The Detection of Environmental Influences on Academic Achievement Appears to Depend on the Analytic Approach.

One long-standing analytic approach in adoption studies is to examine correlations between features of adoptive homes and outcomes of adopted children (hereafter termed 'measured environment correlations') to illuminate environmental influences on those associations. Although results from such studies have almost uniformly suggested modest environmental influences on adopted children's academic achievement, other work has indicated that adopted children's achievement is routinely higher than that of their reared-apart family members, often substantially so. We sought to understand this discrepancy. We examined academic achievement and literacy-promotive features of the home in 424 yoked adoptive/biological families participating in the Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS; i.e., adopted children, adoptive mothers, birth mothers, and biological siblings of the adopted children remaining in the birth homes) using an exhaustive modeling approach. Results indicated that, as anticipated, adopted children scored up to a full standard deviation higher on standardized achievement tests relative to their birth mothers and reared-apart biological siblings. Moreover, these achievement differences were associated with differences in the literacy-promotive features of the adoptive and birth family homes, despite minimal measured environment correlations within adoptive families. A subsequent simulation study highlighted noise in measured environmental variables as an explanation for the decreased utility of measured environment correlations. We conclude that the field's heavy focus on measured environment correlations within adoptive families may have obscured detection of specific environmental effects on youth outcomes, and that future adoption studies should supplement their measured environment analyses with mean differences between reared-apart relatives.

Life satisfaction for adolescents with developmental and behavioral disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to identify contextual factors associated with life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic for adolescents with mental, emotional, behavioral, and developmental (MEBD) disabilities. METHODS: Data were collected from a sample of 1084 adolescents aged 11-21 years from April 2020 to August 2021. This cross-sectional study used a sequential machine learning workflow, consisting of random forest regression and evolutionary tree regression, to identify subgroups of adolescents in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) consortium who demonstrated enhanced vulnerability to lower life satisfaction as described by intersecting risk factors, protective factors, and MEBD disabilities. RESULTS: Adolescents with a history of depression, anxiety, autism, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were particularly susceptible to decreased life satisfaction in response to unique combinations of stressors experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. These stressors included decreased social connectedness, decreased family engagement, stress related to medical care access, pandemic-related traumatic stress, and single-caregiver households. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study highlight the importance of interventions aimed specifically at increasing adolescent social connectedness, family engagement, and access to medical support for adolescents with MEBD disabilities, particularly in the face of stressors, such as a global pandemic. IMPACT: Through a machine learning process, we identified contextualized risks associated with life satisfaction among adolescents with neurodevelopmental disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in large-scale social disruptions for children and families. Such disruptions were associated with worse mental health outcomes in the general pediatric population, but few studies have examined specific subgroups who may be at heightened risk. We endeavored to close that gap in knowledge. This study highlights the importance of social connectedness, family engagement, and access to medical support as contributing factors to life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic for adolescents with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Developmental trajectories of child and adolescent emotional problems: associations with early adult alcohol use behaviors.

BACKGROUND: Whether emotional problems during childhood and adolescence are longitudinally associated with adult alcohol use behaviors is unclear. This study examined associations between developmental trajectories of emotional problems and early adult alcohol use behaviors, while considering co-occurring conduct problems, developmental change/timing, sex differences, and potential confounds. METHODS: Participants were from the Twins Early Development Study (analytic N = 19,908 individuals). Emotional and conduct problems were measured by parent reports at child ages 4, 7, and 9 years and via self-reports at ages 9, 11, and 16 years on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Alcohol use behaviors (alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems) were self-reported by the twins on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test at age 22 years. Piecewise latent growth curve models described nonlinear developmental trajectories of emotional and conduct problems from ages 4 to 16. At age 22, alcohol use was regressed on emotional and conduct problems' intercepts and slopes from piecewise latent growth curve model and sex differences in regression coefficients were tested. Using twin modeling, Cholesky decompositions and direct path models were compared to test whether significant phenotypic associations were best explained by direct phenotypic influences or correlated genetic and environmental influences. RESULTS: Emotional problems had different associations with alcohol-related problems versus alcohol consumption. After accounting for direct influences from conduct problems, emotional problems were not associated with alcohol-related problems, while emotional problems at age 9 were negatively associated with alcohol consumption in males. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, findings did not support emotional problems as prospective risk factors for severe alcohol use above and beyond risks associated with conduct problems. Sex- and age-specific links between emotional problems and alcohol consumption in early adulthood may be worthy of further exploration, particularly as twin analyses improved our confidence that such links may be underpinned by causal mechanisms.

