Genetic Influences on Risk and Protection: Implications for Understanding Resilience

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511615788.022

20 - Genetic Influences on Risk and Protection: Implications for Understanding Resilience

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012

Michael Rutter

Edited by

Suniya S. Luthar

Show author details

Michael Rutter: Affiliation:
Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
Suniya S. Luthar: Affiliation:
Columbia University, New York

Book contents

Get access

Summary

CONCEPT OF RESILIENCE

Resilience has been conceptualized in several somewhat different ways (see Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000; Masten, 2001; Rutter, 1999, 2000a) but, in essence, the starting point is a recognition that for all kinds of adverse experiences there is immense variation in how people respond. Some individuals appear to succumb to the most minor stresses, whereas others seem to cope successfully with the most terrible experiences. The latter phenomenon is what is generally viewed as resilience.

Particularly in recent years, there has been a growing acceptance of the need to take seriously the various methodological hazards that could create false impressions of resilience. The phenomenon is of little interest, and has no policy or practice implications, if the variation reflects no more than the fact that the adverse sequelae had not been covered by the measures used in a particular study, or that the supposed vulnerability factors did not truly mediate risk, or that the heterogeneity in outcome merely reflected variations in the severity of the stress experienced, or that the impression of resilience reflected only an artifact stemming from scaling considerations. In that connection, it has proved crucial to specify the environmental sequelae precisely. Thus, Jaffee et al. (in press) found that children suffered from fathers' involvement if the father was antisocial but benefited if he was not.

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: Resilience and Vulnerability
Adaptation in the Context of Childhood Adversities
, pp. 489 - 509

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511615788.022 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Altshuler, L. L., Cohen, L., Szuba, M. P., Burt, V. K., Gitlin, M., & Mintz, J. (1996). Pharmacologic management of psychiatric illness during pregnancy: Dilemmas and guidelines. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 592–606Google Scholar PubMed

Anisman, H., Zaharia, M. D., Meaney, M. J., & Merali, Z. (1998). Do early-life events permanently alter behavioural and hormonal responses to stress?International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 16, 149–164CrossRef Google Scholar

Bohman, M. (1996). Predisposition to criminality: Swedish adoption studies in retrospect. In G. R. Bock & J. A. Goode (Eds.), Genetics of criminal and antisocial behaviour. Ciba Foundation Symposium 194 (pp. 99–114). Chichester, U.K.: Wiley

Boomsma, D. I., Geus, E. J. C., Baal, G. C. M., & Koopmans, J. R. (1999). A religious upbringing reduces the influence of genetic factors on disinhibition: Evidence for interaction between genotype and environment on personality. Twin Research, 2, 115–125CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Cadoret, R. J., Cain, C. A., & Crowe, R. R. (1983). Evidence for gene–environment interaction in the development of adolescent antisocial behavior. Behavior Genetics, 13, 301–310CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Cadoret, R. J., Winokur, G., Langbehn, D., Troughton, E., Yates, W. R., & Stewart, M. A. (1996). Depression spectrum disease, I: The role of gene–environment interaction. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 892–899Google Scholar PubMed

Cadoret, R. J., Yates, W. R., Troughton, E., Woodworth, G., & Stewart, M. A. S. (1995). Genetic–environmental interaction in the genesis of aggressivity and conduct disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 52, 916–924CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Caspi, A., McClay, J., Moffitt, T. E., Mill, J., Martin, J., Craig, I. W., Taylor, A., & Poulton, R. (2002). Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children. Science, 297, 851–854CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Crowe, R. R. (1974). An adoption study of antisocial personality. Archives of General Psychiatry, 31, 785–791CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Denenberg, V. H., & Rosenberg, K. M. (1967). Nongenetic transmission of information. Nature, 216, 549–550CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Dickens, W. T., & Flynn, J. R. (2001). Heritability estimates vs. large environmental effects: The IQ paradox resolved. Psychological Review, 108, 346–369CrossRef Google Scholar

