Affiliation buffers stress: cumulative genetic risk in oxytocin-vasopressin genes combines with early caregiving to predict PTSD in war-exposed young children.

ABSTRACT: Research indicates that risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is shaped by the interaction between genetic vulnerability and early caregiving experiences; yet, caregiving has typically been assessed by adult retrospective accounts. Here, we employed a prospective longitudinal design with real-time observations of early caregiving combined with assessment of genetic liability along the axis of vasopressin-oxytocin (OT) gene pathways to test G × E contributions to PTSD. Participants were 232 young Israeli children (1.5-5 years) and their parents, including 148 living in zones of continuous war and 84 controls. A cumulative genetic risk factor was computed for each family member by summing five risk alleles across three genes (OXTR, CD38 and AVPR1a) previously associated with psychop

SUBMITTER: Feldman R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3966045 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature