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Combined Influences of Genes, Prenatal Environment, Cortisol, and Parenting on the Development of Children’s Internalizing Versus Externalizing Problems

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Abstract

Research suggests that genetic, prenatal, endocrine, and parenting influences across development individually contribute to internalizing and externalizing problems in children. The present study tests the combined contributions of genetic risk for psychopathology, prenatal environments (maternal drug use and internalizing symptoms), child cortisol at age 4.5 years, and overreactive parenting influences across childhood on 6-year-old children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. We used data from an adoption design that included 361 domestically adopted children and their biological and adopted parents prospectively followed from birth. Only parenting influences contributed (independently) to externalizing problems. However, genetic influences were indirectly associated with internalizing problems (through increased prenatal risk and subsequent morning cortisol), and parenting factors were both directly and indirectly associated with internalizing problems (through morning cortisol). Results suggest that prenatal maternal drug use/symptoms and children’s morning cortisol levels are mechanisms of genetic and environmental influences on internalizing problems, but not externalizing problems, in childhood.

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Acknowledgments

We thank our participants and research staff for their extensive time and effort which made the present study possible. Data used in the current report was supported by NICHD, R01 HD042608 (Reiss, Leve), NIDA, R01 DA020585 (Neiderhiser), and OBSSR (the Office of the Director), NIH. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development or the National Institutes of Health. The Early Growth and Development Study was also supported by NIMH, R01 MH092118 (Leve, Neiderhiser). Data analysis and manuscript preparation was supported in part by NIDA, F31 DA033737 and T32 DA016184 (Marceau).

Conflict of Interest

Kristine Marceau, Heidemarie K Laurent, Jenae M Neiderhiser, David Reiss, Daniel S Shaw, Misaki N Natsuaki, Phillip A Fisher and Leslie D Leve declare that they have no conflict of interest

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, 121 S. Main St., Providence, RI, 02903, USA

    Kristine Marceau

  2. Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA

    Kristine Marceau

  3. University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA

    Heidemarie K. Laurent, Philip A. Fisher & Leslie D. Leve

  4. Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, 141 Moore Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Jenae M. Neiderhiser

  5. Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    David Reiss

  6. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Daniel S. Shaw

  7. University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA

    Misaki N. Natsuaki

  8. The Oregon Social Learning Center, Eugene, OR, USA

    Philip A. Fisher & Leslie D. Leve

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  1. Kristine Marceau
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Correspondence to Kristine Marceau or Jenae M. Neiderhiser.

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Marceau, K., Laurent, H.K., Neiderhiser, J.M. et al. Combined Influences of Genes, Prenatal Environment, Cortisol, and Parenting on the Development of Children’s Internalizing Versus Externalizing Problems. Behav Genet 45, 268–282 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-014-9689-z

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