Genetics, Environment and Family Relationships

行为遗传学领域已经证明， 影响着人们行为的许多方面， 包括认知能力人格和精神病理学 然而，人们对遗传因素在多大程度上 影响成对行为交互的因素 个体 从儿童发展的角度来看， 最重要的互动是家庭内部的互动， 从本质上讲，对这种家庭关系一无所知， 行为遗传学的观点。 自1985年以来，NSF一直支持研究家庭 关系作为纵向科罗拉多收养的一部分 项目（CAP）。CAP家族的一个独特之处在于- 一半是由遗传上不相关的收养关系组成的 (that养母和她们收养的孩子， 另一半的家庭是非家庭， 吸毒的家庭 通过比较收养关系和 非收养家庭，有可能开始了解 遗传因素在家庭发展中的作用 关系。 在童年早期，当弟弟妹妹三岁时， 和五岁，访问了150 CAP的家， 家庭为了录像母亲的孩子，孩子的兄弟姐妹， 母亲-孩子-兄弟姐妹的互动，以及进行 访谈和非结构化观察。 目前的研究 三年后， 童年，在弟弟妹妹开始上学之后。 这 研究的纵向延伸将使 第一次探索家庭关系的遗传学， 从幼儿期到 童年中期 这项研究是嵌入在纵向 CAP收集了关于CAP儿童的广泛信息， 从婴儿期到青春期的家庭环境。 因此 将有可能研究家庭的前因后果 关系，并考虑遗传在其中的作用 协会.

The field of behavioral genetics has demonstrated that heredity influences differences among people for many aspects of behavior, including cognitive abilities, personality, and psychopathology. However, little is known about the extent to which genetic factors influence behavioral interactions for pairs of individuals. From the perspective of child development, some of the most important interactions are those within the family, yet essentially nothing is known about such family relationships from the perspective of behavioral genetics. Since 1985, NSF has supported research to study family relationships as part of the longitudinal Colorado Adoption Project (CAP). A unique aspect of the CAP families is that one- half consist of genetically-unrelated adoptive relationships (that is, adoptive mothers and their adopted children and adoptive siblings) and the other half of the families are non- doptive families. By comparing relationships in adoptive and non-adoptive families, it is possible to begin to understand the role of genetic factors in the development of family relationships. In early childhood, when the younger sibling was between three and five years of age, visits were made to the home of 150 CAP families in order to videotape mother-child, child-sibling, and mother-child-sibling interactions, as well as to conduct interviews and unstructured observations. The current research will study the same families three years later in middle childhood, after the younger sibling has begun school. This longitudinal extension of the study will make it possible for the first time to explore the genetics of family relationships during the important developmental transition from early childhood to middle childhood. This study is embedded within the longitudinal CAP which collects extensive information on the CAP children and their home environment from infancy to adolescence. Thus, it will be possible to study antecedents and consequences of family relationships, and to consider the role of heredity in these associations.