RESUMEN
The LPR and STin2 polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) were combined into haplotypes that, together with quality of maternal parenting, were used to predict initial levels and linear change in children's (N = 138) noncompliance and aggression from age 18-54 months. Quality of mothers' parenting behavior was observed when children were 18 months old, and nonparental caregivers' reports of noncompliance and aggression were collected annually from 18 to 54 months of age. Quality of early parenting was negatively related to the slope of noncompliance only for children with the LPR-S/STin2-10 haplotype and to 18-month noncompliance only for children with haplotypes that did not include LPR-S. The findings support the notion that SLC6A4 haplotypes index differential susceptibility to variability in parenting quality, with certain haplotypes showing greater reactivity to both supportive and unsupportive environments. These different genetic backgrounds likely reflect an evolutionary response to variation in the parenting environment.
Asunto(s)
Agresión/psicología , Trastornos de la Conducta Infantil , Conducta Materna , Repeticiones de Minisatélite/genética , Responsabilidad Parental/psicología , Proteínas de Transporte de Serotonina en la Membrana Plasmática/genética , Trastornos de la Conducta Infantil/etiología , Trastornos de la Conducta Infantil/genética , Trastornos de la Conducta Infantil/psicología , Preescolar , Salud de la Familia , Femenino , Frecuencia de los Genes , Pruebas Genéticas , Haplotipos , Humanos , Lactante , Estudios Longitudinales , Masculino , Modelos Estadísticos , Relaciones Madre-Hijo , Factores de RiesgoRESUMEN
Crick and Dodge's (Psychological Bulletin 115:74-101, 1994) social information processing model has proven very useful in guiding research focused on aggressive and peer-rejected children's social-cognitive functioning. Its application to early childhood, however, has been much more limited. The present study responds to this gap by developing and validating a video-based assessment tool appropriate for early childhood, the Schultz Test of Emotion Processing-Preliminary Version (STEP-P). One hundred twenty-five Head Start preschool children participated in the study. More socially competent children more frequently attributed sadness to the victims of provocation and labeled aggressive behaviors as both morally unacceptable and less likely to lead to positive outcomes. More socially competent girls labeled others' emotions more accurately. More disruptive children more frequently produced physically aggressive solutions to social provocations, and more disruptive boys less frequently interpreted social provocations as accidental. The STEP-P holds promise as an assessment tool that assesses knowledge structures related to the SIP model in early childhood.