The pernicious role of stress on intergenerational continuity of psychopathology.

Development and Psychopathology has been a premier resource for understanding stressful childhood experiences and the intergenerational continuity of psychopathology. Building on that tradition, we examined the unique and joint influences of maternal stress on children's effortful control (age 7) and externalizing behavior (age 11) as transmitted via genetics, the prenatal environment, and the postnatal environment. The sample included N = 561 adopted children and their biological and adoptive parents. Path models identified a direct effect of biological mother life stress on children's effortful control (ß = -.08) and an indirect effect of her life stress on child externalizing behavior via effortful control (ß = .52), but no main or indirect effects of biological parent psychopathology, prenatal stress, or adoptive mother adverse childhood experiences (ACES). Adoptive mother ACES amplified the association between biological mother life stress and child effortful control (ß = -.08), externalizing behavior (ß = 1.41), and the indirect effect via effortful control, strengthening associations when adoptive mothers reported average or high ACES during their own childhoods. Results suggest that novel study designs are needed to enhance the understanding of how life stress gets "under the skin" to affect psychopathology in the offspring of adults who have experienced stress.

Unique influences of pregnancy and anticipated parenting on cigarette smoking: results and implications of a within-person, between-pregnancy study.

Not all pregnant individuals want to become parents and "parenting intention" can also vary within individuals during different pregnancies. Nevertheless, the potential impact of parenting intention on health-related behavior during pregnancy has been heavily underexplored. In this study, we employed a within-person between pregnancy design to estimate the effect of parenting-specific influences on smoking, separate from pregnancy-specific and individual-level influences. We quantified within-mother differences in smoking during pregnancies of infants they reared (n = 84) versus pregnancies of infants they placed for adoption at birth (n = 65) using multivariate mixed-effects Poisson regression models. Mean cigarettes/day declined as the pregnancy progressed regardless of whether infants were reared or placed. However, participants smoked fewer cigarettes/day during reared pregnancies. Relative to "adopted" pregnancies, smoking during "reared" pregnancies was lower by 24%, 41%, and 54% in first (95% CI 0.64-0.90; p = 0.001), second (95% CI 0.48-0.72; p < 0.001), and third trimesters (95% CI 0.36-0.59; p < 0.001), respectively, independent of between-pregnancy differences in maternal age, fetal sex, parity, and pregnancy complications. Female sex and nulliparity were protective. Parenting intention was associated with a protective effect on pregnancy smoking independent of pregnancy-specific influences and individual characteristics. Failure to consider the impact of parenting intention on health-related behavior during pregnancy could perpetuate an unrealistic expectation to "do what's best for the baby" and stigmatize women with unintended or unwanted pregnancies.

The role of fathers in child development from preconception to postnatal influences: Opportunities for the National Institutes of Health Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program.

A growing body of literature highlights the important role of paternal health and socioemotional characteristics in child development, from preconception through adolescence. Much of this research addresses the indirect effects of fathers, for instance, their influence on maternal behaviors during the prenatal period or via the relationship with their partner. However, emerging evidence also recognizes the direct role of paternal health and behavior for child health and adjustment across development. This critical review presents evidence of biological and sociocultural influences of fathers on preconception, prenatal, and postnatal contributions to child development. The National Institutes of Health Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program incorporates in its central conceptualization the impact of fathers on family and child outcomes. This critical synthesis of the literature focuses on three specific child outcomes in the ECHO program: health outcomes (e.g., obesity), neurodevelopmental outcomes (e.g., emotional, behavioral, psychopathological development), and positive health. We highlight the unique insights gained from the literature to date and provide next steps for future studies on paternal influences.

