scholarly journals Child-evoked maternal negativity from 9 to 27 months: Evidence of gene–environment correlation and its moderation by marital distress

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (4pt1) ◽  
pp. 1251-1265 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Pasco Fearon ◽  
David Reiss ◽  
Leslie D. Leve ◽  
Daniel S. Shaw ◽  
Laura V. Scaramella ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Development ◽  
Family Environment ◽  
Genetic Risk ◽  
Adoptive Parents ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Adoptive Parent ◽  
Birth Mother ◽  
Adoptive Family ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Maternal Negativity

AbstractPast research has documented pervasive genetic influences on emotional and behavioral disturbance across the life span and on liability to adult psychiatric disorder. Increasingly, interest is turning to mechanisms of gene–environment interplay in attempting to understand the earliest manifestations of genetic risk. We report findings from a prospective adoption study, which aimed to test the role of evocative gene–environment correlation in early development. Included in the study were 561 infants adopted at birth and studied between 9 and 27 months, along with their adoptive parents and birth mothers. Birth mother psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms scales were used as indicators of genetic influence, and multiple self-report measures were used to index adoptive mother parental negativity. We hypothesized that birth mother psychopathology would be associated with greater adoptive parent negativity and that such evocative effects would be amplified under conditions of high adoptive family adversity. The findings suggested that genetic factors associated with birth mother externalizing psychopathology may evoke negative reactions in adoptive mothers in the first year of life, but only when the adoptive family environment is characterized by marital problems. Maternal negativity mediated the effects of genetic risk on child adjustment at 27 months. The results underscore the importance of genetically influenced evocative processes in early development.

SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT CHILD ADOPTION

2021 ◽  
pp. 162-171
Author(s):  
Aleksandra E. Kasantseva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Adoptive Parents ◽  
Adoptive Parent ◽  
Court Order ◽  
Adopted Child ◽  
Adoptive Family ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Legal Relationship ◽  
Legal Fact

Adoption is the preferred form of placement of a child without parental care in a family. The advantage of this form of placement is its permanent nature. In addition, the legal rela-tionship arising between the adoptive parent and his or her ancestors and the adopted child and his or her descendants is equivalent to a parental relationship. Like parental legal relation-ships, the legal relationship between adoptive parents and adoptees is presumed to be perpetual. Unlike other entities raising a child without parental care, adoptive parents may give the adopted child a new name and change the date and place of birth. The legal composition giving rise to a family legal relationship between the adoptive parent and his or her ancestors and the adopted child and his or her descendants is the consent of a number of persons. An enforceable court order for the adoption of a child is a confirming legal fact. It con-firms that the consent of all persons and authorities has been obtained and the child has been placed in the adoptive family. The question arises regarding the consent of the child's parents to his adoption. The con-sent to the adoption is equal to their renunciation of the child, which does not contradict the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Nevertheless, the rules of the Family Code on adop-tion should not initiate a parent's renunciation of his/her child. A child has the right to live and be brought up in his or her own family and to know his or her parents. If a parent relinquishes his or her child, the parental rights should first be removed and then the child should be put up for adoption without his or her consent. The current legal provisions on adoption have other inaccuracies, which are discussed in this article.

The Finnish Adoptive Family Study of Schizophrenia

1989 ◽  
Vol 155 (S5) ◽  
pp. 29-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pekka Tienari ◽  
Ilpo Lahti ◽  
Anneli Sorri ◽  
Mikko Naarala ◽  
Juha Moring ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Environment ◽  
Family Study ◽  
Adoptive Parents ◽  
Family Dynamic ◽  
Early Environment ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal Study ◽  
Genetic Characteristics ◽  
Adoptive Family ◽  
Healthy Functioning ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal

In a study of children adopted at an early age, discrimination between hereditary and family dynamic factors is possible. The biological parents have given the child their genetic characteristics and sometimes the very early environment, while the adoptive parents have provided the more permanent family environment and rearing. The major goal of the Finnish adoptive family study was to re-assess the genetic contributions to schizophrenia and to provide further measures of the adoptive family rearing environment. In other words, we were interested in the joint effects of genetic and family environmental variables and in their possible contribution to both the psychopathology and the healthy functioning of adoptees during their development. This approach paid attention to the possibility that a healthy, possibly protective, rearing family environment may reduce the genetic risk. During the course of the study, we also considered whether the direction of the effects between genetic and family environmental factors can be clarified through a prospective, longitudinal study of the adoptees at risk.

scholarly journals No Evidence for Passive Gene-Environment Correlation or the Influence of Genetic Risk for Psychiatric Disorders on Adult Body Composition via the Adoption Design

