Prospective Cohort Study of Influences on Externalizing Behaviors Across Childhood: Results From a Nurse Home Visiting Randomized Controlled Trial

• NCJ Number: 251344
• Journal: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 55 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2016 Pages: 376-382
• Author(s): M. A. Enoch; H. Kitzman; J. A. Smith; E. Anson; C. A. Hodgkinson; D. Goldman; D. L. Olds
• Date Published: May 2016
• Length: 7 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2004-52854-CO-JSO
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined genetic and environmental influences on behavior in a cohort of 600 children followed prenatally to 18 years old.

Abstract

A randomized controlled trial of prenatal/infancy nurse home visits (NHV) was conducted with 600 predominantly African-American mothers and their firstborn children from Memphis, TN. Mothers were assessed in pregnancy for mental health (MH), self-efficacy, and mastery. Mothers reported longitudinally on smoking and alcohol/drug use. The functional polymorphisms SLC6A4 5-HTTLPR, FKBP5 rs1360780 and DRD2/ANKK1 rs1800497 were genotyped together with 186 ancestry informative markers. Composite externalizing disorders (ED) continuous total scores from the mother-report Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist were included as dependent variables in regression analyses for time points 2, 6, 12, and 18 years old. The study found that behaviors at younger ages strongly predicted later behaviors (p< .0001)). Children whose mothers had high self-efficacy and had received NHV were better behaved at 2 years old. Poorer maternal MH adversely influenced ED up to 12 years old, but at 18 years old, maternal mastery exerted a strong, positive effect (p=.0001). Maternal smoking was associated with worse ED at 6 and 18 years old. Main and interactive effects of genetic polymorphisms varied across childhood: FKBP5 rs1360780 up to 6 years old, 5-HTTLPR from 6 to 12 years old, and DRD2/ANKK1 rs1800497 from 2 to 18 years old. The study thus suggests that maternal MH and resilience measured in pregnancy have long-lasting effects on child behavior. Maternal smoking across childhood and genetic factors also play a role. NHV had a positive effect on early behavior. These findings have implications for prevention of pathological behaviors in adulthood. (Publisher abstract modified)