Mothers' dopamine receptor polymorphism modulates the relation between infant fussiness and sensitive parenting.

We determined whether the combination of the 48-bp variable number tandem repeat polymorphism of the dopamine (DRD4) gene and infants' (fussy-difficult) temperament predicted parenting sensitivity. The sample was comprised of 147 mothers and their 6-month olds. Sensitive parenting was assessed by coding filmed interactions between mothers and infants. Infant temperament was assessed by parents' reports on a standard questionnaire. Moderated regressions models, with maternal education and infants' interactive behavior as controls, were used to test our hypotheses. Results showed no main effects of either temperament or DRD4, though the maternal DRD4 x infant temperament interaction was significant. Probes indicated that parents with a DRD4 7-repeat allele behaved more sensitively to fussier infants and less sensitively to less fussy infants compared to parents without the 7-repeat allele. Among those parents, sensitivity did not vary with infant temperament. This pattern of results indicates that mothers are differentially susceptible to infant fussiness, dependent on the presence of the 7-repeat DRD4 allele.

[1]  E. Cook,et al.  Association of maternal dopamine transporter genotype with negative parenting: evidence for gene x environment interaction with child disruptive behavior , 2010, Molecular Psychiatry.

[2]  J. Belsky,et al.  Vulnerability genes or plasticity genes? , 2009, Molecular Psychiatry.

[3]  C. Tamis-LeMonda,et al.  Maternal Control and Sensitivity, Child Gender, and Maternal Education in Relation to Children's Behavioral Outcomes in African American Families. , 2009, Journal of applied developmental psychology.

[4]  A. Phillips,et al.  A top-down perspective on dopamine, motivation and memory , 2008, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior.

[5]  M. Bakermans-Kranenburg,et al.  Dopamine system genes associated with parenting in the context of daily hassles , 2008, Genes, brain, and behavior.

[6]  Marcus R. Munafò,et al.  Association of the Dopamine D4 Receptor (DRD4) Gene and Approach-Related Personality Traits: Meta-Analysis and New Data , 2008, Biological Psychiatry.

[7]  R. Bradley,et al.  Infant temperament, parenting, and externalizing behavior in first grade: a test of the differential susceptibility hypothesis. , 2007, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[8]  M. Bakermans-Kranenburg,et al.  Experimental Evidence for Differential Susceptibility: Dopamine D4 Receptor Polymorphism (drd4 Vntr) Moderates Intervention Effects on Toddlers' Externalizing Behavior in a Randomized Controlled Trial Differential Susceptibility and Genetic Vulnerability , 2022 .

[9]  Ken Kelley,et al.  Infant temperament moderates relations between maternal parenting in early childhood and children's adjustment in first grade. , 2008, Child development.

[10]  M. Bakermans-Kranenburg,et al.  Research Review: genetic vulnerability or differential susceptibility in child development: the case of attachment. , 2007, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[11]  Jay Belsky,et al.  For Better and For Worse , 2007 .

[12]  G. Iarocci,et al.  What gene–environment interactions can tell us about social competence in typical and atypical populations , 2007, Brain and Cognition.

[13]  M. Cox,et al.  Parenting quality, DRD4, and the prediction of externalizing and internalizing behaviors in early childhood. , 2007, Developmental psychobiology.

[14]  Cathi B. Propper,et al.  Bidirectional genetic and environmental influences on mother and child behavior: The family system as the unit of analyses , 2007, Development and Psychopathology.

[15]  M. Bakermans-Kranenburg,et al.  Gene-environment interaction of the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) and observed maternal insensitivity predicting externalizing behavior in preschoolers. , 2006, Developmental psychobiology.

[16]  P. Nathan,et al.  Molecular Imaging of the Dopaminergic System and its Association with Human Cognitive Function , 2006, Biological Psychiatry.

[17]  R. Ebstein.  The molecular genetic architecture of human personality: beyond self-report questionnaires , 2006, Molecular Psychiatry.

[18]  N. Fox,et al.  The role of infant soothability in the relation between infant negativity and maternal sensitivity. , 2006, Infant behavior & development.

[19]  H. Moore,et al.  Maternally modulated infant separation responses are regulated by D2-family dopamine receptors. , 2005, Behavioral neuroscience.

[20]  B. Ellis,et al.  Printed in the United States of America DOI: 10.10170S0954579405050145 , 2022 .

