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The Early Growth and Development Study: Using the Prospective Adoption Design to Examine Genotype–Environment Interplay

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Abstract

The Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS) is a prospective adoption design consisting of 360 linked sets of birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted children followed from 3 months postpartum through child age 7 years and an additional 200 linked sets for whom recruitment is underway. The EGDS brings together the study of genotype–environment correlation and Genotype × Environment (G × E) interaction to inform intervention development by examining mechanisms whereby family processes mediate or moderate the expression of genetic influences. Participants in the EGDS are recruited through domestic adoption agencies located throughout the United States of America. The assessments occur at 6-month intervals until child age 4-½ years and at ages 6 and 7, when the children are in their 1st and 2nd years of formal schooling (kindergarten and first grade). The data collection includes measures of child characteristics, birth and adoptive parent characteristics, adoptive parenting, prenatal exposure to drugs and maternal stress, birth parent and adopted child salivary cortisol reactivity, and DNA from all participants. The preliminary analyses suggest evidence for GxE interaction beginning in infancy. An intervention perspective on future developments in the field of behavioral genetics is described.

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Acknowledgments

The Early Growth and Development Study is supported by the following grants: HD042608, NICHD, NIDA, and the Office of the Director, U.S. PHS (PI Years 1–5: David Reiss, MD; PI Years 6–10: Leslie Leve, PhD); and DA020585, NIDA, NIMH, and the Office of the Director, U.S. PHS (PI: Jenae Neiderhiser, PhD). The full investigative team (Rand Conger, Xiaojia Ge, Leslie Leve, Jenae Neiderhiser, John Reid, David Reiss, Laura Scaramella, and Daniel Shaw) participated in the conduct of this study, and their contributions to this work are deeply appreciated. We thank the participating adoption agency directors and staff members, who made this work possible. Other key contributors to the project include the Advisory Board, study recruiters, site supervisors, biostatistics team, and dozens of other team members who contributed to recruitment, data collection, and data management efforts. Additional thanks go to Matthew Rabel for editorial assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oregon Social Learning Center, 10 Shelton McMurphey Boulevard, Eugene, OR, 97401-4928, USA

    Leslie D. Leve

  2. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Jenae M. Neiderhiser

  3. University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Laura V. Scaramella

  4. Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, USA

    David Reiss

Authors
  1. Leslie D. Leve
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  2. Jenae M. Neiderhiser
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  3. Laura V. Scaramella
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  4. David Reiss
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Leslie D. Leve.

Additional information

Previously published in Acta Psychologica Sinica 2008, 40 (10):1106–1115. doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2008.01106. Reprinted with permission of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Leve, L.D., Neiderhiser, J.M., Scaramella, L.V. et al. The Early Growth and Development Study: Using the Prospective Adoption Design to Examine Genotype–Environment Interplay. Behav Genet 40, 306–314 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-010-9353-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-010-9353-1

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