Distinguishing differential susceptibility from diathesis-stress: recommendations for evaluating interaction effects

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Behavioral Genetics
• Child Development

Background:

• Distinguishing between differential susceptibility and diathesis-stress models is crucial for understanding gene-environment interactions.
• Existing methods for probing interaction effects have limitations in differentiating these models.
• Temperamental difficulty is hypothesized to indicate differential susceptibility to environmental influences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present methods for differentiating differential susceptibility from diathesis-stress models.
• To re-evaluate evidence on temperamental difficulty as a marker of susceptibility to early maternal caregiving.
• To quantify the implications of these models in developmental research.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of existing data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development.
• Application of novel statistical approaches to probe interaction effects.
• Comparison of findings with predictions from both differential susceptibility and diathesis-stress models.

Main Results:

• Difficult temperament consistently moderated the predictive significance of early sensitivity, except for mother-reported psychopathology.
• Differential susceptibility effects were prominent for teacher-reported academic skills, social competence, and symptomatology.
• Diathesis-stress model effects were more evident for mother-reported social skills and objective academic tests.

Conclusions:

• The proposed methods effectively differentiate between differential susceptibility and diathesis-stress models.
• Temperamental difficulty plays a nuanced role, moderating caregiving effects differently across various developmental outcomes.
• Findings support the application of these methods in future Gene × Environment studies on early experiences.