Developmental Patterns of Child Emotion Dysregulation as Predicted by Serotonin Transporter Genotype and Parenting

Abstract

Individual differences in emotion regulation are central to social, academic, occupational, and psychological development, and emotion dysregulation (ED) in childhood is a risk factor for numerous developmental outcomes. The present study aimed to (a) describe the developmental trajectory of ED across early childhood (3-6 years) and (b) examine its sensitivity to youth serotonin transporter genotype, positive and negative parenting behaviors, and their interaction. Participants were 99 families in the Collaborative Family Study, a longitudinal study of children with or without developmental delays. Child ED and early parenting were coded from parent-child interactions. To examine serotonin transporter genotype as a moderator between parenting and child emotion dysregulation (ED), children with the homozygous short (SS) genotype were compared to children with the homozygous long (LL) or heterozygous (SL) genotype. We used latent growth curve modeling (LGCM) to model yearly change in ED from child age 3 to 6 years. LGCM revealed that ED decreased overall across early childhood. In addition, we observed separate Genotype × Positive and Genotype × Negative parenting behavior interactions in predictions of ED growth curves. Children with the SL/LL genotype had ED trajectories that were minimally related to positive and negative parenting behavior, whereas ED decreased more precipitously among children with the SS genotype when exposed to low negative parenting or high positive parenting. These findings provide evidence for Gene × Environment interactions (G×Es) in the development of ED in a manner that is conceptually consistent with vantage sensitivity, and they improve inferences afforded by prospective designs.

Emotional Dysregulation in Children and Adolescents With Psychiatric Disorders. A Narrative Review

“…Early parenting programs are effective in preventing or changing unfavorable environmental conditions. These programs focus on sensitivity, acceptance, making aware and avoiding self-defeating strategies, such as harsh educational measures, and help in improving empathic understanding, clarity, fairness, decision making, and coming to a decision ( 22 ). There are, however, reports of failing parenting programs [e.g., ( 470 )], possibly related to the timing of the intervention and the already established dysfunctions on both sides, the caregivers and the children.…”

“…Internal and external factors determine the efficacy of ER: internal factors comprise neuroregulatory reactivity, temperament, cognitive abilities attachment and related positive internal working models; external factors are related to caregiving style, behavioral models, and experience ( 22 ).…”

Gene x responsive parenting interactions in social development: Characterizing heterogeneity in autism spectrum disorder

“…5‐HTTLPR S and L alleles were determined using standard primers (Hu et al., 2006), including rs25531. In concordance with previous studies (Cervilla et al., 2007; Noroña et al., 2017), we compared individuals with two‐low expressing alleles (i.e., SS, SL G , L G L G ; annotated as “SS”; n = 34) with others (SL/LL; n = 69). OXTR SNPs (rs53576A, rs2254298, rs237887, rs7632287) were selected due to their established relationships with social phenotypes and implicated neurobiology (Kumsta & Heinrichs, 2013) and implication in GxE (Brüne, 2012; Flasbeck et al., 2018).…”

“…Definitions of emotion regulation often emphasize the dynamic interplay of internal and external processes involved in initiating and modulating the occurrence, intensity, and expression of emotions (Morris et al., 2017) Thus, while caregiving is central to regulatory development (Morris et al., 2017), it may interface with child biology to inform regulatory development. Specifically, 5‐HTTLPR and OXTR are implicated in neurobiological functioning essential for emotion regulation (Meyer‐Lindenberg & Tost, 2012) and show preliminary evidence for GxE in regulatory development (e.g., Noroña et al., 2017). In the present study, we will examine whether the associations between GxEs and child social development in ASD are mediated by child emotion regulation.…”

Developmental patterns of emotion regulation in toddlerhood: Examining predictors of change and long‐term resilience

“…Importantly, although measures of emotion regulation are generally correlated across the first 5 years of life, the magnitude of these associations has been relatively small (Feldman, 2009), which reflects the malleability of regulatory processes during this early developmental period and a need to examine changes in emotion regulation across time. In line with the emergence of the attentional, linguistic, and motor abilities during toddlerhood that facilitate emotion regulation, prospective, longitudinal studies have found that, on average, emotion regulation increases over early childhood (Blandon, Calkins, Keane, & O'Brien, 2008) and emotion dysregulation generally decreases (Fabes, Hanish, Martin, & Eisenberg, 2002;Noroña et al, 2017). However, there are likely many individual differences in patterns of emotion regulation development, with some toddlers advancing in their emotion…”