Latent Class Analysis of Prenatal Substance Exposure and Child Behavioral Outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: To predict behavioral disruptions in middle childhood, we identified latent classes of prenatal substance use. STUDY DESIGN: As part of the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Program, we harmonized prenatal substance use data and child behavior outcomes from 2195 women and their 6- to 11-year-old children across 10 cohorts in the US and used latent class-adjusted regression models to predict parent-rated child behavior. RESULTS: Three latent classes fit the data: low use (90.5%; n = 1986), primarily using no substances; licit use (6.6%; n = 145), mainly using nicotine with a moderate likelihood of using alcohol and marijuana; and illicit use (2.9%; n = 64), predominantly using illicit substances along with a moderate likelihood of using licit substances. Children exposed to primarily licit substances in utero had greater levels of externalizing behavior than children exposed to low or no substances (P = .001, d = .64). Children exposed to illicit substances in utero showed small but significant elevations in internalizing behavior than children exposed to low or no substances (P < .001, d = .16). CONCLUSIONS: The differences in prenatal polysubstance use may increase risk for specific childhood problem behaviors; however, child outcomes appeared comparably adverse for both licit and illicit polysubstance exposure. We highlight the need for similar multicohort, large-scale studies to examine childhood outcomes based on prenatal substance use profiles.

Associations between area-level arsenic exposure and adverse birth outcomes: An Echo-wide cohort analysis.

BACKGROUND: Drinking water is a common source of exposure to inorganic arsenic. In the US, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was enacted to protect consumers from exposure to contaminants, including arsenic, in public water systems (PWS). The reproductive effects of preconception and prenatal arsenic exposure in regions with low to moderate arsenic concentrations are not well understood. OBJECTIVES: This study examined associations between preconception and prenatal exposure to arsenic violations in water, measured via residence in a county with an arsenic violation in a regulated PWS during pregnancy, and five birth outcomes: birth weight, gestational age at birth, preterm birth, small for gestational age (SGA), and large for gestational age (LGA). METHODS: Data for arsenic violations in PWS, defined as concentrations exceeding 10 parts per billion, were obtained from the Safe Drinking Water Information System. Participants of the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Cohort Study were matched to arsenic violations by time and location based on residential history data. Multivariable, mixed effects regression models were used to assess the relationship between preconception and prenatal exposure to arsenic violations in drinking water and birth outcomes. RESULTS: Compared to unexposed infants, continuous exposure to arsenic from three months prior to conception through birth was associated with 88.8 g higher mean birth weight (95% CI: 8.2, 169.5), after adjusting for individual-level confounders. No statistically significant associations were observed between any preconception or prenatal violations exposure and gestational age at birth, preterm birth, SGA, or LGA. CONCLUSIONS: Our study did not identify associations between preconception and prenatal arsenic exposure, defined by drinking water exceedances, and adverse birth outcomes. Exposure to arsenic violations in drinking water was associated with higher birth weight. Future studies would benefit from more precise geodata of water system service areas, direct household drinking water measurements, and exposure biomarkers.

Developmental trajectories of behavioral inhibition from infancy to age seven: The role of genetic and environmental risk for psychopathology.

The present study leveraged data from a longitudinal adoption study of 361 families recruited between 2003 and 2010 in the United States. We investigated how psychopathology symptoms in birth parents (BP; Mage  = 24.1 years; 50.5-62.9% completed high school) and adoptive parents (AP; Mage  = 37.8 years; 80.9% completed college; 94% mother-father couples) influenced children's behavioral inhibition (BI) trajectories. We used latent growth models of observed BI at 18 and 27 months, and 4.5 and 7 years in a sample of adopted children (Female = 42%, White = 57%, Black = 11%, Multi-racial = 21%, Latinx = 9%). BI generally decreased over time, yet there was substantial variability in these trajectories. Neither BP nor AP psychopathology symptoms independently predicted systematic differences in BI trajectories. Instead, we found that AP internalizing symptoms moderated the effects of BP psychopathology on trajectories of BI, indicating a gene by environment interaction.

Perinatal Outcomes during versus Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Role of Maternal Depression and Perceived Stress: A Report from the ECHO Program.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on perinatal outcomes while accounting for maternal depression or perceived stress and to describe COVID-specific stressors, including changes in prenatal care, across specific time periods of the pandemic. STUDY DESIGN: Data of dyads from 41 cohorts from the National Institutes of Health Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Program (N = 2,983) were used to compare birth outcomes before and during the pandemic (n = 2,355), and a partially overlapping sample (n = 1,490) responded to a COVID-19 questionnaire. Psychosocial stress was defined using prenatal screening for depression and perceived stress. Propensity-score matching and general estimating equations with robust variance estimation were used to estimate the pandemic's effect on birth outcomes. RESULTS: Symptoms of depression and perceived stress during pregnancy were similar prior to and during the pandemic, with nearly 40% of participants reporting mild to severe stress, and 24% reporting mild depression to severe depression. Gestations were shorter during the pandemic (B = - 0.33 weeks, p = 0.025), and depression was significantly associated with shortened gestation (B = - 0.02 weeks, p = 0.015) after adjustment. Birth weights were similar (B = - 28.14 g, p = 0.568), but infants born during the pandemic had slightly larger birth weights for gestational age at delivery than those born before the pandemic (B = 0.15 z-score units, p = 0.041). More women who gave birth early in the pandemic reported being moderately or extremely distressed about changes to their prenatal care and delivery (45%) compared with those who delivered later in the pandemic. A majority (72%) reported somewhat to extremely negative views of the impact of COVID-19 on their life. CONCLUSION: In this national cohort, we detected no effect of COVID-19 on prenatal depression or perceived stress. However, experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic in pregnancy was associated with decreases in gestational age at birth, as well as distress about changes in prenatal care early in the pandemic. KEY POINTS: · COVID-19 was associated with shortened gestations.. · Depression was associated with shortened gestations.. · However, stress during the pandemic remained unchanged.. · Most women reported negative impacts of the pandemic..

Cardiometabolic Pregnancy Complications in Association With Autism-Related Traits as Measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale in ECHO.

Prior work has examined associations between cardiometabolic pregnancy complications and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but not how these complications may relate to social communication traits more broadly. We addressed this question within the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes program, with 6,778 participants from 40 cohorts conducted from 1998-2021 with information on ASD-related traits via the Social Responsiveness Scale. Four metabolic pregnancy complications were examined individually, and combined, in association with Social Responsiveness Scale scores, using crude and adjusted linear regression as well as quantile regression analyses. We also examined associations stratified by ASD diagnosis, and potential mediation by preterm birth and low birth weight, and modification by child sex and enriched risk of ASD. Increases in ASD-related traits were associated with obesity (ß = 4.64, 95% confidence interval: 3.27, 6.01) and gestational diabetes (ß = 5.21, 95% confidence interval: 2.41, 8.02), specifically, but not with hypertension or preeclampsia. Results among children without ASD were similar to main analyses, but weaker among ASD cases. There was not strong evidence for mediation or modification. Results suggest that common cardiometabolic pregnancy complications may influence child ASD-related traits, not only above a diagnostic threshold relevant to ASD but also across the population.

Early manifestations of intellectual performance: Evidence that genetic effects on later academic test performance are mediated through verbal performance in early childhood.