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avina K. Hunjan ◽  
Rosa Cheesman ◽  
Jonathan R. I. Coleman ◽  
Christopher Hübel ◽  
Thalia C. Eley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
Family Environment ◽  
Genetic Risk ◽  
Genetic Effects ◽  
Risk Scores ◽  
Psychiatric Genetic ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Polygenic Scores ◽  
Adult Body ◽  
The Uk

Abstract The relationship between genetic and environmental risk is complex and for many traits, estimates of genetic effects may be inflated by passive gene-environment correlation. This arises because biological offspring inherit both their genotypes and rearing environment from their parents. We tested for passive gene-environment correlation in adult body composition traits using the ‘natural experiment’ of childhood adoption, which removes passive gene-environment correlation within families. Specifically, we compared 6165 adoptees with propensity score matched non-adoptees in the UK Biobank. We also tested whether passive gene-environment correlation inflates the association between psychiatric genetic risk and body composition. We found no evidence for inflation of heritability or polygenic scores in non-adoptees compared to adoptees for a range of body composition traits. Furthermore, polygenic risk scores for anorexia nervosa, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia did not differ in their influence on body composition traits in adoptees and non-adoptees. These findings suggest that passive gene-environment correlation does not inflate genetic effects for body composition, or the influence of psychiatric disorder genetic risk on body composition. Our design does not look at passive gene-environment correlation in childhood, and does not test for ‘pure’ environmental effects or the effects of active and evocative gene-environment correlations, where child genetics directly influences home environment. However, these findings suggest that genetic influences identified for body composition in this adult sample are direct, and not confounded by the family environment provided by biological relatives.

scholarly journals Comparison of Adopted and Nonadopted Individuals Reveals Gene–Environment Interplay for Education in the UK Biobank

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 582-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Cheesman ◽  
Avina Hunjan ◽  
Jonathan R. I. Coleman ◽  
Yasmin Ahmadzadeh ◽  
Robert Plomin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Home Environment ◽  
Family Environment ◽  
Adoptive Parents ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
Uk Biobank ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Polygenic Scores ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Uk

Polygenic scores now explain approximately 10% of the variation in educational attainment. However, they capture not only genetic propensity but also information about the family environment. This is because of passive gene–environment correlation, whereby the correlation between offspring and parent genotypes results in an association between offspring genotypes and the rearing environment. We measured passive gene–environment correlation using information on 6,311 adoptees in the UK Biobank. Adoptees’ genotypes were less correlated with their rearing environments because they did not share genes with their adoptive parents. We found that polygenic scores were twice as predictive of years of education in nonadopted individuals compared with adoptees ( R2s = .074 vs. .037, p = 8.23 × 10−24). Individuals in the lowest decile of polygenic scores for education attained significantly more education if they were adopted, possibly because of educationally supportive adoptive environments. Overall, these results suggest that genetic influences on education are mediated via the home environment.

Classical social reward signatures in infants with later ASD

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teodora Gliga ◽  
Mayada Elsabbagh
Keyword(s):  
Early Development ◽  
Social Motivation ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Social Reward ◽  
Socially Motivated

Abstract Autistic individuals can be socially motivated. We disagree with the idea that self-report is sufficient to understand their social drive. Instead, we underscore evidence for typical non-verbal signatures of social reward during the early development of autistic individuals. Instead of focusing on whether or not social motivation is typical, research should investigate the factors that modulate social drives.

scholarly journals An Evolutionary Genetic Perspective of Eating Disorders

2017 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra J. Mayhew ◽  
Marie Pigeyre ◽  
Jennifer Couturier ◽  
David Meyre
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Family Environment ◽  
Genetic Risk ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Gene Variants ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
Binary Variable ◽  
Evolutionary Genetic ◽  
New Perspective

Eating disorders (ED) including anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge eating disorder (BED) affect up to 5% of the population in Western countries. Risk factors for developing an ED include personality traits, family environment, gender, age, ethnicity, and culture. Despite being moderately to highly heritable with estimates ranging from 28 to 83%, no genetic risk factors have been conclusively identified. Our objective was to explore evolutionary theories of EDs to provide a new perspective on research into novel biological mechanisms and genetic causes of EDs. We developed a framework that explains the possible interactions between genetic risk and cultural influences in the development of ED. The framework includes three genetic predisposition categories (people with mainly AN restrictive gene variants, people with mainly BED variants, and people with gene variants predisposing to both diseases) and a binary variable of either the presence or absence of pressure to be thin. We propose novel theories to explain the overlapping characteristics of the subtypes of AN (binge/purge and restrictive), BN, and BED. For instance, mutations/structural gene variants in the same gene causing opposite effects or mutations in nearby genes resulting in partial disequilibrium for the genes causing AN (restrictive) and BED may explain the overlap of phenotypes seen in AN (binge/purge).

