The Associations Between Family Violence, DRD4 Polymorphisms, and Children's Regulatory Outcomes
Open Access
Author:
Leece, Catherine Mae
Area of Honors:
Educational Psychology
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Elizabeth A Skowron, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Rayne Audrey Sperling, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
family violence child maltreatment interpartner violence regulation effortful control DRD4 dopamine D-4 receptor 7-repeat
Abstract:
This study examined whether the 7- repeat dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) genetic polymorphism moderated the relationship between family violence (FV) exposure and children’s effortful control (EC). Eighty-four mother and child dyads were recruited through Child Protective Services (CPS), Department of Public Welfare, and birth announcements. FV was determined from a maternal assessment of interpartner violence (IPV) and from coding of Child Protective Service (CPS) records for severity of child maltreatment (CM). IPV and CM scores were standardized to create a composite FV score for each dyad. Children’s EC scores came from two Stroop-like procedures. Researchers also collected cheek cells from children, which were assayed for genetic information. A multiple regression analysis was conducted and revealed that children exposed to greater FV performed more poorly on EC tasks. Further, DRD4 did not moderate the relationship between FV exposure and children’s EC. These findings suggest that FV exposure negatively affects the development of EC regardless of whether the children have the DRD4 genetic polymorphism.
