Individual differences in adolescent self-control: The role of gene-environment interplay.

Self-control - the ability to alter unwanted impulses and behavior to bring them into agreement with goal-driven responses - is key during adolescence. It helps young people navigate through the myriad challenges they encounter while transitioning into adulthood. We review empirical milestones in our understanding of how individual differences in adolescent self-control exist and develop. We show how the use of molecular genetic measures allows us to move beyond nature versus nurture, and actually investigate how both nature and nurture explain individual differences in self-control. By highlighting the role of gene-environment correlations and gene-environment interactions, this paper aims to enthuse fellow researchers, with or without a background in genetics, to apply genetically sensitive designs too.

No gene by stressful life events interaction on individual differences in adults' self-control.

Background: Difficulty with self-control, or the ability to alter impulses and behavior in a goal-directed way, predicts interpersonal conflict, lower socioeconomic attainments, and more adverse health outcomes. Etiological understanding, and intervention for low self-control is, therefore, a public health goal. A prominent developmental theory proposes that individuals with high genetic propensity for low self-control that are also exposed to stressful environments may be most at-risk of low levels of self-control. Here we examine if polygenic measures associated with behaviors marked by low self-control interact with stressful life events in predicting self-control. Methods: Leveraging molecular data from a large population-based Dutch sample (N = 7,090, Mage = 41.2) to test for effects of genetics (i.e., polygenic scores for ADHD and aggression), stressful life events (e.g., traffic accident, violent assault, financial problems), and a gene-by-stress interaction on self-control (measured with the ASEBA Self-Control Scale). Results: Both genetics (ß =.03 -.04, p <.001) and stressful life events (ß = .11 -.14, p <.001) were associated with individual differences in self-control. We find no evidence of a gene-by-stressful life events interaction on individual differences in adults' self-control. Conclusion: Our findings are consistent with the notion that genetic influences and stressful life events exert largely independent effects on adult self-control. However, the small effect sizes of polygenic scores increases the likelihood of null results. Genetically-informed longitudinal research in large samples can further inform the etiology of individual differences in self-control from early childhood into later adulthood and its downstream implications for public health.