Intellectual performance is highly heritable and robustly predicts lifelong health and success but the earliest manifestations of genetic effects on this asset are not well understood. This study examined whether early executive function (EF) or verbal performance mediate genetic influences on subsequent intellectual performance, in 561 U.S.-based adoptees (57% male) and their birth and adoptive parents (70% and 92% White, 13% and 4% African American, 7% and 2% Latinx, respectively), administered measures in 2003-2017. Genetic influences on children's academic performance at 7 years were mediated by verbal performance at 4.5 years (ß = .22, 95% CI [0.08, 0.35], p = .002) and not via EF, indicating that verbal performance is an early manifestation of genetic propensity for intellectual performance.

Illuminating the origins of the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology with a novel genetically informed design.

Although it is well known that parental depression is transmitted within families across generations, the etiology of this transmission remains unclear. Our goal was to develop a novel study design capable of explicitly examining the etiologic sources of intergenerational transmission. We specifically leveraged naturally-occurring variations in genetic relatedness between parents and their adolescent children in the 720 families participating in the Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development (NEAD) study, 58.5% of which included a rearing stepparent (nearly always a stepfather). Results pointed squarely to the environmental transmission of psychopathology between fathers and children. Paternal depression was associated with adolescent depression and adolescent behavior problems (i.e., antisocial behavior, headstrong behavior, and attention problems) regardless of whether or not fathers and their children were genetically related. Moreover, these associations persisted to a subset of "blended" families in which the father was biologically related to one participating child but not to the other, and appeared to be mediated via father-child conflict. Such findings are not only fully consistent with the environmental transmission of psychopathology across generations, but also add to extant evidence that parent-child conflict is a robust and at least partially environmental predictor of adolescent psychopathology.

Intergenerational transmission of psychopathology: An examination of symptom severity and directionality.

The present study examined the intergenerational transmission of internalizing and externalizing symptom severity, which indexes comorbidity, and symptom directionality, which indicates differentiation toward externalizing versus internalizing problems. Data are from 854 male and female, same-sex adult twin pairs born between 1926 and 1971 (32-60 years old, M = 44.9 years, SD = 4.9 years) from the Twin and Offspring Study in Sweden and their adolescent offspring (11-22 years old, M = 15.7 years, SD = 2.4 years, 52% female). Children-of-twins models revealed additive (9%) and dominant (45%) genetic and nonshared environmental (47%) influences on twins' symptom severity, and additive genetic (39%) and nonshared environmental (61%) influences on twins' symptom directionality. Both comorbid problems and preponderance of symptoms of a particular - internalizing versus externalizing - spectrum were correlated across parent and child generations, although associations were modest especially for directionality (i.e., transmission of specific symptom type). By interpreting findings alongside a recent study of adolescent twins, we demonstrate that the intergenerational transmission of symptom severity and symptom directionality are both unlikely to be attributable to genetic transmission, are both likely to be influenced by direct phenotypic transmission and/or nonpassive rGE, and the intergenerational transmission of symptom severity is also likely to be influenced by passive rGE.

Developmental profiles of child behavior problems from 18 months to 8 years: The protective effects of structured parenting vary by genetic risk.

Some children are more affected by specific family environments than others, as a function of differences in their genetic make-up. However, longitudinal studies of genetic moderation of parenting effects during early childhood have not been conducted. We examined developmental profiles of child behavior problems between 18 months and age 8 in a longitudinal parent-offspring sample of 361 adopted children. In toddlerhood (18 months), observed structured parenting indexed parental guidance in service of task goals. Biological parent psychopathology served as an index of genetic influences on children's behavior problems. Four profiles of child behavior problems were identified: low stable (11%), average stable (50%), higher stable (29%), and high increasing (11%). A multinominal logistic regression analysis indicated a genetically moderated effect of structured parenting, such that for children whose biological mother had higher psychopathology, the odds of the child being in the low stable group increased as structured parenting increased. Conversely, for children whose biological mother had lower psychopathology, the odds of being in the low stable group was reduced when structured parenting increased. Results suggest that increasing structured parenting is an effective strategy for children at higher genetic risk for psychopathology, but may be detrimental for those at lower genetic risk.

