Neighborhood X Serotonin Transporter Linked Polymorphic Region (5-HTTLPR) interactions for substance use from ages 10 to 24 years using a harmonized data set of African American children0

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Michael Windle, Emory University; Steven M. Kogan, University of Georgia; Sunbok Lee, University of Georgia; Yi-Fu Chen, University of Georgia; Karlo Mankit Lei, University of Georgia; Gene H. Brody, University of Georgia; Steven R. H. Beach, University of Georgia; Tianyi Yu, University of Georgia
• Language: English
• Date: 2016-05-01
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © Cambridge University Press 2015.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S095457941500053X
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Development and Psychopathology
• Volume: 28
• Issue: 2
• Start Page: 415
• End Page: 431
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was supported by Award 1P30DA027827 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (all authors) and Award K05AA021143 from the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (to M.W.).
• Keywords: ALCOHOL-USE; DIFFERENTIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY; Psychology; INTEGRATIVE DATA-ANALYSIS; COLLECTIVE EFFICACY; STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS; MISSING-DATA; Psychology, Developmental; GENE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS; PROTECTIVE FACTORS; Social Sciences; ADOLESCENT DRUG-USE; PROMOTER POLYMORPHISM
• Research Categories: Psychology, Developmental

Abstract

This study investigated the influences of neighborhood factors (residential stability and neighborhood disadvantage) and variants of the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) genotype on the development of substance use among African American children aged 10-24 years. To accomplish this, a harmonized data set of five longitudinal studies was created via pooling overlapping age cohorts to establish a database with 2,689 children and 12,474 data points to span ages 10-24 years. A description of steps used in the development of the harmonized data set is provided, including how issues such as the measurement equivalence of constructs were addressed. A sequence of multilevel models was specified to evaluate Gene × Environment effects on growth of substance use across time. Findings indicated that residential instability was associated with higher levels and a steeper gradient of growth in substance use across time. The inclusion of the 5-HTTLPR genotype provided greater precision to the relationships in that higher residential instability, in conjunction with the risk variant of 5-HTTLPR (i.e., the short allele), was associated with the highest level and steepest gradient of growth in substance use across ages 10-24 years. The findings demonstrated how the creation of a harmonized data set increased statistical power to test Gene × Environment interactions for an under studied sample.