Traditionally, the unit for analysis in considering adult mental health has been the individual. Research, assessment, and treatment of psychological and behavioral issues have most often focused on identifying or changing certain characteristics of the recognized target individual. When considering development and children, the focus often widens to include parents, though research, intervention, and treatments again tend to address behaviors, emotions, or cognitions of the identified “problem child.” Exceptions to this general trend can be found in empirically supported preventive and intervention programs that involve children, parents, schools, and communities (e.g., Hawkins, Catalano, & Arthur, 2002; Olds, Hill, O’Brien, Rache, & Mortiz, 2003; Reid & Webster-Stratton, 2001; Robbins, Alexander, & Turner, 2000). These programs address the systems (such as school, workplace, peer groups, and families) in which individuals act and interact and the influences that these systems can have on psychological and behavioral functioning. Though evidence indicates that these systems-based interventions are effective, it is not yet clear what the mechanisms are through which individual factors influence and are influenced by others.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Belsky, J., Crnic, K., & Woodworth, S. (1995). Personality and parenting: Exploring the mediating role of transient mood and daily hassles. Journal of Personality, 63(4), 905–929.
Belsky, J., Youngblade, L., & Pensky, E. (1989). Childrearing history, marital quality, and maternal affect: Intergenerational transmission in a low-risk sample. Development & Psychopathology, 1(4), 291–304.
Boivin, M., Perusse, D., Dionne, G., Saysset, V., Zoccolillo, M., Tarabulsy, G. M., et al. (2005). The genetic-environmental etiology of parents’ perceptions and self-assessed behaviours toward their 5-month-old infants in a large twin and singleton sample. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46(6), 612–630.
Bornstein, M. H. (Ed.). (2002). Handbook of parenting: Vol. 2: Biology and ecology of parenting (2nd ed.).
Bornstein, M. H. (2002). Handbook of parenting: Vol. 1: Children and parenting (2nd ed). Mahwah, NJ, US: Lawrencce Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Braungart-Rieker, J., Rende, R. D., Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., & Fulker, D. W. (1995). Genetic mediation of longitudinal associations between family environment and childhood behavior problems. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 233–245.
Bussell, D. A., Neiderhiser, J. M., Pike, A., Plomin, R., Simmens, S., Howe, G. W., et al. (1999). Adolescents’ relationships to siblings and mothers: A multivariate genetic analysis. Developmental Psychology, 35(5), 1248–1259.
Caldwell, B. M., & Bradley, R. H. (1978). Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment. Little Rock: University of Arkansas.
Clark, L. A., Kochanska, G., & Ready, R. (2000). Mothers’ personality and its interaction with child temperament as predictors of parenting behavior. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 79(2), 274–285.
Conger, K. J., & Conger, R. D. (1994). Differential parenting and change in sibling differences in delinquency. Journal of Family Psychology, 8, 287–302.
Conger, R. D., Patterson, G. R., & Ge, X. (1995). It takes two to replicate: A mediational model for the impact of parents’ stress on adolescent adjustment. Child Development, 66, 80–97.
Deater-Deckard, K., Fulker, D. W., & Plomin, R. (1999). A genetic study of the family environment in the transition to early adolescence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40(5), 769–775.
Deater-Deckard, K., & O’Connor, T. G. (2000). Parent-child mutuality in early childhood: Two behavioral genetic studies. Developmental Psychology, 36(5), 561–570.
Deater-Deckard, K., & Petrill, S. A. (2004). Parent-child dyadic mutuality and child behavior problems: An investigation of gene-environment processes. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45(6), 1171–1179.
Dick, D. M., Agrawal, A., Schuckit, M. A., Bierut, L., Hinrichs, A., Fox, L., et al. (2006). Marital status, alcohol dependence, and GABRA2: Evidence for gene-environment correlation and interaction. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 67(2), 185–194.
Dunn, J. (2002). Sibling relationships. In P. K. Smith & C. H. Hart (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of childhood social development (pp. 223–237). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Eaves, L. J., Silberg, J. L., & Maes, H. H. (2005). Revisiting the children of twins: Can they be used to resolve the environmental effects on dyadic parental treatment on child behavior? Twin Research and Human Genetics, 8(4), 283–290.
Elkins, I. J., McGue, M., & Iacono, W. G. (1997). Genetic and environmental influences on parent-son relationships: Evidence for increasing genetic influence during adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 33(2), 351–363.
Feinberg, M., & Hetherington, E. (2001). Differential parenting as a within-family variable. Journal of Family Psychology, 15(1), 22–37.