Within-person decline in pregnancy smoking is observable prior to pregnancy awareness: Evidence across two independent observational cohorts.

Decreased consumption of nicotine and other drugs during pregnancy appears to be a cross-species phenomenon from which mechanism(s) capable of interrupting addictive processes could be elucidated. Whether pregnancy influences smoking behaviour independent of women's knowledge of the pregnancy, however, has not been considered. Using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), we estimated within-person change in mean cigarettes/day smoked across the estimated date of conception but prior to individually reported dates of pregnancy recognition using longitudinal smoking data from two independent observational cohorts, the Growing Up Healthy (GUH, n = 271) and Midwest Infant Development Studies (MIDS, n = 145). Participants smoked an average of half a pack/day in the month immediately before conception (M (SD) = 12(8.1) and 9.5(6.7) cigarettes/day in GUH and MIDS, respectively). We observed within-person declines in smoking after conception, both before (MGUH  = -0.9; 95% CI -1.6, -0.2; p = 0.01; MMIDS  = -1.1; 95% CI -1.9, -0.3; p = 0.01) and after (MGUH  = -4.8; 95% CI -5.5, -4.1; p < 0.001; MMIDS  = -3.3; 95% CI -4.4, -2.5; p < 0.001) women were aware of having conceived, even when women who had quit and women who were planning to conceive were excluded from analyses. Pregnancy may interrupt smoking-related processes via mechanisms not previously considered. Plausible candidates and directions for future research are discussed.

Parenting in the Context of the Child: Genetic and Social Processes.

The focus on the role of parenting in child development has a long-standing history. When measures of parenting precede changes in child development, researchers typically infer a causal role of parenting practices and attitudes on child development. However, this research is usually conducted with parents raising their own biological offspring. Such research designs cannot account for the effects of genes that are common to parents and children, nor for genetically influenced traits in children that influence how they are parented and how parenting affects them. The aim of this monograph is to provide a clearer view of parenting by synthesizing findings from the Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS). EGDS is a longitudinal study of adopted children, their birth parents, and their rearing parents studied across infancy and childhood. Families (N = 561) were recruited in the United States through adoption agencies between 2000 and 2010. Data collection began when adoptees were 9 months old (males = 57.2%; White 54.5%, Black 13.2%, Hispanic/Latinx 13.4%, Multiracial 17.8%, other 1.1%). The median child age at adoption placement was 2 days (M = 5.58, SD = 11.32). Adoptive parents were predominantly in their 30s, White, and coming from upper-middle- or upper-class backgrounds with high educational attainment (a mode at 4-year college or graduate degree). Most adoptive parents were heterosexual couples, and were married at the beginning of the project. The birth parent sample was more racially and ethnically diverse, but the majority (70%) were White. At the beginning of the study, most birth mothers and fathers were in their 20s, with a mode of educational attainment at high school degree, and few of them were married. We have been following these family members over time, assessing their genetic influences, prenatal environment, rearing environment, and child development. Controlling for effects of genes common to parents and children, we confirmed some previously reported associations between parenting, parent psychopathology, and marital adjustment in relation to child problematic and prosocial behavior. We also observed effects of children's heritable characteristics, characteristics thought to be transmitted from parent to child by genetic means, on their parents and how those effects contributed to subsequent child development. For example, we found that genetically influenced child impulsivity and social withdrawal both elicited harsh parenting, whereas a genetically influenced sunny disposition elicited parental warmth. We found numerous instances of children's genetically influenced characteristics that enhanced positive parental influences on child development or that protected them from harsh parenting. Integrating our findings, we propose a new, genetically informed process model of parenting. We posit that parents implicitly or explicitly detect genetically influenced liabilities and assets in their children. We also suggest future research into factors such as marital adjustment, that favor parents responding with appropriate protection or enhancement. Our findings illustrate a productive use of genetic information in prevention research: helping parents respond effectively to a profile of child strengths and challenges rather than using genetic information simply to identify some children unresponsive to current preventive interventions.

