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Confirmatory and competitive evaluation of alternative gene‐environment interaction hypotheses
Author(s) -
Belsky Jay,
Pluess Michael,
Widaman Keith F.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/jcpp.12075
Subject(s) - psychology , replicate , statistical hypothesis testing , differential (mechanical device) , vulnerability (computing) , empirical research , econometrics , social psychology , developmental psychology , statistics , computer science , mathematics , computer security , engineering , aerospace engineering
Background Most gene‐environment interaction ( GXE ) research, though based on clear, vulnerability‐oriented hypotheses, is carried out using exploratory rather than hypothesis‐informed statistical tests, limiting power and making formal evaluation of competing GXE propositions difficult. Method We present and illustrate a new regression technique which affords direct testing of theory‐derived predictions, as well as competitive evaluation of alternative diathesis‐stress and differential‐susceptibility propositions, using data on the moderating effect of DRD4 with regard to the effect of childcare quality on children's social functioning. Results Results show that (a) the new approach detects interactions that the traditional one does not; (b) the discerned GXE fit the differential‐susceptibility model better than the diathesis‐stress one; and (c) a strong rather than weak version of differential susceptibility is empirically supported. Conclusion The new method better fits the theoretical ‘glove’ to the empirical ‘hand,’ raising the prospect that some failures to replicate GXE results may derive from standard statistical approaches being less than ideal.