Feinberg, M., Neiderhiser, J., Howe, G., & Hetherington, E. (2001). Adolescent, parent, and observer perceptions of parenting: Genetic and environmental influences on shared and distinct perceptions. Child Development, 72(4), 1266–1284.
Feinberg, M. E., Reiss, D., Neiderhiser, J. M., & Hetherington, E. M. (2005). Differential association of family subsystem negativity on siblings’ maladjustment: using behaviour genetic methods to test process theory. Journal of Family Psychology, 19(4), 601–610.
Ge, X., Conger, R. D., Cadoret, R. J., Neiderhiser, J. M., Yates, W., & Troughton, E. (1996). The developmental interface between nature and nurture: A mutual influence model of child antisocial behavior and parent behaviors. Developmental Psychology, 32(4), 574–589.
Herndon, R. W., McGue, M., Krueger, R. F., & Iacono, W. G. (2005). Genetic and environmental influences on adolescents’ perceptions of current family environment. Behavior Genetics, 35(4), 373–380.
Huesmann, L. R., Eron, L. D., Lefkowitz, M. M., & Walder, L. O. (1984). Stability of aggression over time and generations. Developmental Psychology, 20, 1120–1134.
Jacobson, K. C., & Rowe, D. C. (1999). Genetic and environmental influences on the relationships between family connectedness, school connectedness, and adolescent depressed mood: Sex differences. Developmental Psychology, 35(4), 926–939.
Jocklin, V., McGue, M., & Lykken, D. T. (1996). Personality and divorce: A genetic analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(2), 288–299.
Johnson, W., McGue, M., Krueger, R. F., & Bouchard, T. J., Jr. (2004). Marriage and personality: A genetic analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(2), 285–294.
Kendler, K. S. (1996). Parenting: A genetic-epidemiologic perspective. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 11–20.
Lau, J. Y. F., Rijsdijk, F., & Eley, T. C. (in press). I think, therefore I am: A twin study of attributional style in adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
Leve, L. D., Neiderhiser, J. M., Ge, X., Scaramella, L. V., Conger, R. D., Reid, J. B., et al. (in press). The Early Growth and Development Study: A prospective adoption design. Twin Research and Human Genetics.
Lau, J. Y. F., Rijsdijk, F., & Eley, T. C. (2006). I think, therefore I am: A twin study of attributional style in adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(7). 696–703.
Leve, L. D., Neiderhiser, J. M., Ge, X., Scaramella, L. V., Conger, R. D., & Reid, J. B., et al. (2007). The Early Growth and Development Study: A prospective adoption design. Research and Human Genetics, 10(1), 84–95.
Leve, L. D., Winebarger, A. A., Fagot, B. I., Reid, J. B., & Goldsmith, H. (1998). Environmental and genetic variance in children’s observed and reported maladaptive behavior. Child Development, 69(5), 1286–1298.
Lichtenstein, P., Ganiban, J., Neiderhiser, J. M., Pedersen, N. L., Hansson, K., Cederblad, M., et al. (2003). Remembered parental bonding in adult twins: Genetic and environmental influences. Behavior Genetics, 33(4), 397–408.
Losoya, S. H., Callor, S., Rowe, D. C., & Goldsmith, H. H. (1997). Origins of familial similarity in parenting: A study of twins and adoptive siblings. Developmental Psychology, 33(6), 1012–1023.
Maccoby, E. E. (2002). Parenting effects: Issues and controversies. In J. G. Borkowski, S. L. Ramey, & M. Bristol-Power (Eds.), Parenting and the child’s world: Influences on academic, intellectual, and social-emotional development. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Manke, B., & Plomin, R. (1997). Adolescent familial interactions: A genetic extension of the Social Relations Model. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 14(4), 505–522.
McGue, M., Elkins, I., Walden, B., & Iacono, W. G. (2005). Perceptions of the parent-adolescent relationship: A longitudinal investigation. Developmental Psychology, 41(6), 971–984.
McGue, M., & Lykken, D. T. (1992). Genetic influence on risk of divorce. Psychological Science, 3(6), 368–373.
McGue, M., & Sharma, A. (1995). Parent and sibling influences on adolescent alcohol use and misuse: Evidence from a U.S. adoption cohort. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 57(1), 8–18.
McGuire, S. (2003). The heritability of parenting. Parenting: Science and Practice, 3(1), 73–94.
McGuire, S., & Dunn, J. (1994). Nonshared environment in middle childhood. In J. C. Defries, R. Plomin, & D. W. Fulker (Eds.), Nature and Nurture During Middle Childhood. Oxford: Blackwell.
