Genetic associations with performance on a behavioral measure of distress intolerance
Section snippets
Subjects
This study employed data from a sample of early adolescents (n = 277) ages 9 to 13 at initial enrollment participating in a larger prospective study of behavioral, environmental, and genetic mechanisms of risk for HIV-related risk behaviors in youth. Follow-up assessments were conducted at yearly intervals for 2 consecutive years and are ongoing with additional assessments planned. The current study presents data from the first annual follow-up assessment (Wave 2) of the study. Permission to
Results
Descriptive statistics for independent variables are provided in Table 1. Of those with genotype data for 5-HTTLPR and COMT Val158Met (n = 218), 52.3% quit the BIRD task (n = 114), and the remaining 47.7% persisted on the task (n = 104). The BIRD was psychologically stressful, as indicated by a significant pre-post change in distress (t = 6.73, p < .001). However, pre-post change in distress in response to the task was unrelated to whether or not youth quit the BIRD (p > .50), indicating that
Discussion
Within the behavioral genetics literature there has been limited success in the identification of specific genes that predict psychiatric phenotypes, and investigations of potential intermediary phenotypes, such as the present study, may help in this line of research. The present study extends the literature by employing a behavioral task that reliably produced psychological stress, as indicated as pre-post changes in negative affect, to assess a potential intermediary phenotype (“distress
Limitations and future directions
An important caveat about the measurement of distress tolerance in the current study is important to note; specifically the use of a behavioral task versus self-report. Recent findings have indicated that there are inconsistencies in the measurement of this construct with respect to self-report versus behavioral tasks (Levro et al., 2010, Marshall-Berenz et al., 2010, McHugh et al., 2011) and accordingly speculations that these assessment methods capture different aspects of distress
Role of funding
This work was supported by R01 DA018647-02S1, RL1 AA017539, P20 DA027844, and US- HD055885. The NIH had no further role in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the paper for publication. Dr. Amstadter is supported by US-NICHD HD055885, Dr. MacPherson is supported by DA018730-04A1, DA029445, and K23DA023143-01, Dr. Daughters is supported by DA 022741, Dr. Danielson is supported by DA018686 and MH086313.
Contributors
Dr. Amstadter was responsible for statistical analyses and writing of the first draft of the manuscript. Drs. Lejuez, Daughters, and MacPherson designed the study. Ms. Reynolds and Wang collected the data. Drs. Potenza and Gelernter oversaw the genetics aim of the study. All authors approved the final manuscript and made contributions.
Conflict of interest
Dr. Potenza has consulted for and advised Boehringer Ingelheim; has received research support from the National Institutes of Health, Veteran’s Administration, Mohegan Sun Casino, the National Center for Responsible Gaming and its affiliated Institute for Research on Gambling Disorders, and Forest Laboratories pharmaceuticals; has participated in surveys, mailings or telephone consultations related to drug addiction, impulse control disorders or other health topics; has consulted for law
Acknowledgements
The authors have no additional acknowledgements to make at this time.
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