The association between temperament and polygenic score for psychopathology from infancy to middle childhood

Certain temperament characteristics, such as low effortful control and high negative affectivity, are linked to an elevated likelihood for later psychopathology. Although genetic vulnerability has been associated with a number of psychiatric conditions, little work has examined the genetic architecture underlying temperament or the genetic overlap between early temperament profiles and later mental health outcomes. The present study examined associations of polygenic scores for anxiety (PGS-Anxiety) and ADHD (PGS-ADHD) with temperament characteristics in a longitudinal sample of children assessed from infancy through age 7 years.

Analyses were conducted in a sample of children (European Ancestry n = 476; Full Sample [European and other ancestries] N = 606).

We observed an age-by-PGS interaction on effortful control. As children aged, there appeared to be stronger negative associations between PGS-ADHD and effortful control. No associations were observed between PGS-Anxiety and negative affectivity.

Overall, the findings suggest some support for associations between genetic underpinnings for externalizing psychopathology and temperament that increase over time.