Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Gene-Environment Correlations in the Context of Parenting and Peer Relationships

  • Chapter
Behavioural Genetics for Education

  • 868 Accesses

Abstract

Most models of human development highlight the role of environmental experiences in explaining individual differences in socio-emotional and cognitive development (e.g., Bowlby, 1982). This emphasis finds its support in longitudinal studies underlining associations between characteristics of early caregiving environments and later child development (e.g., Bradley & Corwin, 2007; De Wolff & Van IJzendoorn, 1997). However, there is now substantial evidence to suggest that both genetic and environmental factors shape these developmental associations (Turkheimer, 2000). More importantly, these two classes of factors are likely to interact in complex ways, and reciprocally influence each other through gene-environment (G-E) interplay (Plomin, DeFries, & Loehlin, 1977; Scarr & McCartney, 1983).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1985). Attachments across the life span. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 61, 792–812.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ, US: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arseneault, L., Milne, B. J., Taylor, A., Adams, F., Delgado, K., Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. E. (2008). Being bullied as an environmentally mediated contributing factor to children’s internalizing problems: a study of twins discordant for victimization. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 162, 145–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ball, H. A., Arseneault, L., Taylor, A., Maughan, B., Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. E. (2008). Genetic and environmental influences on victims, bullies and bully-victims in childhood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 104–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barker, E. D., Boivin, M., Brendgen, M., Fontaine, N., Arseneault, L., Vitaro, F., …, & Tremblay, R. E. (2008). Predictive validity and early predictors of peer-victimization trajectories in preschool. Archives of General Psychiatry, 65, 1185–1192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, K. D., Ginsburg, G. S., Domingues, J., & Tein, J.-Y. (2010). Maternal control behavior and locus of control: examining mechanisms in the relation between maternal anxiety disorders and anxiety symptomatology in children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 533–543.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J., & Jaffee, S. R. (2006). The multiple determinants of parenting. In D. Cicchetti & D.J. Donald (Eds), Developmental Psychopathology, Vol.3: Risk, Disorder, and Adaptation (pp. 38–85). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boeldt, D. L., Rhee, S. H., DiLalla, L. F., Mullineaux, P. Y., Schulz, H. R., et al. (2012). The association between positive parenting and externalizing behaviour. Infant and Child Development, 21, 85–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boivin, M., Brendgen, M., Dionne, G., Dubois, L., Pérusse, D., Robaey, P., Tremblay, R. E., & Vitaro, F. (2012). The Quebec Newborn Twin Study into adolescence: 15 years later. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 16, 64–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boivin, M., Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., Dionne, G., Girard, A., Pérusse, D., & Tremblay, R. E. (2013a). Strong genetic contribution to peer relationship difficulties at school entry: findings from a longitudinal twin study. Child Development, 84 (3), 1098–1114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boivin, M., Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., Forget-Dubois, N., Feng, B., Tremblay, R. E., & Dionne, G. (2013b). Evidence of gene-environment correlation for peer difficulties: disruptive behaviors predict early school peer relation difficulties through genetic effects. Development and Psychopathology, 25, 79–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boivin, M., Dodge, K. A., Coie, J. D. (1995). Individual-group behavioral similarity and peer status in experimental play groups of boys: The social misfit revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 269–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boivin, M., Hymel, S., & Burkowski, W. M. (1995). The roles of social withdrawal, peer rejection, and victimization by peers in predicting loneliness and depressed mood in childhood. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 765–785.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boivin, M., Hymel, S., & Hodges, E. V. E. (2001). Toward a process view of peer rejection and harassment. In J. Juvonen & S. Graham (Eds), Peer harassment in school: The plight of the vulnerable and victimized (pp. 265–289). New York, NY, US: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boivin, M., Pérusse, D., Dionne, G., Saysset, V., Zoccolillo, M., Tarabulsy, G., et al. (2005). Parent’s perceptions and self-assessed behaviors toward their 5-month-old infants in a large twin and singleton sample. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 46, 612–630.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boivin, M., Vitaro, F., & Poulin, F. (2005). Peer relationships and the development of ag g ressive b ehav ior in early childhood. In R.E. Tremblay, W.W. Hartup & J. Archer (Eds), Developmental origins of aggression (pp. 376–397). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boulton, M. J., & Underwood, K. (1992). Bully/victim problems among middle school children. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 62, 73–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss (vol. 1): Attachment (2nd ed.). London, UK: Hogarth Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, R. H., & Corwin, R. F. (2007). Externalizing problems in fifth grade: Relations with productive activity, maternal sensitivity, and harsh parenting from infancy through middle childhood. Developmental Psychology, 43, 1390–1401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brendgen, M., & Boivin, M. (2015). Childhood and Adolescence: Peer Rejection and Affiliation with Deviant Peers. In J. M. Neiderhiser and B. N. Horwitz (Eds), Behavioral Genetics of Interpersonal Relationships across the Lifespan. Behavioral Genetics Book Series. