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2-014 - Peers and Disruptive Behavior in Children and Adolescents: Three Different Types of Gene-Environment Interactions

Fri, March 20, 8:00 to 9:30am, Penn CC, Floor: 200 Level, Room 201A

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Peer relationships constitute an important environmental context for the development of both prosocial and antisocial development. This symposium presents three approaches to studying the moderation of peer influences on disruptive behavior by genetic factors and vice versa. The studies were conducted in three different countries: The Netherlands, Belgium, and Canada. The first study used a twin design in middle childhood. The findings revealed that a genetic disposition for generalized antisocial behavior is much more likely to be expressed when peer group norms encourage such behavior, but it is virtually silenced when peer group norms are unfavorable. The second study used a sample of unrelated individuals in early adolescence. Results indicated that adolescents with a specific genetic background (i.e., carriers of the 10-repeat of the DAT gene) were more aggressive when rejected by their peers but also less aggressive when they were accepted by their peers. The third study used a longitudinal design in a sample of unrelated individuals in middle childhood and relied on cross-lagged analyses. Results showed a significant negative developmental link from social preference among classmates to subsequent antisocial behavior, but only for children with a specific genetic background (i.e., carriers of the 7-repeat of the DRD4 gene). Implications of these findings for current understanding of peer relations, as obtained through the three approaches to gene-environment interactions, are outlined by the discussant, a leading expert on genetics and peer relations.

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