Background-A broad capacity for deliberate self-regulation plays a key role in emotion regulation. This longitudinal investigation from infancy to preschool age examines genotype by environment (G × E) interaction in the development of self-regulation, using molecular measures of children's genotypes and observed measures of the quality of early mother-child relationship, as reflected in attachment organization in infancy.

We examined Genotype × Environment (G × E) interactions between children’s genotypes (the serotonin transporter linked promoter region [5-HTTLPR] gene) and maternal responsive care observed at 15, 25, 38, and 52 months on three aspects of children’s competence at 67 months: academic skills and school engagement, social functioning with peers, and moral internalization that encompassed prosocial moral cognition and the moral self. Academic and social competence outcomes were reported by both parents, and moral internalization was observed in children’s narratives elicited by hypothetical stories and in a puppet interview. Analyses revealed robust G × E interactions, such that children’s genotype moderated the effects of maternal responsive care on all aspects of children’s competence. Among children with a short 5-HTTLPR allele (ss/sl), those whose mothers were more responsive were significantly more competent than those whose mothers were less responsive. Responsiveness had no effect for children with two long alleles (ll). For academic and social competence, the G × E interactions resembled the diathesis–stress model: ss/sl children of unresponsive mothers had particularly unfavorable outcomes, but ss/sl children of responsive mothers had no worse outcomes than ll children. For moral internalization, the G × E interaction reflected the differential susceptibility model: whereas ss/sl children of unresponsive mothers again had particularly unfavorable outcomes, ss/sl children of responsive mothers had significantly better outcomes than ll children.

We investigated whether children’s robust conscience, formed during early family socialization, promotes their future adaptive and competent functioning in expanded ecologies. We assessed two dimensions of conscience in young children (N = 100) at 25, 38, and 52 months in scripted laboratory contexts: internalization of their mothers’ and fathers’ rules, observed when the child was alone, and empathic concern toward each parent, observed in simulated distress paradigms. We also assessed the child’s self-perception on moral dimensions (the moral self), using a puppet interview at 67 months. At 80 months, parents and teachers produced an overall measure of competent, adaptive functioning by rating children on multiple scales of competent, prosocial, rule-abiding behavior and antisocial behavior. As expected, children with histories of a stronger internalization of both parents’ rules were more competent and better socialized; for maternal rules, that link was mediated by the child’s moral self. The link between the child’s history of empathy toward the mother and future socialization was also significant, but it was not mediated by the moral self. This study elucidates the roles of classic components of morality—moral conduct, affect, and self—as antecedents of an adaptive developmental trajectory from toddler to early school age.

The authors of the present study statistically address the largely conceptual debate about the multidimensional nature of received support in intimate relationships. The Support in Intimate Relationships Rating Scale (SIRRS) was factor analyzed in 3 samples of dating and married couples. A novel, 4-factor structure of support types was generated that constituted esteem/emotional, physical comfort, informational, and tangible support types. This structure was reliable and valid in dating and marital relationships, across men and women, and across time. Each support type also demonstrated incremental validity for explaining marital adjustment, depression symptoms, and anxiety symptoms longitudinally. This study is among the first to generate and cross-validate a factor analytically derived set of support types for received support and the first to do so regarding partner support specifically. This is also the first study to replicate a distinct set of support types across different types of intimate relationships, across both sexes, and over time within relationships. Implications for enhancing functional theories of support and for augmenting the construct validity of a multidimensional model of received support are discussed.

Measures of adult attachment reflect both respondents' broadly generalized styles as well as bonds with specific attachment figures. Using Cronbach, Gleser, Nanda, and Rajaratnam's (1972) Multivariate Generalizability analyses, the authors estimated the extent to which correlations among attachment, affect, the self, and perceived social support occurred for both styles and bonds. In two studies, participants rated attachment, affect, the self, and perceived support when thinking about their mothers, fathers, and romantic partners. In both studies, attachment dimensions reflected specific bonds much more so than generalized styles. When correlations reflected specific bonds, both anxious and avoidant dimensions were strongly linked to high negative affect, low positive affect, and low perceived support. In contrast, evidence for links between attachment and affect was inconclusive when correlations reflected generalized styles. Links between attachment and the self depended on the type of self-construct and whether styles or bonds were analyzed.