The Role of the Pediatrician in Adoption With Reference to "The Right To Know"

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 378-379
Author(s):  
◽  
Donald Lewis ◽  
George C. Cypress ◽  
Joseph H. Davis ◽  
Ruth C. Harris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birth Certificate ◽  
Adoptive Parents ◽  
Adoption Process ◽  
Court Order ◽  
Adoptive Family ◽  
Just Cause ◽  
The Right To Know ◽  
Original Record ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right

The adoption process in our country traditionally has been designed to safeguard the rights of adoptive parents, insure the solidarity of the adoptive family, and preserve the anonymity of the natural parents. To accomplish this, when adoptions are finalized, the original birth certificate is "sealed" and a new certificate is issued in the name of the adoptive parents. Once sealed, the laws of most states specify that the original record can be opened only by court order and for "just cause." A few states have provisions for opening of the records on demand of the adoptee when that person becomes an adult. This provision often turns out to be true in theory but not in practice, and the definition of "just cause" has varied greatly from court to court. Most adoptive parents have warm and loving relationships with their adoptive children. Most try to pass on to them, at appropriate times, as much of the birth information as they know and are able to provide. Most adoptees have a warm and loving and truly bonded relationship with their adoptive parents. In spite of this, and regardless of their attachment to the adoptive parents, some adoptees, as they reach maturity, have a compelling desire to learn of their natural parent or parents. Many adult adoptees and adoption specialists see this search as essential to the establishment of a sense of identity. Most reports of reunions indicate that adoptees have been pleased with the meeting and that their ties to their adoptive parents have been strengthened thereby.

scholarly journals Parenting adopted children and supporting adoptive parents: Messages from research

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Gibbs
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Current Practice ◽  
Adoptive Parents ◽  
Support Networks ◽  
Parent Support ◽  
Adoptive Parent ◽  
Adopted Children ◽  
Intercountry Adoption ◽  
Or Practice ◽  
Parent Child Relationships

This article considers adoption from the perspective of parents, especially the strategies that they employ to enhance attachments and build positive parent-child relationships. The article draws particularly on recent New Zealand research regarding intercountry adoptive parenting, as well as overseas literature on good adoptive parenting practice generally in domestic and intercountry adoption. It also considers the research on methods of supporting parents who adopt and whether there are gaps in legislation, policy or practice in New Zealand that could be closed by borrowing from good examples in the literature, and, or current practice examples. The author is an adoptive parent of Russian-born children and is actively involved in adoptive parent support networks.

scholarly journals Childhood sexual abuse and pathogenic parenting in the childhood recollections of adult twin pairs

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 1293-1302 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. L. McLAUGHLIN ◽  
A. C. HEATH ◽  
K. K. BUCHOLZ ◽  
P. A. F. MADDEN ◽  
L. J. BIERUT ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
Family Environment ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Clear Relationship ◽  
Parental Rejection ◽  
Parental Overprotection ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Parenting Behaviour

Background. We examined the relationship between childhood sexual abuse (CSA), and interviewees' recollections of pathogenic parenting, testing for possible retrospective biases in the recollections of those who have experienced CSA.Methods. Information about CSA, parental divorce and interviewees' recollections of parental rejection, parental overprotection and perceived autonomy (as assessed through a shortened version of the Parental Bonding Instrument) was obtained through telephone interviews with 3626 Australian twins who had also returned self-report questionnaires several years earlier. Recollections of parental behaviours were compared for individuals from pairs in which neither twin, at least one twin, or both twins reported CSA.Results. Significant associations were noted between CSA and paternal alcoholism and between CSA and recollections of parental rejection. For women, individuals from CSA-discordant pairs reported levels of parental rejection that were significantly higher than those obtained from CSA-negative pairs. The levels of parental rejection observed for twins from CSA-discordant pairs did not differ significantly from those obtained from CSA-concordant pairs, regardless of respondent's abuse status. For men from CSA-discordant pairs, respondents reporting CSA displayed a tendency to report higher levels of parental rejection than did respondents not reporting CSA. Other measures of parenting behaviour (perceived autonomy and parental overprotection) failed to show a clear relationship with CSA.Conclusions. The relationship between CSA and respondents' recollections of parental rejection is not due solely to retrospective bias on the part of abused individuals and, consistent with other studies, may reflect a pathological family environment with serious consequences for all siblings.

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