[21]  R. Wise.  Dopamine, learning and motivation , 2004, Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

[22]  U. Pauli-Pott,et al.  Predicting maternal reactivity/sensitivity: The role of infant emotionality, maternal depressiveness/anxiety, and social support , 2004 .

[23]  J. DiPietro,et al.  More Than Meets the Eye: Parental and Infant Contributors to Maternal and Paternal Reports of Early Infant Difficultness , 2003 .

[24]  T. Insel.  Is social attachment an addictive disorder? , 2003, Physiology & Behavior.

[25]  Kathleen Cranley Gallagher,et al.  Does child temperament moderate the influence of parenting on adjustment , 2002 .

[26]  M. Fleisher,et al.  Molecular Genetics and the Human Personality , 2002 .

[27]  K. Hutchison,et al.  The DRD4 VNTR polymorphism influences reactivity to smoking cues. , 2002, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[28]  J. Lusher,et al.  Dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) is associated with Novelty Seeking (NS) and substance abuse: the saga continues . . . , 2001, Molecular Psychiatry.

[29]  Daniel Rabinowitz,et al.  A Unified Approach to Adjusting Association Tests for Population Admixture with Arbitrary Pedigree Structure and Arbitrary Missing Marker Information , 2000, Human Heredity.

[30]  M. Rutter,et al.  Child development, molecular genetics, and what to do with genes once they are found. , 1998, Child development.

[31]  J. Belsky,et al.  Mothering, fathering, and infant negativity as antecedents of boys' externalizing problems and inhibition at age 3 years: Differential susceptibility to rearing experience? , 1998, Development and Psychopathology.

[32]  Sacha S. Bunge.  The Handbook of Parenting , 1997 .

[33]  Jay Belsky,et al.  Variation in Susceptibility to Environmental Influence: An Evolutionary Argument , 1997 .

[34]  R. Feldman,et al.  Change in mother-infant interactive behavior: Relations to change in the mother, the infant, and the social context , 1997 .

[35]  A. Carter,et al.  Mother-infant reengagement following the still-face: The role of maternal emotional availability an infant affect regulation☆ , 1996 .

[36]  Cheryl Tatano Beck.  A meta-analysis of the relationship between postpartum depression and infant temperament. , 1996, Nursing research.

[37]  R. Weinshilboum,et al.  Human catechol-O-methyltransferase pharmacogenetics: description of a functional polymorphism and its potential application to neuropsychiatric disorders. , 1996, Pharmacogenetics.

[38]  J. Swanson,et al.  Dopamine D4 receptor gene polymorphism is associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. , 1996, Molecular psychiatry.

[39]  A. Sameroff,et al.  Attachment, maternal sensitivity, and infant temperament during the first year of life. , 1996 .

[40]  H. V. Van Tol,et al.  Modulation of Intracellular Cyclic AMP Levels by Different Human Dopamine D4 Receptor Variants , 1995, Journal of neurochemistry.

[41]  D. Curtis,et al.  An extended transmission/disequilibrium test (TDT) for multi‐allele marker loci , 1995, Annals of human genetics.

[42]  P. Seeman,et al.  Multiple dopamine D4 receptor variants in the human population , 1992, Nature.

[43]  S. West,et al.  Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions , 1991 .

[44]  Cloninger Cr.  A systematic method for clinical description and classification of personality variants: A proposal. , 1987 .

[45]  S. Crockenberg,et al.  Change in Maternal Behavior during the Baby's First Year of Life. , 1986 .

[46]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[47]  J. Gray,et al.  The neuropsychology of anxiety. , 1985, Issues in mental health nursing.

[48]  J. Belsky,et al.  The determinants of parenting: a process model. , 1984, Child development.

[49]  R. Seifer,et al.  Facilitating mother‐infant communication: A treatment model for high‐risk and developmentally‐delayed infants , 1983 .

[50]  B. Tabachnick,et al.  Using Multivariate Statistics , 1983 .

[51]  T. Wachs,et al.  The Study of Early Temperament: Measurement and Conceptual Issues. , 1982 .

[52]  J. Bates,et al.  Measurement of infant difficultness. , 1979, Child development.

[53]  M. Ainsworth,et al.  Origins of the Sense of Security. (Book Reviews: Patterns of Attachment. A Psychological Study of the Strange Situation) , 1978 .