Gene × Environment Interactions in the Development of Preschool Effortful Control, and Its Implications for Childhood Externalizing Behavior.

This study examined the role of gene × environment interaction (G × E) in the development of effortful control (EC) and externalizing symptoms (EXT). Participants included 361 adopted children, and their Adoptive Parents (APs) and Birth Mothers (BMs), drawn from the Early Growth and Development Study. The primary adoptive caregivers' (AP1) laxness and overreactivity were assessed when children were 27-months-old, and used as indices of environmental influences on EC. Heritable influences on child EC were assessed by the BMs' personality characteristics (emotion dysregulation, agreeableness). Secondary adoptive caregivers (AP2) reported on children's EC at 54 months, and EXT at 7 years. Interactions between BM characteristics and AP1 laxness were related to EC and indirectly predicted EXT via EC. Parental laxness and EC were positively associated if children had high heritable risk for poor EC (BM high emotion dysregulation or low agreeableness), but negatively associated if children had low heritable risk for poor EC (BM low emotion dysregulation or high agreeableness). BM agreeableness also moderated associations between AP1 overreactivity and effortful control, and yielded a similar pattern of results. Our findings suggest that G × E is an important first step in the development of EXT via its effect on EC. Consistent with "goodness of fit" models, heritable tendencies can affect which parenting practices best support EC development.

The role of child negative emotionality in parenting and child adjustment: Gene-environment interplay.

BACKGROUND: Evocative gene-environment correlation (rGE) describes a process through which children's heritable characteristics influence their rearing environments. The current study examined whether heritable influences on parenting and children's behavioural outcomes operate through child negative emotionality. METHOD: Using data from the Early Growth and Development Study, we examined associations among adoptive parent reports of child anger and sadness at 4.5 years, adoptive parents' hostile and warm parenting at 6 years and child behavioural problems and social competence at age 7. Birth parent temperament was included to test whether child effects on parents reflect evocative gene-environment correlation (rGE). RESULTS: Child anger at 4.5 years evoked hostile parenting from adoptive parents at 6 years, which was subsequently related to child problem behaviours at 7 years. Evocative rGE effects were identified for adoptive parents' hostile parenting. CONCLUSIONS: By employing a genetically informed design, we found that birth parent temperament was related to child negative emotionality. Adoptive parents were sensitive to child negative emotionality, and this sensitivity was linked to the child's later adjustment.

Examining reciprocal associations between parent depressive symptoms and child internalizing symptoms on subsequent psychiatric disorders: An adoption study.

INTRODUCTION: The dynamic interplay between parent depressive symptoms and child internalizing behavior over time is not well understood. METHODS: We used data from a prospective parent-offspring adoption design (N = 561) to examine associations between adoptive parent depressive symptoms and child internalizing behavior when children were ages 18 months, 27 months, 4.5 years, and 6 years, and subsequent child psychiatric disorder symptoms when children were between the ages of 6-8 years. Models also accounted for the contributions of birth parent psychopathology, birth mother depressive symptoms during pregnancy, and infant negative emotionality. Bidirectional associations between adoptive parent depressive symptoms and child internalizing behavior were examined using a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model. RESULTS: There was evidence for associations between child internalizing behavior and adoptive parent depressive symptoms over time, with mothers' depressive symptoms being a more salient risk factor for child internalizing behavior than fathers'. We found one significant cross-lagged association from adoptive mother depressive symptoms at child age 18 months to child internalizing behavior at age 27 months. Infant negative emotionality (i.e., emotional liability) at age 9 months predicted both child internalizing behavior and adoptive parent depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that postnatal maternal depressive symptoms confer specific risks for child internalizing behaviors in toddlerhood and childhood and depressive symptoms in childhood.