Earls, F. (1987). Sex differences in psychiatric disorders: Origins and developmental influences. Psychiatric Developments, 1, 1–23Google Scholar

Eaves, L., Silberg, J., & Erkanli, A. (2002). Interaction of genes and life events in the development of depression: A Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach. Manuscript submitted for publication

Evans, W. E., & Relling, M. V. (1999). Pharmacogenomics: Translating functional genomics into rational therapeutics. Science, 286, 487–491CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Flint, J. (1997). Freeze!Nature Genetics, 17, 250–251CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Flint, J., Corley, R., DeFries, J. C., Fulker, D. W., Gray, J. A., Miller, S., & Collins, A. C. (1995). A simple genetic basis for a complex psychological trait in laboratory mice. Science, 269, 1432–1435CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Francis, D., Diorio, J., Liu, D., & Meaney, M. J. (1999). Nongenomic transmission across generations of maternal behavior and stress responses in the rat. Science, 286, 1155–1158CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Heath, A. C., Eaves, L. J., & Martin, N. G. (1998). Interaction of marital status and genetic risk for symptoms of depression. Twin Research, 1, 119–122CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Heath, A. C., Jardine, R., & Martin, N. G. (1989). Interactive effects of genotype and social environment on alcohol consumption in female twins. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 50, 38–48CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Heath, A. C., Madden, P. A. F., Bucholz, K. K., Dinwiddie, S. H., Slutske, W. S., Bierut, L. J., Rohrbaugh, J. W., Statham, D. J., Dunne, M. P., & Martin, N. G. (1999). Genetic differences in alcohol sensitivity and the inheritance of alcoholism risk. Psychological Medicine, 29, 1069–1081CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Heath, A. C., Whitfield, J. B., Madden, P. A. F., Bucholz, K. K., Dinwiddie, S. H., Slutske, W. S., Bierut, L. J., Statham, D. B., & Martin, N. G. (2001). Towards a molecular epidemiology of alcohol dependence: Analysing the interplay of genetic and environmental risk factors. British Journal of Psychiatry, 178 (Suppl 40), s33–s40CrossRef Google Scholar

Hill, A. V. S. (1998). Genetics and genomics of infectious disease susceptibility. British Medical Bulletin, 55, 401–413CrossRef Google Scholar

Jaffee, S. R., Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., & Taylor, A. (in press). Life with (and without) father: The benefits of living with two biological parents depends on the father's antisocial behavior. Child DevelopmentGoogle Scholar

Jaffee, S. R., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Dodge, K. A., Rutter, M., Taylor, A., & Tully, L. A. (2002). Nature } nurture: Genetic vulnerabilities interact with child maltreatment to promote behavior problems. Manuscript submitted for publication

Kendler, K. S. (1996). Major depression and generalised anxiety disorder. Same genes, (partly) different environments – revisited. British Journal of Psychiatry, 168 (suppl 30), 68–75Google Scholar

Kendler, K. S., Gardner, C. O., Neale, M. C., & Prescott, C. A. (2001). Genetic risk factors for major depression in men and women: Similar or different heritabilities and same or partly distinct genes?Psychological Medicine, 31, 605–616CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Kendler, K. S., Kessler, R. C., Walters, E. E., MacLean, C., Neale, M. C., Heath, A. C., & Eaves, L. J. (1995). Stressful life events, genetic liability, and onset of an episode of major depression in women. American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 833–842Google Scholar PubMed

Kendler, K. S., Myers, J. M., & Neale, M. C. (2000). A multidemensional twin study of mental health in women. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 506–513CrossRef Google Scholar

Knight, J. C., Udalova, I., Hill, A. V. S., Greenwood, B. M., Peshu, N., Marsh, K., & Kwiatkowksi, D. (1999). A polymorphism that affects OCT-1 binding to the TNF promoter region is associated with severe malaria. Nature Genetics, 22, 145–150CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Koopmans, J. R., Slutske, W. S., Baal, G. C. M., & Boomsma, D. I. (1999). The influence of religion on alcohol use initiation: Evidence for genotype } environment interaction. Behavior Genetics, 29, 445–453CrossRef Google Scholar

