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Mother's and children's ADHD genetic risk, household chaos and children's ADHD symptoms: A gene-environment correlation study.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Agnew-Blais, JC; Wertz, J; Arseneault, L; Belsky, DW; Danese, A; Pingault, J-B; Polanczyk, GV; Sugden, K; Williams, B; Moffitt, TE
Published in: Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines
October 2022

Chaotic home environments may contribute to children's attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. However, ADHD genetic risk may also influence household chaos. This study investigated whether children in chaotic households had more ADHD symptoms, if mothers and children with higher ADHD genetic risk lived in more chaotic households, and the joint association of genetic risk and household chaos on the longitudinal course of ADHD symptoms across childhood.Participants were mothers and children from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a UK population-representative birth cohort of 2,232 twins. Children's ADHD symptoms were assessed at ages 5, 7, 10 and 12 years. Household chaos was rated by research workers at ages 7, 10 and 12, and by mother's and twin's self-report at age 12. Genome-wide ADHD polygenic risk scores (PRS) were calculated for mothers (n = 880) and twins (n = 1,999); of these, n = 871 mothers and n = 1,925 children had information on children's ADHD and household chaos.Children in more chaotic households had higher ADHD symptoms. Mothers and children with higher ADHD PRS lived in more chaotic households. Children's ADHD PRS was associated with household chaos over and above mother's PRS, suggesting evocative gene-environment correlation. Children in more chaotic households had higher baseline ADHD symptoms and a slower rate of decline in symptoms. However, sensitivity analyses estimated that gene-environment correlation accounted for a large proportion of the association of household chaos on ADHD symptoms.Children's ADHD genetic risk was independently associated with higher levels of household chaos, emphasising the active role of children in shaping their home environment. Our findings suggest that household chaos partly reflects children's genetic risk for ADHD, calling into question whether household chaos directly influences children's core ADHD symptoms. Our findings highlight the importance of considering parent and child genetic risk in relation to apparent environmental exposures.

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Published In

Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines

DOI

EISSN

1469-7610

ISSN

0021-9630

Publication Date

October 2022

Volume

63

Issue

10

Start / End Page

1153 / 1163

Related Subject Headings

  • Risk Factors
  • Parents
  • Mothers
  • Humans
  • Gene-Environment Interaction
  • Female
  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • Child
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
  • 5203 Clinical and health psychology
 

Citation

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ICMJE
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Agnew-Blais, J. C., Wertz, J., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D. W., Danese, A., Pingault, J.-B., … Moffitt, T. E. (2022). Mother's and children's ADHD genetic risk, household chaos and children's ADHD symptoms: A gene-environment correlation study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 63(10), 1153–1163. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13659
Agnew-Blais, Jessica C., Jasmin Wertz, Louise Arseneault, Daniel W. Belsky, Andrea Danese, Jean-Baptiste Pingault, Guilherme V. Polanczyk, Karen Sugden, Benjamin Williams, and Terrie E. Moffitt. “Mother's and children's ADHD genetic risk, household chaos and children's ADHD symptoms: A gene-environment correlation study.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines 63, no. 10 (October 2022): 1153–63. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13659.
Agnew-Blais JC, Wertz J, Arseneault L, Belsky DW, Danese A, Pingault J-B, et al. Mother's and children's ADHD genetic risk, household chaos and children's ADHD symptoms: A gene-environment correlation study. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines. 2022 Oct;63(10):1153–63.
Agnew-Blais, Jessica C., et al. “Mother's and children's ADHD genetic risk, household chaos and children's ADHD symptoms: A gene-environment correlation study.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, vol. 63, no. 10, Oct. 2022, pp. 1153–63. Epmc, doi:10.1111/jcpp.13659.
Agnew-Blais JC, Wertz J, Arseneault L, Belsky DW, Danese A, Pingault J-B, Polanczyk GV, Sugden K, Williams B, Moffitt TE. Mother's and children's ADHD genetic risk, household chaos and children's ADHD symptoms: A gene-environment correlation study. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines. 2022 Oct;63(10):1153–1163.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines

DOI

EISSN

1469-7610

ISSN

0021-9630

Publication Date

October 2022

Volume

63

Issue

10

Start / End Page

1153 / 1163

Related Subject Headings

  • Risk Factors
  • Parents
  • Mothers
  • Humans
  • Gene-Environment Interaction
  • Female
  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • Child
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
  • 5203 Clinical and health psychology