McHale, S. M., Crouter, A. C., McGuire, S. A., & Updegraff, K. A. (1995). Congruence between mothers’ and fathers’ differential treatment of siblings: Links with family relations and children’s well-being. Child Development, 66(1), 116–128.
Moos, R. H., & Moos, B. S. (1981). Family Environment Scale. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Neiderhiser, J. M. (2003). Genetic and environmental influences on change and continuity in family relationships from adolescence to young adulthood. Behavior Genetics, 33(6), 713.
Neiderhiser, J. M., Pike, A., Hetherington, E. M., & Resiss, D. (1998). Adolescent perceptions as mediators of parenting: Genetic and environmental contributions. Developmental Psychology, 34(6), 1459–1469.
Neiderhiser, J. M., & Reiss, D. (2004). Family investment and child and adolescent adjustment: The role of genetic research. In A. Kalil & T. DeLeire (Eds.), Family investments in children’s potential: Resources and parenting behaviors that promote success Monographs in parenting (pp. 33–47). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Neiderhiser, J. M., Reiss, D., Hetherington, E., & Plomin, R. (1999). Relationships between parenting and adolescent adjustment over time: Genetic and environmental contributions. Developmental Psychology, 35(3), 680–692.
Neiderhiser, J. M., Reiss, D., Lichtenstein, P., Spotts, E. L., & Ganiban, J. (submitted). Father-adolescent relationships and the role of genotype-environment correlation.
Neiderhiser, J. M., Reiss, D., Lichtenstein, P., Spotts, E. L. & Ganiban, J. (2007). Father-adolescent relationship and the role of genotype-environment correlation. Journal of Family Psychology, 21(4), 560–571.
Neiderhiser, J. M., Reiss, D., Pedersen, N. L., Lichtenstein, P., Spotts, E. L., Hansson, K., et al. (2004). Genetic and environmental influences on mothering of adolescents: A comparison of two samples. Developmental Psychology, 40(3), 335–351.
O’Connor, T. G., Deater-Deckard, K., Fulker, D., Rutter, M., & Plomin, R. (1998). Genotype-environment correlations in late childhood and early adolescence: Antisocial behavioral problems and coercive parenting. Developmental Psychology, 34(5), 970–981.
O’Connor, T. G., Hetherington, E., Reiss, D., & Plomin, R. (1995). A twin-sibling study of observed parent-adolescent interactions. Child Development, 66(3), 812–829.
Patterson, G., Capaldi, D., & Bank, L. (1991). An early starter model for predicting delinquency. In D. J. Pepler & K. H. Rubin (Eds.), The development and treatment of childhood aggression (pp. 139–168). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Perusse, D., Neale, M. C., Heath, A. C., & Eaves, L. J. (1992). Human parental behavior: Evidence for genetic influence and implication for gene-culture transmission (abstract). Behavior Genetics, 22(6), 744.
Petrill, S. A., & Deater-Deckard, K. (2004). The heritability of general cognitive ability: A within-family adoption design. Intelligence, 32(4), 403–409.
Pike, A., & Atzaba-Poria, N. (2003). Do sibling and friend relationships share the same temperamental origins? A twin study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44(4), 598–611.
Pike, A., McGuire, S., Hetherington, E., & Reiss, D. (1996). Family environment and adolescent depressive symptoms and antisocial behavior: A multivariate genetic analysis. Developmental Psychology, 32(4), 590–604.
Plomin, R., & Bergeman, C. S. (1991). The nature of nurture: Genetic influence on “environmental” measures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 14, 373–427.
Plomin, R., DeFries, J., & Loehlin, J. C. (1977). Genotype-environment interaction and correlation in the analysis of human behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 84(2), 309–322.
Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., & Fulker, D. W. (1988). Nature and Nurture During Infancy and Early Childhood. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Plomin, R., McClearn, G., Pedersen, N. L., Nesselroade, J. R., & Bergeman, C. S. (1989). Genetic influences on adults’ ratings of their current family environment. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 791–803.
Plomin, R., McClearn, G. E., Pedersen, N. L., Nesselroade, J. R., & Bergeman, C. S. (1988). Genetic influence on childhood family environment perceived retrospectively from the last half of the life span. Developmental psychology, 24(5), 738–745.
Plomin, R., Reiss, D., Hetherington, E., & Howe, G. W. (1994). Nature and nurture: Genetic contributions to measures of the family environment. Developmental Psychology, 30(1), 32–43.
Reiss, D., Howe, G. W., Simmens, S. J., & Bussell, D. A. (1996). Genetic questions for environmental studies: Differential parenting and psychopathology in adolescence. Annual Progress in Child Psychiatry & Child Development, 206–235.
