Childhood socioeconomic status and longitudinal patterns of alcohol problems: Variation across etiological pathways in genetic risk. (July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Barr, Peter B.; Silberg, Judy; Dick, Danielle M.; Maes, Hermine H.
• Is Part Of: Social science & medicine. Volume 209(2018)
• Page Start: 51
• Page End: 58
• Publication Date: 2018-07
• Subjects: Gene-environment interaction -- Alcohol misuse -- Life course -- Childhood socioeconomic status; Social medicine -- Periodicals; Medical anthropology -- Periodicals; Public health -- Periodicals; Psychology -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Médecine sociale -- Périodiques; Anthropologie médicale -- Périodiques; Santé publique -- Périodiques; Psychologie -- Périodiques; Médecine -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 362.105
• DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.05.027
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0277-9536

Abstract

Abstract: Childhood socioeconomic status (SES) is an important aspect of early life environment associated with later life health/health behaviors, including alcohol misuse. However, alcohol misuse is modestly heritable and involves differing etiological pathways. Externalizing disorders show significant genetic overlap with substance use, suggesting an impulsivity pathway to alcohol misuse. Alcohol misuse also overlaps with internalizing disorders, suggesting alcohol is used to cope. These differing pathways could lead to different patterns over time and/or differential susceptibility to environmental conditions, such as childhood SES. We examine whether: 1) genetic risk for externalizing and internalizing disorders influence trajectories of alcohol problems across adolescence to adulthood, 2) childhood SES alters genetic risk these disorders on trajectories of alcohol problems, and 3) these patterns are consistent across sex. We find modest evidence of gene-environment interaction. Higher childhood SES increases the risk of alcohol problems in late adolescence/early adulthood, while lower childhood SES increases the risk of alcohol problems in later adulthood, but only among males at greater genetic risk of externalizing disorders. Females from lower SES families with higher genetic risk of internalizing or externalizing disorders have greater risk of developing alcohol problems. Highlights: High externalizing genetic risk/high SES increase risk for alcohol problems across adolescence. High externalizing genetic risk/low SES increase risk for alcohol problems in adulthood. The opposite pattern occurs for internalizing genetic risk, but to a lesser degree. We find sex differences in the effect of childhood SES, but not genetic risk. Lower SES increases risk for females. Higher SES increases risk for males.