Development of adulthood hostile attitudes: Childhood environment and serotonin receptor gene interactions

Abstract

The effects of the serotonin receptor 2A (HTR2A) and 1A (HTR1A) polymorphisms and maternal caregiving attitudes on child's later hostile attitudes were examined. The sample consisted of 819 Finnish children and adolescents. Nurturance was reported by the mothers during childhood, while hostile attitudes were reported by the participants in adulthood. Caregiving attitudes predicted hostile attitudes (β = -069, p = .047), but HTR2A and HTR1A were not related to them. HTR2A rs6313 moderated the effect of caregiving on hostility. Among the carriers of T/T and T/C genotype, caregiving predicted hostility (β = -26, p = .024 and β = -18, p = .001, respectively), while no association among C/C carriers was observed. T allele carriers were sensitive to the effects of caregiving on hostility although this association dropped when controlling for depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2010 IARR.