Laub, J. H., Nagin, D. S., & Sampson, R. J. (1998). Trajectories of change in criminal offending: Good marriages and the desistance process. American Sociological Review, 63, 225–238CrossRef Google Scholar

Legrand, L. N., McGue, M., & Iacono, W. G. (1999). Searching for interactive effects in the etiology of early-onset substance use. Behavior Genetics, 29, 433–444CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Loehlin, J. C. (1992). Genes and environment in personality development. Newbury Park, CA: Sage

Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71, 543–562CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Maciejewski, P. K., Prigerson, H. G., & Mazure, C. M. (2000). Sex differences in event-related risk for major depression. Psychological Medicine, 31, 593–604Google Scholar

Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic. American Psychologist, 56, 227–238CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Mayeux, R., Ottman, R., Maestre, G., Ngai, C., Tang, M.-X., Ginsberg, H., Chun, M., Tycko, B., & Shelanski, M. (1995). Synergistic effects of traumatic head injury and apolipoprotein- ε 4 in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Neurology, 45, 555–557CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

McClelland, G. H., & Judd, C. M. (1993). Statistical difficulties of detecting interactions and moderator effects. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 376–390CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Rutter, M., & Silva, P. (2001). Sex differences in antisocial behaviour: Conduct disorder, delinquency and violence in the Dunedin Longitudinal Study. London and New York: Cambridge University Press

Petitto, J. M., & Evans, D. L. (1999). Clinical neuroimmunology. In D. S. Charney, E. J. Nestler, & B. S. Bunney (Eds.), Neurobiology of mental illness (pp. 162–169). New York: Oxford University Press

Pickles, A. (1993). Stages, precursors and causes in development. In D. F. Hay & A. Angold (Eds.), Precursors and causes in development and psychopathology (pp. 23–49). Chichester, U.K.: Wiley

Plomin, R. (1994). Genetics and experience: The interplay between nature and nurture. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Plomin, R., & Bergeman, C. S. (1991). The nature of nurture: Genetic influence on “environmental” measures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 14, 373–427CrossRef Google Scholar

Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., & Loehlin, J. C. (1977). Genotype–environment interaction and correlation in the analysis of human behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 309–322CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., McClearn, G. E., & McGuffin, P. (2000). Behavioral genetics (4th ed.). New York: Worth

Plomin, R., & Rutter, M. (1998). Child development, molecular genetics and what to do with genes once they are found. Child Development, 69, 1223–1242CrossRef Google Scholar

Quinton, D., Pickles, A., Maughan, B., & Rutter, M. (1993). Partners, peers, and pathways: Assortative pairing and continuities in conduct disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 763–783CrossRef Google Scholar

Quinton, D., & Rutter, M. (1988). Parenting breakdown: The making and breaking of intergenerational links. Aldershot, U.K.: Avebury

Reiss, D., Hetherington, M., Plomin, R., Howe, G. W., Simmens, S. J., Henderson, S. H., O'Connor, T. J., Bussell, D. A., Anderson, E. R., & Law, T. (1995). Genetic questions for environmental studies: Differential parenting and psychopathology in adolescence. Archives of General Psychiatry, 52, 925–936CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Riggins-Caspers, K., Cadoret, R. J., Panak, W., Lempers, J. D., Troughton, E., & Stewart, M. A. (1999). Gene } environment interaction and the moderating effect of adoption agency disclosure on estimating genetic effects. Personality and individual Differences, 27, 357–380CrossRef Google Scholar

Robins, L. (1966). Deviant children grown up: A sociological and psychiatric study of sociopathic personality. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins

