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Differential Susceptibility: The Genetic Moderation of Peer Pressure on Alcohol Use

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Abstract

Although peer pressure can influence adolescents’ alcohol use, individual susceptibility to these pressures varies across individuals. The dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4) is a potential candidate gene that may influence adolescents’ susceptibility to their peer environment due to the role dopamine plays in reward sensation during social interaction. We hypothesized that DRD4 genotype status would moderate the impact of 7th-grade antisocial peer pressure on 12th-grade lifetime alcohol use (n = 414; 58.7 % female; 92.8 % White). The results revealed significant main effects for antisocial peer pressure, but no main effects for DRD4 genotype on lifetime alcohol use. Adolescent DRD4 genotype moderated the association between peer pressure and lifetime alcohol use. For individuals who carried at least one copy of the DRD4 7-repeat allele (7+), antisocial peer pressure was associated with increased lifetime alcohol use. These findings indicate that genetic sensitivity to peer pressure confers increased alcohol use in late adolescence.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Deborah Grove and Ashley Price of the Penn State Genomics Core Facility for DNA purification and genotyping, and Kerry Hair for DNA management. For participant recruitment, we recognize the efforts of Shirley Huck, Cathy Owen, Debra Bahr, and Anthony Connor of the Iowa State University Survey and Behavioral Research Services; and Rob Schofield and Dean Stankowski of the Penn State University Survey Research Center. Grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism supported the PROSPER Project (DA013709; DA030389). The first author’s work on this article was supported by a Training Award (DA017629) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the National Institutes of Health.

Author contributions

AMG performed the analysis and wrote the manuscript. HHC, GLS, DJV, MEF participated in variable construction, data interpretation, and manuscript editing. HHC, DJV, and MEF managed the overall project. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Griffin, A.M., Cleveland, H.H., Schlomer, G.L. et al. Differential Susceptibility: The Genetic Moderation of Peer Pressure on Alcohol Use. J Youth Adolescence 44, 1841–1853 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0344-7

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