Coaction of stress and serotonin transporter genotype in predicting aggression at the transition to adulthood

Despite consistent evidence that serotonin functioning affects stress reactivity and vulnerability to aggression, research on serotonin gene-stress interactions (G × E) in the development of aggression remains limited. The present study investigated variation in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) as a moderator of the stress-aggression association at the transition to adulthood. Multiple informants and multiple measures were used to assess aggression in a cohort of 381 Australian youth (61% female, 93% Caucasian) interviewed at ages 15 and 20. At age 20, semistructured interviews assessed acute and chronic stressors occurring in the past 12 months. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed a significant main effect of chronic stress, but not 5-HTTLPR or acute stress, on increases in aggression at age 20. Consistent with G × E hypotheses, 5-HTTLPR short allele carriers demonstrated greater increments in aggression following chronic stress relative to long allele homozygotes. The strength of chronic stress G × E did not vary according to sex. Variation at 5-HTTLPR appears to contribute to individual differences in aggressive reactions to chronic stress at the transition to adulthood.