Justin Graffi1, Ellen Moss2, Alexia Jolicoeur-Martineau3, Gal Moss4, Vanessa Lecompte3, Katherine Pascuzzo5, Vanessa Babineau5, Cathryn Gordon-Green5, Viara R Mileva-Seitz6, Klaus Minde5, Roberto Sassi7, Meir Steiner8, James L Kennedy9, Helene Gaudreau10, Robert Levitan9, Michael J Meaney11, Ashley Wazana12. 1. McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Centre for Child Development and Mental Health, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Canada. 2. University de Quebec à Montréal, Montreal, Canada. 3. Centre for Child Development and Mental Health, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Canada. 4. Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. 5. McGill University, Montreal, Canada. 6. Leiden University, Netherlands. 7. St-Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Canada. 8. McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. 9. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada. 10. Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Montreal, Canada; Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada. 11. McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Montreal, Canada; Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada. 12. McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Centre for Child Development and Mental Health, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Canada. Electronic address: ashley.wazana@mcgill.ca.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Efforts to understand the developmental pathways for disorganized attachment reflect the importance of disorganized attachment on the prediction of future psychopathology. The inconsistent findings on the prediction of disorganized attachment from the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene, birth weight, and maternal depression as well as the evidence supporting the contribution of early maternal care, suggest the importance of exploring a gene by environment model. METHODS: Our sample is from the Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability, and Neurodevelopment project; consisting of 655 mother-child dyads. Birth weight was cross-referenced with normative data to calculate birth weight percentile. Infant DRD4 genotype was obtained with buccal swabs and categorized according to the presence of the 7-repeat allele. Maternal depression was assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale at the prenatal, 6-, 12-, and 24-month assessments. Maternal attention was measured at 6-months using a videotaped session of a 20-min non-feeding interaction. Attachment was assessed at 36-months using the Strange Situation Procedure. RESULTS: The presence of the DRD4 7-repeat allele was associated with less disorganized attachment, β=-1.11, OR=0.33, p=0.0008. Maternal looking away frequency showed significant interactions with maternal depression at the prenatal assessment, β=0.003, OR=1.003, p=0.023, and at 24 months, β=0.004, OR=1.004, p=0.021, as at both time points, women suffering from depression and with frequent looking away behavior had an increased probability of disorganized attachment in their child, while those with less looking away behavior had a decreased probability of disorganized attachment in their child at 36 months. CONCLUSIONS: Our models support the contribution of biological and multiple environmental factors in the complex prediction of disorganized attachment at 36 months.
BACKGROUND: Efforts to understand the developmental pathways for disorganized attachment reflect the importance of disorganized attachment on the prediction of future psychopathology. The inconsistent findings on the prediction of disorganized attachment from the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene, birth weight, and maternal depression as well as the evidence supporting the contribution of early maternal care, suggest the importance of exploring a gene by environment model. METHODS: Our sample is from the Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability, and Neurodevelopment project; consisting of 655 mother-child dyads. Birth weight was cross-referenced with normative data to calculate birth weight percentile. InfantDRD4 genotype was obtained with buccal swabs and categorized according to the presence of the 7-repeat allele. Maternal depression was assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale at the prenatal, 6-, 12-, and 24-month assessments. Maternal attention was measured at 6-months using a videotaped session of a 20-min non-feeding interaction. Attachment was assessed at 36-months using the Strange Situation Procedure. RESULTS: The presence of the DRD4 7-repeat allele was associated with less disorganized attachment, β=-1.11, OR=0.33, p=0.0008. Maternal looking away frequency showed significant interactions with maternal depression at the prenatal assessment, β=0.003, OR=1.003, p=0.023, and at 24 months, β=0.004, OR=1.004, p=0.021, as at both time points, women suffering from depression and with frequent looking away behavior had an increased probability of disorganized attachment in their child, while those with less looking away behavior had a decreased probability of disorganized attachment in their child at 36 months. CONCLUSIONS: Our models support the contribution of biological and multiple environmental factors in the complex prediction of disorganized attachment at 36 months.
Authors: Cristina Sechi; Laura Elvira Prino; Luca Rollé; Loredana Lucarelli; Laura Vismara Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-12-22 Impact factor: 3.390