Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 3, 2026

Author Spotlight: Unveiling Mechanisms of Stress Resilience - Significant Findings, Advancements, and Future Research
Published on: December 15, 2023
Institutionalization and indiscriminate social behavior: Differential-susceptibility versus diathesis-stress models
A R Mesquita1, J Belsky2, Z Li2
1Neuropsychophysiology Lab, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710 057 Braga, Portugal.
Abstract:
Institutionalization adversely impacts children's emotional functioning, proving related to attachment disorders, perhaps most notably that involving indiscriminate behavior, the subject of this report. In seeking to extend work in this area, this research on gene X environment (GXE) interplay investigated whether the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) and val66met Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) polymorphisms moderated the effect of institutional care on indiscriminate behavior in preschoolers. Eighty-five institutionalized and 135 home-reared Portuguese children were assessed using Disturbances of Attachment Interview (DAI). GXE results indicated that s/s homozygotes of the 5-HTTLPR gene displayed significantly higher levels of indiscriminate behavior than all other children if institutionalized, something not true of such children when family reared. These findings proved consistent with the diathesis-stress rather than differential-susceptibility model of person×environment interaction. BDNF proved unrelated to indiscriminate behavior. Results are discussed in relation to previous work on this subject of indiscriminate behavior, institutionalization and GXE interaction.
Related Concept Videos
Human Genetics
The complex relationship between genetics and psychology is observable through common biological components such...
Causes of Social Behavior III: Biological and Environmental Influences
Pharmacogenetic Phenotypes: Alterations in Pharmacokinetics, Drug Targets and Biologic Milieu
Attribution Theory
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Behavioral Genetics and Its Designs
The primary methodologies used in behavior genetics include family studies, twin studies, and adoption studies, each providing unique...