Rotter, J. I., & Diamond, J. M. (1987). What maintains the frequencies of human genetic diseases?Nature, 329, 289–290CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Rutter, M. (1970). Sex differences in children's responses to family stress. In E. J. Anthony & C. Koupernik (Eds.), The child in his family (pp. 165–196). New York: Wiley

Rutter, M. (1979). Separation experiences: A new look at an old topic. Journal of Pediatrics, 95, 147–154CrossRef Google Scholar

Rutter, M. (1981). Maternal deprivation reassessed (2nd ed.). Harmondsworth, Middlesex, U.K.: Penguin Books

Rutter, M. (1983). Statistical and personal interactions: Facets and perspectives. In D. M. Magnusson & V. Allen (Eds.), Human development: An interactional perspective (pp. 295–319). New York: Academic Press

Rutter, M. (1989a). Psychiatric disorder in parents as a risk factor for children. In D. Shaffer, I. Philips, & N. B. Enzer (Eds.), Prevention of mental disorders, alcohol and other drug use in children and adolescents. OSAPPrevention Monograph 2 (pp. 157–189). Rockville, MD: Office for Substance Abuse Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Rutter, M. (1989b). Age as an ambiguous variable in developmental research: Some epidemiological considerations from developmental psychopathology. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 12, 1–34CrossRef Google Scholar

Rutter, M. (1989c). Pathways from childhood to adult life. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 30, 23–51CrossRef Google Scholar

Rutter, M. (1999). Resilience concepts and findings: Implications for family therapy. Journal of Family Therapy, 21, 119–144CrossRef Google Scholar

Rutter, M. (2000a). Resilience reconsidered: Conceptual considerations, empirical findings, and policy implications. In J. P. Shonkoff & S. J. Meisels (Eds.), Handbook of early childhood intervention (2nd ed., pp. 651–682). New York: Cambridge University Press

Rutter, M. (2000b). Psychosocial influences: Critiques, findings, and research needs. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 375–405CrossRef Google Scholar

Rutter, M. (2002a). Substance use and abuse: Causal pathways considerations. In M. Rutter & E. Taylor (Eds.), Child and adolescent psychiatry (4th ed., pp. 455–462). Oxford: Blackwell Scientific

Rutter, M. (2002b). Nature, nurture and development: From evangelism through science towards policy and practice. Child Development, 73, 1–21CrossRef Google Scholar

Rutter, M., Champion, L., Quinton, D., Maughan, B., & Pickles, A. (1995). Understanding individual differences in environmental risk exposure. In P. Moen, G. H. Elder, Jr., & K. Lüscher (Eds.), Examining lives in context: Perspectives on the ecology of human development (pp. 61–93). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

Rutter, M., Dunn, J., Plomin, R., Simonoff, E., Pickles, A., Maughan, B., Ormel, J., Meyer, J., & Eaves, L. (1997a). Integrating nature and nurture: Implications of person–environment correlations and interactions for developmental psychology. Development and Psychopathology, 9, 335–364CrossRef Google Scholar

Rutter, M., Giller, H., & Hagell, A. (1998). Antisocial behavior by young people. New York: Cambridge University Press

Rutter, M., Maughan, B., Meyer, J., Pickles, A., Silberg, J., Simonoff, E., & Taylor, E. (1997b). Heterogeneity of antisocial behavior: Causes, continuities, and consequences. In R. Dienstbier & D. W. Osgood (Eds.), Nebraska symposium on motivation: Vol. 44. Motivation and delinquency (pp. 45–118). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press

Rutter, M., & Pickles, A. (1991). Person–environment interactions: Concepts, mechanisms, and implications for data analysis. In T. D. Wachs & R. Plomin (Eds.), Conceptualization and measurement of organism–environment interaction (pp. 105–141). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

Rutter, M., Pickles, A., Murray, R., & Eaves, L. (2001). Testing hypotheses on specific environmental causal effects on behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 291–324CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Rutter, M., & Quinton, D. (1984). Parental psychiatric disorder: Effects on children. Psychological Medicine, 14, 853–880CrossRef Google Scholar

