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Gene–environment correlation in the development of adolescent substance abuse: Selection effects of child personality and mediation via contextual risk factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2013

Brian M. Hicks ,
Wendy Johnson ,
C. Emily Durbin ,
Daniel M. Blonigen ,
William G. Iacono  and
Matt McGue
Brian M. Hicks*
Affiliation:
University of Michigan
Wendy Johnson
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
C. Emily Durbin
Affiliation:
Michigan State University
Daniel M. Blonigen
Affiliation:
Palo Alto Health Care System
William G. Iacono
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Matt McGue
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Brian M. Hicks, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, 4250 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; E-mail: brianhic@umich.edu.
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Abstract

We used a longitudinal twin design to examine selection effects of personality traits at age 11 on high-risk environmental contexts at age 14 and the extent to which these contexts mediated risk for substance abuse at age 17. Socialization at age 11 (willingness to follow rules and endorse conventional values) predicted exposure to contextual risk at age 14. Contextual risk partially mediated the effect of socialization on substance abuse, though socialization also had a direct effect. In contrast, boldness at age 11 (social engagement and assurance, thrill seeking, and stress resilience) also predicted substance abuse directly but was unrelated to contextual risk. There was substantial overlap in the genetic and shared environmental influences on socialization and contextual risk, and genetic risk in socialization contributed to substance abuse indirectly via increased exposure to contextual risk. This suggests that active gene–environment correlations related to individual differences in socialization contributed to an early, high-risk developmental trajectory for adolescent substance abuse. In contrast, boldness appeared to index an independent and direct genetic risk factor for adolescent substance abuse.

Type
Special Section Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 25 , Issue 1: Gene–Environment Correlation in Developmental Psychopathology , February 2013 , pp. 119 - 132
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013

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