Background: Two different polymorphisms (TPH2 G-703T and 5-HTTLPR) involved in the serotonergic pathway have been reported to play a role, both alone and in interaction with the environment, in early and adult emotion regulation. As most of these studies are cross-sectional, we know little about the impact of these polymorphisms over time, particularly during adolescence.
Methods: Because we were interested in the effects of these polymorphisms and environment (i.e., family structure) at different time-points on the emotional dysregulation profile, we performed a path analysis model in a general adolescent population sample of a five-year follow-up study.
Results: We found a high stability of Dysregulation Profile problems independently from the examined allelic variants. We also found that early family structure directly influences the levels of dysregulation problems in early adolescence, both alone and in interaction with TPH2, suggesting the presence of a gene-environment interaction effect. Furthermore, we found that in adolescents homozygous for the TPH2 G allele, the effect of the early family structure remains active during late adolescence, albeit mediated by earlier emotional problems.
Limitations: The high attrition rate, the use of only one source on behavioral problems of adolescents, and the focus on a single polymorphism in the investigated genes could limit the generalizability of the present results.
Conclusions: These results suggest that early family structure could play a significant role in the development and maintenance of emotional and behavioral problems not only in early adolescence but also in late-adolescence, although this effect was mediated and moderated by behavioral and genetic variables.
Keywords: 5-HTTLPR; Adolescence; Dysregulation profile; Emotional dysregulation; Family structure; TPH2.
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