization and externalizing problems, such that the victimization-externalizing association was stronger in classrooms with a lower level of victimization compared with those in the classrooms with a higher level of victimization; and (2) low levels of classroom-level victimization strengthened victims' hostile attribution bias, which in turn was associated with externalizing problems. The present study has two major strengths. First, we extended the literature on the healthy context paradox by examining the role of classroom-level victimization in the victimization-externalizing association. In line with the hypothesis regarding the healthy context paradox, victimized children were more likely to exhibit externalizing problems in classrooms with a low level of victimization. Second, a mechanism regarding the healthy context paradox was identified, such that low classroom-level victimization had an impact on victims’ externalizing problems by increasing their hostile attribution bias. These findings highlight the importance of concentrating on specific victims and providing help for them in prevention/intervention practices. Specifically, to alleviate victims’ maladjustment, teachers and school counselors could take efforts to reduce their hostile attribution. Future studies would benefit from replicating these findings using a longitudinal design, and multiple informants to assess externalizing problems. Moreover, future studies need to test more possible explanations for the healthy context paradox.#healthy context paradox, bullying victimization, externalizing problems, classroom victimization, hostile attribution bias
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Dopaminergic genes have been frequently found to be associated with aggressive behavior, but the results are inconsistent. One reason for the inconsistencies is there might be the U-shaped relationship between dopaminergic genetic variants and aggressive behavior. More specifically, evidence has suggested an inverted U-shaped relationship between dopamine activity and prefrontal cortex (PFC) function (a critical region related to aggression), with both dopaminergic hypofunction and hyperfunction, were related to poor PFC function. It is possible that the relationship between dopaminergic genes and aggression approximates a U-shaped function. However, such U-shaped relationship is rarely investigated in previous studies. Moreover, several concerns have been raised about the ignoring the polygenic traits of aggressive behavior when conducting gene by environment interaction (G×E) research using single loci. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the interaction between dopaminergic genetic variants and maternal negative parenting on adolescent aggressive behavior by adopting the approach of multilocus genetic profile score (MGPS).Participants were 1044 adolescents (mean age 13.32 ± 0.49 years old at Time 1, 50.2% females) recruited from the community. The adolescents completed two assessments with an interval of one year. Saliva samples, mother-reported parenting data and data on peer-nominated aggressive behavior were collected. All measures showed good reliability. The MGPS was created by COMT rs4680 polymorphisms, DRD2 rs1799978 polymorphisms and DAT1 rs27072 polymorphisms. Genotyping in three dopaminergic genes were performed for each participant in real time with MassARRAY RT software version 3.0.0.4 and analyzed using the MassARRAY Typer software version 3.4 (Sequenom). To examine whether negative parenting moderates the effects of MGPS on adolescent aggressive behavior, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. The results found that after controlling for gender, maternal negative parenting was a significant risk factor for adolescent aggressive behavior, with higher negative parenting related to more aggressive behavior. The main effect of the quadratic term of MGPS on adolescents’ aggressive behavior was significant at Time 2, indicating a U-shaped relationship between MGPS and adolescent aggressive behavior. Moreover, the quadratic term of MGPS significantly interacted with maternal negative parenting in predicting aggressive behavior at Time 1 and Time 2, respectively. Specifically, there was a U-shaped relationship between MGPS and adolescent aggressive behavior, indicating that adolescents with higher and lower MGPS exhibited higher levels of aggressive behavior when experiencing higher levels of maternal negative parenting. No significant effect of MGPS on adolescent aggressive behavior when experiencing lower levels of maternal negative parenting existed. This study provides evidence for the molecular mechanisms of multilocus genetic profile scores and gene-environment interactions in adolescent aggressive behavior.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2022-11-08
Abstract：
Dopaminergic genes have been frequently found to be associated with aggressive behavior, but the results are inconsistent. One reason for the inconsistencies is there might be the U-shaped relationship between dopaminergic genetic variants and aggressive behavior. More specifically, evidence has suggested an inverted U-shaped relationship between dopamine activity and prefrontal cortex (PFC) function (a critical region related to aggression), with both dopaminergic hypofunction and hyperfunction, were related to poor PFC function. It is possible that the relationship between dopaminergic gene and aggression approximates a U-shaped function. However, such U-shaped relationship is rarely investigated in previous studies. Moreover, several concerns have been raised about the ignoring the polygenic traits of aggressive behavior when conducting gene by environment interaction (G×E) research using single loci. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the interaction between dopaminergic genetic variants and maternal negative parenting on adolescent aggressive behavior by adopting the approach of multilocus genetic profile score (MGPS).
