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Externalizing behaviors in preadolescents: familial risk to externalizing behaviors, prenatal and perinatal risks, and their interactions

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Abstract

Background

Accumulating evidence indicates that there is a rich and varied interplay between persons and their environments, which strongly suggests that this involves gene-environment correlations and interactions. We investigated whether familial risk (FR) to externalizing behaviors and prenatal and perinatal risk factors, separately or in interaction with each other, predicted externalizing behaviors.

Methods

The subjects were 10- to 12-year-old preadolescents who were taking part in TRAILS, a large prospective population-based cohort study (N = 2,230). Regression analyses were used to determine the relative contribution of FR and prenatal and perinatal risks to parent and teacher ratings of inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity aggression, and delinquency.

Results

Regression models explained between 6 and 11% of the variance of externalizing behaviors. We found main effects of FR (vs. no FR), macrosomia (birth weight > 4,500 g), maternal prenatal smoking (MPS), pregnancy and delivery complications (PDCs), and gender that were rather consistent across rater and outcome measures. For some outcome measures, the effect of MPS and PDCs depended on the presence of FR. These included both positive and negative interaction effects. Correlations between FR and prenatal and perinatal risks were significant but rather low.

Conclusions

Both main effects and interaction effects of FR and prenatal and perinatal risks contributed to externalizing behaviors in preadolescents, but all effects were of small size. Further research including use of candidate gene polymorphisms is necessary to identify the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of these main and interaction effects.

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Acknowledgments

This research is part of TRAILS, a multicenter cohort study involving the University of Groningen, the Erasmus Medical Center of Rotterdam, the Vrije University of Amsterdam, the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, and the Trimbos Institute and the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. TRAILS is financially supported by grants from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (GB-MW 940-38-011, GB-MAG 480-01-006, ZonMw 100.001.001; NWO-175.010.2003.005) and the Department of Justice, and by the participating centers. C.J.M. Buschgens is supported by Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, PO Box 9101, HP 966, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Cathelijne J. M. Buschgens MSc., Sophie H. N. Swinkels Ph.D. & Jan K. Buitelaar M.D., Ph.D.

  2. Department of Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Marcel A. G. van Aken Ph.D.

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Johan Ormel Ph.D.

  4. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus MC-Sophia, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Frank C. Verhulst M.D., Ph.D.

  5. Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Sophie H. N. Swinkels Ph.D. & Jan K. Buitelaar M.D., Ph.D.

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  1. Cathelijne J. M. Buschgens MSc.
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  2. Sophie H. N. Swinkels Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Cathelijne J. M. Buschgens MSc..

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Buschgens, C.J.M., Swinkels, S.H.N., van Aken, M.A.G. et al. Externalizing behaviors in preadolescents: familial risk to externalizing behaviors, prenatal and perinatal risks, and their interactions. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 18, 65–74 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-008-0704-x

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