Genetics and Health

Genetics of Family Interaction

by Hsien Hsien Lei, PhD on September 15th, 2005

My core family consists of three people - me, my husband, and our three-year-old son. If you were to ask me how much genes influence the way we interact with each other, offhand I’d estimate it to be about 35 percent*. Having children makes it readily apparent how much of our temperament is probably influenced by genetics. I’ve observed my husband’s and my personality traits flare up in the way my son deals with the world from the time he was born.

To study the effect of genes in the way family members interact, researchers studied 674 families, each with a same-sex adolescent pair whose genetic similarity ranged from identical twins to genetically unrelated children in families formed by remarriages. They examined nine variables separated into genetic and environmental components (although it’s hard for me to tell which should be genetic):

Adolescent Variables

• Antisocial behavior
• Autonomy
• Classroom engagement and success
• Depressive symptoms
• Sociability
• Social responsibility

Family Relationship Variables

• Positivity (parent/child warmth and support)
• Negativity (parent-child coercion and conflict)
• Parental monitoring and control

The researchers concluded that a child’s ability to adjust, level of independence, peer relationships, and parental monitoring and control influenced family dynamics more than genetic factors.

Lead author John C. Loehlin, Ph.D., professor emeritus in the University of Texas-Austin’s psychology department said,

While these findings in themselves have no immediate practical implication, they should help guide future research into the important question of how children’s genes help shape family interaction systems.

I’m not completely convinced that genetics is all that applicable to the average family. Certainly, in families experiencing serious psychiatric or neurologic disorders, it may be helpful to analyze the contribution of genes in order to tailor therapies. But for most families with typical adolescent angst, good communication, love, and support should be enough to conquer all. (But what do I know, I’ve still got 10 more years until my son is a teenager.)

*Which is pretty much total unsubstantiated nonsense.

EurekAlert, September 14, 2005

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