Participants were 1044 adolescents (mean age 13.32 ± 0.49 years old at Time 1, 50.2% females) recruited from the community. The adolescents completed two assessments with an interval of one year. Saliva samples, mother-reported parenting data and data on peer-nominated aggressive behavior were collected. All measures showed good reliability. The MGPS was created by COMT rs4680 polymorphisms, DRD2 rs1799978 polymorphisms and DAT1 rs27072 polymorphisms. Genotyping in three dopaminergic genes were performed for each participant in real time with MassARRAY RT software version 3.0.0.4 and analyzed using the MassARRAY Typer software version 3.4 (Sequenom). To examine whether negative parenting moderates the effects of MGPS on adolescent aggressive behavior, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted.
The results found that after controlling for gender, maternal negative parenting was a significant risk factor for adolescent aggressive behavior, with higher negative parenting related to more aggressive behavior. The main effect of the quadratic term of MGPS on adolescents’ aggressive behavior was significant at Time 2, indicating a U-shaped relationship between MGPS and adolescent aggressive behavior. Moreover, the quadratic term of MGPS significantly interacted with maternal negative parenting in predicting aggressive behavior at Time 1 and Time 2, respectively. Specifically, there was a U-shaped relationship between MGPS and adolescent aggressive behavior, indicating that adolescents with higher and lower MGPS exhibited higher levels of aggressive behavior when experiencing higher levels of maternal negative parenting. No significant effect of MGPS on adolescent aggressive behavior when experiencing lower levels of maternal negative parenting existed.
This study provides evidence for the molecular mechanisms of multilocus genetic profile scores and gene-environment interactions in adolescent aggressive behavior.
Peer Review Status:
Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2021-05-23
Abstract： Prosocial behaviour, that is, behaviour intended to benefit others, has been linked to a variety of desirable traits, including positive relationships, better academic performance and lower levels of antisocial behaviours. As such, the origins and the mechanisms underlying the remarkable individual differences in prosocial behaviour are the focus of an increasing number of studies, with numerous research consistently documenting the important role of positive parenting and empathy. Notably, differentiating between cognitive and emotional components of empathy may help further clarify the processes by which parenting eventuates in prosocial behaviour. Although all children may be impacted by parenting, some children benefit more than others from good-quality rearing. Recent research has suggested that the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene rs53576 polymorphism could determine the degree to which a child is influenced by environment. The biological function of rs53576 polymorphism has yet to be delineated, and the literature is mixed with regard to heterozygote (AG) grouping; thus, the implications for AG grouping are not well understood. Therefore, the dummy coding, additive coding, dominant coding and recessive coding models were all investigated in this study to test the nature of gene effect. This study aimed to extend previous studies on the association between parenting and prosocial behaviour by examining the mediating role of cognitive and emotional empathy and the moderating role of the OXTR gene. The participants were 1082 mother–offspring dyads (adolescents’ mean age: 12.32 ± 0.48 years, 50.3% females) recruited from the community. At Time 1, mothers reported their positive parenting via the Chinese version of the Child-Rearing Practices Report (CRPR) and peer-rated adolescents’ prosocial behaviours. At Time 2, adolescent-reported perspective-taking and empathic concern, peer-rated prosocial behaviours and saliva samples were collected. All measures showed good reliability. Genotyping at OXTR gene was performed with MassARRAY RT software version 3.0.0.4 and analysed using the MassARRAY Typer software version 3.4 (Sequenom). Results showed that adolescents who received higher levels of maternal positive parenting exhibited more prosocial behaviours. However, the direct effect of positive parenting on prosocial behaviour became nonsignificant after controlling for baseline prosocial behaviour. Cognitive empathy, but not emotional empathy, mediated the association between positive parenting and prosocial behaviour. Specifically, positive parenting was positively associated with cognitive empathy, which in turn was positively associated with adolescent prosocial behaviour. Further, this mediation was moderated by the OXTR gene rs53576 polymorphism. For adolescents with AA and GG genotypes, positive parenting was related to higher levels of cognitive empathy, which increased prosocial behaviour. However, this mediation effect was not observed among adolescents with AG genotype. In addition, the results revealed evidence for an overdominance model for OXTR rs53576. Moreover, the G × E term predicted cognitive empathy but not prosocial behaviour. This finding suggests that cognitive empathy may be an endophenotype closer along the causal chain to the genotype and that the strength of the G × E effects was greater for empathy than for distal behavioural outcomes. These findings add to our understanding of how empathy and genetic factors contribute to adolescents’ prosocial behaviour within the family context. In addition, these results suggest that cognitive and emotional aspects of empathy are likely to be involved—in somewhat different psychosocial mechanisms—in the development of prosocial behaviour. Notably, the overdominance effect of OXTR should be interpreted with caution until replicated. However, when a three-category polymorphic genotype is used, as is commonly applied when modelling a dominant or recessive effect, both false positive and false negative results can occur, and the nature of the interaction can be misrepresented.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2020-08-07