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brendgen, M., Boivin, M., Vitaro, F., Dionne, G., Girard, A., & Pérusse, D. (2008). Gene-environment interaction between peer victimization and child aggression. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 455–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brendgen, M., Boivin, M., Vitaro, F., Dionne, G., & Pérusse, D. (March 2007). Does Exposure to Aggressive Friends Moderate the Effect of Genes on Children’s Social and Physical Aggression? Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brendgen, M., & Vitaro, F. (2008). Peer Rejection and Physical Health Problems in Early Adolescence. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 29, 183–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., Boivin, M., Girard, A., Bukowski, W. M., Dionne, G., …, & Pérusse, D. (2009). Gene-Environment Linkages Between Peer Rejection and Depressive Symptoms in Children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 1009–1017.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bretherton, I., & Waters, E. (Eds) (1985). Growing points of attachment theory and research. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development. Serial No. 209.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, S. B., Matestic, P., von Stauffenberg, C., Mohan, R., & Kirchner, T. (2007). Trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms, maternal sensitivity, and children’s functioning at school entry. Developmental Psychology, 4 3, 1202–1215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coie, J. D., & Kupersmidt, J. B. (1983). A behavioral analysis of emerging social status in boy’s groups. Child development, 54, 1400–1416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, W. A., Maccoby, E. E., Steinberg, L., Hetherington, E. M., & Bornstein, M. H. (2000). Contemporary research on parenting: The case for nature and nurture. American Psychologist, 55, 218–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cramer, P., & Steinwert, T. (1998). Thin is good, fat is bad: How early does it begin? Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 19 (3), 429–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deater-Deckard, K., & O’Connor, T. G. (2000). Parent-child mutuality in early childhood: Two behavioral genetic studies. Developmental Psychology, 36, 561–570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Wolff, M. S., & Van IJzendoorn, M. H. (1997). Sensitivity and attachment: A meta-analysis on parental antecedents of infant attachment. Child Development, 68, 571–591.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiLalla, L. F., & Bishop, E. G. (1996). Differential maternal treatment of infant twins: effects of infant behaviors. Behavior Genetics, 26, 535–542.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A. (1983). Behavioral Antecedents of Peer Social Status. Child Development, 54, 1386–1399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A., Lansford, J. E., Burks, V. S., Bates, J. E., Pettit, G. S., Fontaine, R., & Price, J. M. (2003). Peer rejection and social information-processing factors in the development of aggressive behavior problems in children. Child Development, 74, 374–393.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erhardt, D., & Hinshaw, S. P. (1994). Initial sociometric impressions of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and comparison boys: Predictions from social behaviors and from nonbehavioral variables. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, 833–842.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fearon, R. M., Van Ijzendoorn, M. H., Fonagy, P., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Schuengel, C., & Bokhorst, C. L. (2006). In search of shared and nonshared environmental factors in security of attachment: A behavior-genetic study of the association between sensitivity and attachment security. Developmental Psychology, 42 (6), 1026–1040.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forget-Dubois, N., Boivin, M., Dionne, G., Pierce, T., Tremblay, R. E., & Pérusse, D. (2007). A longitudinal twin study of the genetic and environmental etiology of maternal hostile-reactive behavior during infancy and toddlerhood. Infant Behavior & Development, 30, 453–465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, C., Carter, R., & Silverman, W. (2011). Anxiety Symptoms in African American Children: Relations with Ethnic Pride, Anxiety Sensitivity, and Parenting. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 20, 205–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harden, K. P., Hill, J. E., Turkheimer, E., & Emery, R. E. (2008). Gene-environment correlation and interaction in peer effects on adolescent alcohol and tobacco use. Behavior Genetics, 38, 339–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoza, B. (2007). Peer functioning in children with ADHD. By special arrangement, published jointly in Ambulatory Pediatrics, 7, 101–106, & Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 32, 719–727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoza, B., Mrug, S., Gerdes, A. C., Hinshaw, S. P., Bukowski, W. M., Gold, J. A., Kraemer, H. C., Pelham, W. E., Wigal, T., & Arnold, L. E. (2005). What aspects of peer relationships are impaired in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder? Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 411–423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hymel, S., Wagner, E., & Butler, L. J. (1990). Reputational bias: View from the peer group. In S. R. Asher & J. D. Coie (Eds), Peer rejection in childhood (pp. 156–188). New York, NY, US: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaffee, S. R., Caspi, A., Moffit, T. E., Polo-Tomas, M., Price, T., & Taylor, A. (2004b). The limits of child effects: Evidence for genetically mediated child effects on corporal punishment but not on physical maltreatment. Developmental Psychology, 40, 1047–1058.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaffee, S. R., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., & Taylor, A. (2004a). Physical maltreatment victim to antisocial child: Evidence of an environmentally mediated process. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113, 44–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaffee, S. R., & Price, T. S. (2007). Gene-environment correlations: a review of the evidence and implications for prevention of mental illness. Molecular Psychiatry, 12, 432–442.

