GENETIC MEDIATION OF LONGITUDINAL ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

Previous studies have reported significant associations between measur es of the family environment and behavior problems in children. Howeve r, because children in these studies were genetically related to their parents, such links may not be caused solely by environmental influen ces. The goal of this study was to investigate genetic influence on as sociations between family environment and problem behavior using an ad option design. Participants in the study included 179 adopted and 176 nonadopted children, as well as their parents and teachers, in the Col orado Adoption Project (CAP; Plomin, DeFries, and Fulker, 1988). Mothe rs and fathers each completed the Family Environment Scale (FES) when their child was 1, 3, and 5 years of age; the child's problem behavior at age 7 was rated by both mothers and teachers using the Child Behav ior Checklist (CBCL). Patterns of correlations for nonadopted versus a dopted boys indicated that associations between aspects of the family' s relationship (conflict, cohesion, expressiveness) and behavior probl ems in home and school were mediated genetically. For girls, however, these links appeared to be influenced by direct shared environmental e ffects.