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- Creators: Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn
Description
The hypothalamus pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and the human genome are important components of the biological etiology of externalizing disorders. By studying the associations between specific genetic variants, diurnal cortisol, and externalizing symptoms we can begin to unpack this complex etiology. It was hypothesized that genetic variants from the corticotropine releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1), FK506 binding protein 51 (FKBP5), catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT), and dopamine transporter (DAT1) genes and diurnal cortisol intercepts and slopes would separately predict externalizing symptoms. It was also hypothesized that genetic variants would moderate the association between cortisol and externalizing. Participants were 800 twins (51% boys), 88.5% Caucasian, M=7.93 years (SD=0.87) participating in the Wisconsin Twin Project. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was used to separate the variance associated with state and trait cortisol measured across three consecutive days and trait cortisol measures were used. There were no main effects of genes on externalizing symptoms. The evening cortisol intercept, the morning cortisol slope and the evening cortisol slope predicted externalizing, but only in boys, such that boys with higher cortisol and flatter slopes across the day also had more externalizing symptoms. The morning cortisol intercept and CRHR1 rs242924 interacted to predict externalizing in both boys and girls, with GG carriers significantly higher compared to TT carriers at one standard deviation below the mean of morning cortisol. For boys only there was a significant interaction between the DAT1 variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) and the afternoon slope and a significant slope for 9/9 carriers and 9/10 carriers such that when the slope was more steep, boys carrying a nine had fewer externalizing symptoms but when the slope was less steep, they had more. Results confirm a link between diurnal trait cortisol and externalizing in boys, as well as moderation of that association by genetic polymorphisms. This is the first study to empirically examine this association and should encourage further research on the biological etiology of externalizing disorder symptoms.
ContributorsSwann, Gregory (Author) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Thesis advisor) / Chassin, Laurie (Committee member) / Doane-Sampey, Leah (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Using data from an eight-year longitudinal study of 214 children's social and emotional development, I conducted three studies to (1) examine patterns of agreement for internalizing (INT) and externalizing (EXT) symptomatology among different informants (mothers, fathers, teachers, and adolescents) using a recently developed structural equation modeling approach for multi-trait, multi-method data; (2) examine the developmental trajectories for INT and EXT and predict individual differences in symptom development using temperament and parenting variables; and (3) describe patterns of INT and EXT co-occurrence and predict these patterns from temperament and parenting. In Study 1, longitudinal invariance was established for mothers', fathers' and teachers' reports over a six-year period. Sex, age, and SES did not substantially moderate agreement among informants, although both sex and age were differentially related to symptomatology depending on the informant. Agreement among teachers and mothers, but not among mothers and fathers, differed by domain of symptomatology, and was greater for EXT than for INT. In Study 2, latent profile analysis, a person-centered analytic approach, did not provide easily interpretable patterns of symptom development, a failure that is likely the result of the relatively modest sample size. Latent growth curve models, an alternative analytic approach, did provide good fit to the data. Temperament and parenting variables were examined as predictors of the latent growth parameters in these models. Although there was little prediction of the slope, effortful control was negatively related to overall levels of EXT, whereas impulsivity and anger were positively related. Mutually responsive orientation, a measure of the parent-child relationship, was a more consistent predictor of EXT than was parental warmth. Furthermore, the relation between mutually responsive orientation and EXT was partially mediated by inhibitory control. Across informants, there were few consistent predictors of INT. In Study 3, latent profile analysis was used to classify individuals into different patterns of INT and EXT co-occurrence. In these models, a similar class structure was identified for mothers and for teachers. When temperament and parenting were examined as predictors of co-occurring symptomatology, few significant interactions were found and results largely replicated prior findings from this data set using arbitrary symptom groups.
ContributorsSulik, Michael John (Author) / Eisenberg, Nancy (Thesis advisor) / Spinrad, Tracy L (Thesis advisor) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / Wolchik, Sharlene A (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Externalizing behaviors are pervasive, widespread, and disruptive across a multitude of settings and developmental contexts. While the conventional diathesis-stress model typically measures the disordered end of the spectrum, studies that span the range of behavior, from externalizing to competence behaviors, are necessary to see the full picture. To that end, this study examined the additive and nonadditive relations of a dimension of parenting (ranging from warm to rejecting), and variants in dopamine, vasopressin, and neuropeptide-y receptor genes on externalizing/competence in a large sample of predominantly Caucasian twin children in toddlerhood, middle childhood, and early adolescence. Variants within each gene were hypothesized to increase biological susceptibility to both negative and positive environments. Consistent with prediction, warmth related to lower externalizing/higher competence at all ages. Earlier levels of externalizing/competence washed out the effect of parental warmth on future externalizing/competence with the exception of father warmth in toddlerhood marginally predicting change in externalizing/competence from toddlerhood to middle childhood. Warmth was a significant moderator of the heritability of behavior in middle childhood and early adolescence such that behavior was less heritable (mother report) and more heritable (father report) in low warmth environments. Interactions with warmth and the dopamine and vasopressin genes in middle childhood and early adolescence emphasize the moderational role gene variants play in relations between the rearing environment and child behavior. For dopamine, the long variant related to increased sensitivity to parent warmth such that the children displayed more externalizing behaviors when exposed to rejection but they also displayed more competence behaviors when exposed to high warmth. Vasopressin moderation was only present under conditions of parental warmth, not rejection. Interactions with neuropeptide-y and warmth were not significant. The picture that emerges is one of gene-environment interplay, wherein the influence of both parenting and child genotype each depend on the level of the other. As genetic research moves forward, gene variants previously implicated as conferring risk for disorder should be reexamined in conjunction with salient aspects of the environment on the full range of the behavioral outcome of interest.
ContributorsO'Brien, T. Caitlin (Author) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Thesis advisor) / Eisenberg, Nancy (Committee member) / Enders, Craig (Committee member) / Nagoshi, Craig (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The present study tested the factor structure of the externalizing disorders (e.g. attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (SE), and substance experimentation (SE) ) in adolescence. In addition, this study tested the influence of the GABRA2 gene on the factors of the externalizing spectrum. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the factor structure of the externalizing spectrum. Specifically, three competing alternate confirmatory factor analytic models were tested: a one-factor model where all disorders loaded onto a single externalizing factor, a two-factor model where CD and SE loaded onto one factor and ADHD loaded onto another, and a three-factor model, where all three disorders loaded onto separate factors. Structural equation modeling was used to test the effect of a GABRA2 SNP, rs279858, on the factors of the externalizing spectrum. Analyses revealed that a three-factor model of externalizing disorders with correlated factors fit the data best. Additionally, GABRA2 had a significant effect on the SE factor in adolescence, but not on the CD or ADHD factors. These findings demonstrate that the externalizing disorders in adolescence share commonalities but also have separate sources of systematic variance. Furthermore, biological mechanisms may act as a unique etiological factor in the development of adolescent substance experimentation.
ContributorsWang, Frances L (Author) / Chassin, Laurie (Thesis advisor) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / Geiser, Christian (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The purpose of this study was to evaluate existing data from the Arizona Youth Survey (AYS) to give policymakers and representatives from the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission some insight into the high rates of youth prescription drug abuse. This study examined trends in prescription drug consumption among Pima County, Arizona adolescents, as well as the contexts in which these drugs were used and the numerous consequences resulting from such actions. The results of this research will allow professionals at the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission to inform state officials on the most cost-effective methods of prescription drug abuse prevention and intervention.
ContributorsLewis, Melissa (Author) / Roosa, Mark (Thesis director) / Dumka, Larry (Committee member) / Malone, Shane (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2013-05