Reiss, D., Neiderhiser, J. M., Hetherington, E., & Plomin, R. (2000). The relationship code: Deciphering genetic and social influences on adolescent development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Reiss, D., Pedersen, N. L., Cederblad, M., Lichtenstein, P., Hansson, K., Neiderhiser, J. M., et al. (2001). Genetic probes of three theories of maternal adjustment: I. Recent evidence and a model. Family Process, 40(3), 247–259.
Rende, R., Slomkowski, C. L., Stocker, C., Fulker, D. W., & Plomin, R. (1992). Genetic and environmental influences on maternal and sibling interaction in middle childhood: A sibling adoption study. Developmental Psychology, 17, 203–208.
Rowe, D. C. (1981). Environmental and genetic influences on dimensions of perceived parenting: A twin study. Developmental Psychology, 17(2), 203–208.
Rowe, D. C. (1983). A biometrical analysis of perceptions of family environment: A study of twin and singleton sibling kinships. Child Development, 54(2), 416–423.
Rutter, M. (2005). Environmentally mediated risks for psychopathology: Research strategies and findings. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 44(1), 3–18.
Rutter, M. & Silberg, J. (2002). Gene-environment interplay in relation to emotional and behavioral disturbance. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 463–490.
Rutter, M., Moffitt, T. E., & Caspi, A. (2006). Gene-environment interplay and psychopathology: Multiple varieties but real effects. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(3–4), 226–261.
Rutter, M., O’Connor, T. G., & English and Romanian Adoptees Study Team, T. (2004). Are there biological programming effects for psychological development? Findings from a study of Romanian adoptees. Developmental Psychology, 40(1), 81–94.
Scarr, S. (1992). Developmental theories for the 1990’s: Development and individual differences. Child Development, 63, 1–19.
Scarr, S., & McCartney, K. (1988). How people make their own environments: A theory of genotype -> environment effects. Child Development, 54, 424–435.
Shamir, H., Du Rocher Schudlich, T., & Cummings, E. (2001). Marital conflict, parenting styles, and children’s representations of family relationships. Parenting: Science & Practice, 1(1–2), 123–151.
Silberg, J. L., & Eaves, L. J. (2004). Analysing the contributions of genes and parent-child interaction to childhood behavioural and emotional problems: A model for the children of twins. Psychological Medicine, 34(2), 347–356.
Simons, R. L., Whitbeck, L. B., Conger, R. D., & Melby, J. N. (1990). Husband and wife differences in determinants of parenting: A social learning and exchange model of parental behavior. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 52(2), 375–392.
Slomkowski, C., Rende, R., Novak, S., LIoyd-Richardson, E., & Niaura, R. (2005). Sibling effects on smoking in adolescence: Evidence for social influence from a genetically informative design. Addiction, 100(4), 430–438.
Spinath, F. M., & O’Connor, T. G. (2003). A Behavioral Genetic Study of the Overlap Between Personality and Parenting. Journal of Personality, 71(5), 785–808.
Spotts, E. L., Lichtenstein, P., Pedersen, N., Neiderhiser, J. M., Hansson, K., Cederblad, M., et al. (2005). Personality and marital satisfaction: A behavioural genetic analysis. European Journal of Personality, 19(3), 205–227.
Spotts, E. L., Neiderhiser, J. M., Towers, H., Hansson, K., Lichtenstein, P., Cederblad, M., et al. (2004). Genetic and environmental influences on marital relationships. Journal of Family Psychology, 18(1), 107–119.
Spotts, E. L., Prescott, C. A., & Kendler, K. S. (in press). Examining the origins of gender differences in marital quality: A behavior genetic analysis. Journal of Family Psychology.
Spotts, E. L., Prescott, C., & Kendler, K. (2006). Examining the origins of gender differences in marital quality: A behaviour genetic analysis. Journal of Family Psychology, 20(4), 605–613.
Towers, H., Spotts, E. L., & Neiderhiser, J. M. (2002). Genetic and environmental influences on parenting and marital relationships: Current findings and future directions. Marriage & Family Review, 33(1), 11–29.
Trumbetta, S., & Gottesman, I. (2000). Endophenotypes for marital status in the NAS-NRC twin registry. In J. L. Rogers & D. C. Rowe (Eds.), Genetic influences on human fertility and sexuality, (pp. 253–269). Boston: Kluwer Academic.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ulbricht, J.A., Neiderhiser, J.M. (2009). Genotype–Environment Correlation and Family Relationships. In: Kim, YK. (eds) Handbook of Behavior Genetics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-76727-7_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-76727-7_15
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-76726-0
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-76727-7
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)