    Google Scholar 

  • Juvonen, J., Graham, S., & Schuster, M. A. (2003). Bullying among adolescents: The strong, the weak, and the troubled. Pediatrics, 112, 1231–1237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knafo, A., & Plomin, R. (2006). Parental discipline and affection and children’s prosocial behavior: Genetic and environmental links. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 147–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kochenderfer, B. J., & Ladd, G. W. (1996). Peer victimization: Cause or consequence of school maladjustment? Child development, 67, 1305–1317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsson, H., Viding, E., Rijsdijk, F. V., & Plomin, R. (2008). Relationships between parental negativity and childhood antisocial behavior over time: a bidirectional effects model in a longitudinal genetically informative design. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 633–645.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martini, T., Root, C., & Jenkins, J. (2004). Low and middle income mothers’ regulation of negative emotion: effects of children’s temperament and situational emotional responses. Social Development, 13, 515–530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nishina, A., Juvonen, J., & Witkow, M. R. (2005). Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, but Names Will Make Me Feel Sick: The Psychosocial, Somatic, and Scholastic Consequences of Peer Harassment. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34, 37–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., & Loehlin, J. C. (1977). Genotype-environment interaction and correlation in the analysis of human behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 309–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhee, S., & Waldman, I. D. (2002). Genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behavior: a meta-analysis of twin and adoption studies. Psychological Bulletin, 29, 490–529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rigby, K. (1999). Peer victimisation at school and the health of secondary school students. The British journal of educational psychology, 69, 95–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roisman, G. I., & Fraley, R. C. (2006). The limits of genetic influence: A behavior-genetic analysis of infantcaregiver relationship quality and temperament. Child Development, 77, 1656–1667.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roisman, G. I., & Fraley, R. C. (2008). A behavior-genetic study of parenting quality, infant attachment security, and their covariation in a nationally representative sample. Developmental Psychology, 44, 831–839.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, R. J. (2002). How do adolescents select their friends? A behavior-genetic perspective. In L. Pulkkinen & A. Caspi (Eds), Paths to successful development: Personality in the life course (pp. 106–125). New York, NY, US: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, K. H., Bukowski, W., & Parker, J. G. (2006). Peer interactions, relationships, and groups. In N. Eisenberg & W. Damon (Eds), Handbook of child psychology (6 ed., Vol. 3, pp. 571–645). Hoboken, NJ, US: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, K. H., Burgess, K. B., Dwyer, K. M., & Hastings, P. D. (2003). Predicting preschoolers’ externalizing behaviors from toddler temperament, conflict, and maternal negativity. Developmental Psychology, 39 (1), 164–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmivalli, C., & Voeten, M. (2004). Connections between attitudes, group norms, and behaviors associated with bullying in schools. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28, 246–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scarr, S., & McCartney, K. (1983). How people make their own environments: A theory of genotype-environment effects. Child Development, 54, 424–435.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schuster, B. (2001). Rejection and victimization by peers: Social perception and social behavior mechanisms. In J. Juvonen & S. Graham (Eds), Peer harassment in school: The plight of the vulnerable and victimized (pp. 290–309). New York, NY, US: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Summer, G., & Spietz, A. L. (1995). NCAST caregiver/parent-child interaction teaching manual, 2nd edition. Seattle, WA, US: NCAST Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teräsahjo, T., & Salmivalli, C. (2003). “She is not actually bullied.” The discourse of harassment in student groups. Aggressive behavior, 29, 134–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turkheimer, E. (2000). Three laws of behavior genetics and what they mean. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9, 160–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Lier, P., Boivin, M., Dionne, G., Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M., Koot, H., …, & Pérusse, D. (2007). Kindergarten children’s genetic vulnerabilities interact with friends’ aggression to promote children’s own aggression. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 46, 1080–1087.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, J. C., Giammarino, M., & Parad, H. W. (1986). Social status in small groups: individual-group similarity and the social “misfit”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 523–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Jeffrey Henry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michel Boivin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mara Brendgen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Goldsmiths, University of London, UK

    Yulia Kovas

  2. Russian Academy of Education, Russia

    Sergey Malykh

  3. University of Sussex, UK

    Darya Gaysina

Copyright information

© 2016 Jeffrey Henry, Michel Boivin, and Mara Brendgen

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Henry, J., Boivin, M., Brendgen, M. (2016). Gene-Environment Correlations in the Context of Parenting and Peer Relationships. In: Kovas, Y., Malykh, S., Gaysina, D. (eds) Behavioural Genetics for Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137437327_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation