3-039 - Examining the Interplay Among Polygenic, Individual, and Environmental Factors in the Development of Adolescent Substance Use

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Substance use typically begins in adolescence, resulting from a multi-level interplay among genetic, individual, and environmental influences. However, research using measured genes has been limited by use of a single gene or SNP. To address this problem, recent studies have used polygenic risk scores (PRSs) to capture additive effects across multiple genetic variants, which can have greater predictive power compared to single genetic variants. The three papers in this symposium use PRSs indexing serotonin functioning (paper 1), behavioral undercontrol (paper 2), and alcohol use (paper 3). They integrate PRSs within longitudinal models to identify novel developmental pathways to adolescent substance use involvement.

The symposium also addresses other methodological issues in the use of measured genes in developmental studies. The first paper addresses the need for independent replication by investigating a PRS as part of a longitudinal mediation model in two samples. The second paper addresses the need to consider gene-environment correlations (rGEs) by examining the evocative effect of children’s PRS on parent monitoring (evocative rGE), while controlling for common genetic influences on child and parent behaviors (passive rGE). The final paper examines the interactive effect of a PRS and an environmental stressor that is not confounded by rGE. Finally, the discussant will place the findings within the larger context of studying gene-environment interplay to understand developmental pathways underlying alcohol involvement.

Sub Unit

• Developmental Psychopathology

Chair

• Kit Elam, Arizona State University

Discussant

• Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant, Arizona State University

Individual Presentations

• Serotonin Functioning and Adolescents’ Alcohol Use: A Genetically Informed Study Examining Mechanisms of Risk - Presenting Author: Frances Wang, Arizona State University; Laurie Chassin, Arizona State University; John E. Bates, Indiana University; Danielle Dick, Virginia Commonwealth University; Jennifer Lansford, Duke University; Gregory Pettit, Auburn University; Kenneth A. Dodge, Duke University

• Affiliation with Substance-Using Peers: Examining Gene-Environment Correlations Among Monitoring, Polygenic Risk, and Impulsivity - Presenting Author: Kit Elam, Arizona State University; Laurie Chassin, Arizona State University; Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant, Arizona State University; Danielle Pandika, Arizona State University; Frances Wang, Arizona State University; Kaitlin Bountress, Medical University of South Carolina; Danielle Dick, Virginia Commonwealth University; Arpana Agrawal, Washington University in St. Louis

• Genetic and Psychosocial Predictors of Alcohol Use Trajectories Among Disaster-Exposed Adolescents - Presenting Author: Kaitlin Bountress, Medical University of South Carolina; Carla Danielson, Medical University of South Carolina; Vernell Williamson, Virginia Commonwealth University; Vladimir Vladimirov, Virginia Commonwealth University; Joel Gelernter, Yale University; Kenneth Ruggiero, Medical University of South Carolina; Ananda Amstadter, Virginia Commonwealth University