An April 4th, a new study came out showing that the rise in autism was because mothers talked over the fence, so the next mother, trotted off to doctors, getting the next “in” diagnosis,
Sorry about the sarcasm.
However, 21 hours ago, we have just been served up this gem.
Gene x environment interactions for ADHD: synergistic effect of 5HTTLPR genotype and youth appraisals of inter-parental conflict
Molly Nikolas , Karen Friderici , Irwin Waldman , Katherine Jernigan and Joel T. Nigg
Behavioral and Brain Functions 2010, 6:23doi:10.1186/1744-9081-6-23
Published: 16 April 2010
In my words the study intimates that Kids get ADHD because of defective genes and guilt about their relationships with their parents. Kids with high or low serotonin genotypes who had parents who had lots of marital conflicts, had more ADHD if they blamed themselves for it. A different gene showed marginal significant for "oppositional defiant disorder symptoms". (There you have it. Losing your cool is now a genetic disease.) Remember that, when you lose your cool at a politician the next time. "My genes made me do it!"
When ADHD is conceptualized as emanating from the development of emotional and behavioral regulation, specific genetic and family environmental factors are likely to jointly influence ADHD outcomes in particular ways
And the more arguments parents have, the more ADHD the kids with strange genes might have.
"Thus, there appears to be something about self-blame that is important for ADHD specifically. This is line with current work from our own laboratory (which included a portion of this sample) that indicates that among the CPIC scales, self-blame is a significant and unique predictor of ADHD symptomatology"
And after their long list of what was wrong with their study, whose surprised when they say, "replication of these results in other studies is necessary." Never expected that did we?
There's a whole heap of bones to chew on with this one, not least because while they tested the kids for genes, they didn't test the parents. Furthermore I can't see where they looked at the genes of ADHD kids who said their parents had no intermarital conflict that they ever saw.
So here you have it. Bad genes plus kids blaming themselves when parents argue between each other equals ADHD.
Course you can see where this is all heading from a previous paper they put out:
J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2010 Feb 10. [Epub ahead of print]
Personality Mediation of Genetic Effects on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
Martel MM, Nikolas M, Jernigan K, Friderici K, Nigg JT.
Personality traits may be viable candidates for mediators of the relationship between genetic risk and ADHD. Participants were 578 children (331 boys; 320 children with ADHD) between the ages of six and 18. Parents and teachers completed a comprehensive, multi-stage diagnostic procedure to assess ADHD and comorbid disorders. Mother completed the California Q-Sort to assess child Big Five personality traits. Children provided buccal samples of DNA which were assayed for selected markers on DRD4, DAT1, and ADRA2A.
An additive genetic risk composite was associated with ADHD symptoms and maladaptive personality traits; maladaptive personality traits were associated with ADHD symptoms.
Low conscientiousness and high neuroticism partially mediated the relationship between genetic risk and ADHD symptoms. Mediation effects for conscientiousness were specific to inattentive symptoms; effects for neuroticism generalized to all disruptive behaviors. High neuroticism and low conscientiousness may be useful as early markers for children at risk for ADHD.
PMID: 20146095
Might kids in the future, face compulsory yearly gene and head shrink tests by the plunket nurses? We have to find out if there is a genetic cause for the first "no" and stamped foot that comes out?
Ask piercing questions later, as to whether or not you don’t get on with Mum or Dad, and how often they argue and about what?
Bring in CYPS too? Have performance tests to see in parents have improved their marital conflict management to protect the kids?
A new sort of "child abuse", perhaps?
Whole new industry coming up here too.
Nanny state will just love this.
