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Gene-Environment Correlation and Interaction in Peer Effects on Adolescent Alcohol and Tobacco Use

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Abstract

Peer relationships are commonly thought to be critical for adolescent socialization, including the development of negative health behaviors such as alcohol and tobacco use. The interplay between genetic liability and peer influences on the development of adolescent alcohol and tobacco use was examined using a nationally-representative sample of adolescent sibling pairs and their best friends. Genetic factors, some of them related to an adolescent’s own substance use and some of them independent of use, were associated with increased exposure to best friends with heavy substance use—a gene-environment correlation. Moreover, adolescents who were genetically liable to substance use were more vulnerable to the adverse influences of their best friends—a gene-environment interaction.

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Acknowledgements

Preparation of this article was supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (1F31DA023751) to Paige Harden and from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to Eric Turkheimer (1RO1HD053550) and Robert Emery (1R01HD056354). The Add Health project was designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 400400, Charlottesville, VA, 22904-4400, USA

    K. Paige Harden, Jennifer E. Hill, Eric Turkheimer & Robert E. Emery

Authors
  1. K. Paige Harden
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  2. Jennifer E. Hill
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  3. Eric Turkheimer
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  4. Robert E. Emery
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. Paige Harden.

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Edited by Stacey Cherny.

Appendix

Appendix

Parameter

Estimate

95% Credible Interval

A y

0.302

0.239, 0.379

E y

0.153

0.123, 0.187

A x

0.393

0.258, 0.533

E x

0.327

0.239, 0.436

b 1

0.222

0.013, 0.431

b 2

0.292

0.194, 0.391

b 3

0.677

0.559, 0.881

b sex−y

−0.077

−0.176, 0.020

b sex−x

−0.044

−0.205, 0.124

b age−y

0.050

0.019, 0.083

b age−x

0.141

0.090, 0.193

  1. Note: Results from full interactive model fit to sub-sample of same-sex twin pairs only

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Harden, K.P., Hill, J.E., Turkheimer, E. et al. Gene-Environment Correlation and Interaction in Peer Effects on Adolescent Alcohol and Tobacco Use. Behav Genet 38, 339–347 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-008-9202-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-008-9202-7

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