Rutter, M., & Silberg, J. (2002). Gene–environment interplay in relation to emotional and behavioral disturbance. Annual Review in Psychology, 53, 463–490CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Rutter, M., Silberg, J., & Simonoff, E. (1993). Whither behavioral genetics? A developmental psychopathological perspective. In R. Plomin & G. E. McClearn (Eds.), Nature, nurture, and psychology (pp. 433–456). Washington, DC: APA BooksCrossRef

Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (1993). Crime in the making: Pathways and turning points through life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

Schneider, M. L., & Moore, C. F. (2000). Effect of prenatal stress on development: A nonhuman primate model. In C. Nelson (Ed.), Minnesota symposium on child psychology (pp. 201–243). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum

Silberg, J., Pickles, A., Rutter, M., Hewitt, J., Simonoff, E., Maes, H., Carbonneau, R., Murrelle, L., Foley, D., & Eaves, L. (1999). The influence of genetic factors and life stress on depression among adolescent girls. Archives of General Psychiatry, 56, 225–232CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Silberg, J., Rutter, M., Neale, M., & Eaves, L. (2001). Genetic moderation of environmental risk for depression and anxiety in adolescent girls. British Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 116–121CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Stouthamer-Loeber, M., Loeber, R., Farrington, D. P., Zhang, Q., Kammen, W., & Maguin, E. (1993). The double edge of protective and risk factors for delinquency: Interrelations and development patterns. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 683–701CrossRef Google Scholar

Suomi, S. J. (2000). A biobehavioral perspective on developmental psychopathology: Excessive aggression and serotonergic dysfunction in monkeys. In A. J. Sameroff, M. Lewis, & S. Miller (Eds.), Handbook of developmental psychopathology (2nd ed., pp. 237–256). New York: PlenumCrossRef

Talmud, P. J., Bujac, S. R., Hall, S., Miller, G. J., & Humphries, S. E. (2000). Substitution of asparagine for aspartic acid at residue 9 (D9N) of lipoprotein lipase markedly augments risk of ischaemic heart disease in male smokers. Atherosclerosis, 149, 75–81CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Teasdale, G. M., Nicoll, J. A. R., Murray, G., & Fiddes, M. (1997). Association of apolipoprotein E polymorphism with outcome after head injury. Lancet, 350, 1069–1071CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Wahlsten, D. (1990). Insensitivity of the analysis of variance to heredity–environment interaction. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 13, 109–161CrossRef Google Scholar

Weatherall, D. J. (1999). From genotype to phenotype: Genetics and medical practice in the new millennium. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London – Series B: Biological Sciences, 354, 1995–2010CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Weatherall, D. J., & Clegg, J. B. (2001). The thalassaemia syndromes (4th ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Scientific

Weinberg, W. A., Harper, C., & Brumback, R. (2002). Substance use and abuse: Epidemiology, pharmacological considerations, identification, and suggestions towards management. In M. Rutter & E. Taylor (Eds.), Child and adolescent psychiatry (4th ed., pp. 437–454). Oxford: Blackwell Scientific

Wolf, C. R., Smith, G., & Smith, R. L. (2000). Science, medicine, and the future: Pharmacogenetics. British Medical Journal, 320, 987–990CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Yaffe, K., Haan, M., Byers, A., Tangen, C., & Kuller, L. (2000). Estrogen use, APOE, and cognitive decline: Evidence of gene–environment interaction. Neurology, 54, 1949–1953CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Zaslow, M. J. (1988). Sex differences in children's responses to parental divorce: I. Research methodology and postdivorce family forms. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 58, 355–378CrossRef Google Scholar

Zaslow, M. J. (1989). Sex differences in children's responses to parental divorce: II. Samples, variables, ages and sources. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 59, 118–141CrossRef Google Scholar

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.