Abstract： Depression is one of the most prevalent mental health problems during adolescence. Research has indicated that distal stress and proximal stress as well as their interaction are important predictors of adolescent depressive symptoms. There are two different hypotheses — cumulative stress hypothesis and match-mismatch hypothesis — to understand the interaction between distal stress and proximal stress. It has been suggested that an individual’s genetic susceptibility may determine which of these two hypotheses is relevant, but very little empirical research has considered the impact of genetic predisposition on these issues. Furthermore, recent researchers have paid attention to the cumulative genetic score (CGS) of multiple loci rather than to single polymorphism. The present study was designed to extend prior research by exploring whether the interaction effects of distal maternal negative parenting and proximal peer victimization were consistent with the cumulative stress hypothesis or the match-mismatch hypothesis, for adolescents who carried higher or lower CGS of FKBP5 gene. In this study, 970 adolescents (48.8% male) were followed from Grade 6 to Grade 9. At T1 (Mage = 12.31 years, SD = 0.47), adolescent depressive symptoms were assessed using Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). Mothers reported their negative parenting via the Chinese version of Child-Rearing Practices Report (CRPR). At T2 (Mage = 15.32 years, SD = 0.47), saliva samples of adolescents were collected and genotyped for three FKBP5 gene polymorphisms. Peer victimization and depressive symptoms were tested using Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale (MPVS) and CDI, respectively. A series of hierarchical regressions and internal replication analyses were conducted to test the three-way interaction among maternal negative parenting, peer victimization and CGS of FKBP5 on depressive symptoms, separately for male and female adolescents. The results showed that, after T1 depressive symptoms were controlled for, maternal negative parenting, peer victimization and CGS had a significant three-way interaction on male adolescent depressive symptoms at T2. Specifically, among male adolescents who had higher CGS, maternal negative parenting negatively predicted depressive symptoms in the context of higher peer victimization, which fitted better with the match-mismatch hypothesis. The interaction between negative parenting and peer victimization was not significant among males with lower CGS, but showed a cumulative stress trend.The three-way interaction was not observed among females. By examining the interaction effect of maternal negative parenting, peer victimization and CGS on depressive symptoms, the present study highlights the important role of individuals’ genetic susceptibility in understanding the distal and proximal stress interactions during adolescence. This underscores the complex environmental and multiple loci underpinnings of depressive symptoms and lends some support for both the cumulative stress and match-mismatch hypotheses on the etiology of depressive symptoms.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2019-07-22
Abstract： For decades, there is increasing evidence for the importance of single-gene by environment interactions (G × E) in understanding the etiology of depression. However, several concerns have been raised about the ignoring the polygenic traits of depression when conducting G × E research using single loci. Within this context, the multilocus genetic profile score (MGPS) have recently emerged as an approach of capturing polygenic nature across multiple genes. In line with the monoamine deficiency hypothesis, recent research has begun to show that the combined effects of multiple dopaminergic genetic variants are stronger than the influence of any single gene examined in isolation. Additionally, genes related to the functioning of the dopaminergic system, which coordinates individual’s response to stress. However, existing G × E research has largely focused on adverse family environments (i.e., maltreatment, maternal unresponsiveness) and to a lesser extent on positive environment, such as positive parenting. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the interaction between dopaminergic genetic variants and maternal parenting on adolescent depressive symptoms, by adopting the approach of multilocus genetic profile score. Participants were 1052 mother–offspring (adolescents mean age 12.31 ± 0.37 years old at the first time point, 50.2% females) dyads recruited from the community. Youth completed assessments twice with an interval of one year. Saliva samples, self-reported depressive symptoms and mother-reported parenting were collected. All measures showed good reliability. Genotyping in three dopaminergic genes were performed for each participant in real time with MassARRAY RT software version 3.0.0.4 and analyzed using the MassARRAY Typer software version 3.4 (Sequenom). To examine whether multilocus genetic profile score moderates the effects of parenting on adolescent depressive symptoms and whether this potential moderating effect act in a diathesis–stress or differential susceptibility manner, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. We also tested above questions by recoding into categorical variables and re-conducted analyses. The results found that multilocus genetic profile score was a significant risk factor of depression, with higher dopamine genetic risk scores (indicating lower dopaminergic neurotransmission) predicting higher levels of depression. After controlling for gender and prior depressive symptoms, the G × E effect with positive and negative parenting were also significant, suggesting that G × E interaction significantly predicted change in depression level between Time 1 and Time 2. Specifically, adolescents with higher MGPS exhibited higher risk for depression when encountered with lower levels of positive parenting and higher levels of negative parenting, compared to their counterparts with lower MGPS. The results support the diathesis-stress model and highlight the complex ways that genes and environment interact to influence development. These finding underscores complex polygenic underpinnings of depression and lends support for the mulitlocus genetic profile scores–environment interactions implicated in the etiology of depressive symptoms.
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