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Differential Relations of Parental Behavior to Children's Early Executive Function as a Function of Child Genotype: A

Daphne M Vrantsidis1, Viktoria Wuest2, Sandra A Wiebe2,3

  • 1Center for Biobehavioral Health, Nationwide Children's Hospital, 700 Children's Drive, Columbus, OH, 43215, USA. Daphne.Vrantsidis@nationwidechildrens.org.

Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review
|February 23, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Child genotype influences how parental behavior affects executive function (EF) in early childhood. Current research on gene-environment interactions has low evidential value due to methodological limitations.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Behavioral Genetics
  • Child Psychiatry

Background:

  • Child genotype is a biological indicator of sensitivity to parental behavior's impact on early executive function (EF).
  • Evidence for gene × parental behavior interactions on children's EF is growing, but its quality is questioned.
  • Gene × environment interaction studies face scrutiny regarding their evidential value.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To comprehensively review and evaluate the evidence for gene × parental behavior interactions on children's early EF abilities.
  • To assess the reliability and evidential value of existing research in this field.
  • To identify limitations and suggest future research directions.

Main Methods:

  • Searched psychology and psychiatry databases for published peer-reviewed studies.
  • Included studies examining gene × parental behavior interactions on early childhood EF.
  • Evaluated the significance and evidential value of reported interactions using p-curve analysis.

Main Results:

  • 18 studies met the inclusion criteria.
  • 33% (29 of 89) of examined interactions were statistically significant.
  • P-curve analysis indicated that significant interactions lacked evidential value, suggesting a high rate of false positives.

Conclusions:

  • Methodological issues, including the use of candidate gene measures and small sample sizes, contribute to unreliable findings.
  • Contemporary molecular genetic measures and larger sample sizes are crucial for advancing understanding.
  • Future research requires methodological improvements to overcome current limitations in studying gene × parental behavior interactions and early EF development.

Keywords:
Early childhoodExecutive functionGeneticsGene × environment interactionsParenting

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