When my daughter was a little girl, she loved to dress up. (OK, I think she still does, but that is a whole ‘nother story.) And, being the techie I was (am?), I ran across things that many others never saw (or maybe they did and decided that they were bizarre, or didn’t understand them). One such item was a T-shirt I gave my daughter, that she loved dearly.
(Yes, she had designer jeans, as well.)
Well, it turns out that children – about 20%- have a gene that truly gives them special capabilities. A variant of the gene, 5-HTTLPR, a serotonin transporter-promoter gene, that affects these children dramatically. (The variant is a homozygous short allele one.) This gene lets serotonin affect our moods, and has three primary variants. 20% of the folks have the variant that makes them extremely sensitive to the actions of neglectful, insensitive, and/or abusive parents.
Drs. Hankin (lead), Nederhof, Oppenheimer, Jenness, Young, Abela, Smolen, Omel, and Oldehinkel collaborated in this research, published in Translational Psychiatry. They were NOT looking for the effects of bad parents on the children, but to see if the opposite occurred. They wanted to know if these children would be extremely sensitive to the effects of good parenting.
They examined 1874 children, ranging in age from 9 to 15, determining which 5-HTTLPR gene variant they had. They also ascertained their mood state, as well as the sort of parenting situation in which they were situated.
The results demonstrated the special variant predisposed children (this group is normally studied to see if they were sensitive to poor parenting) actually rendered these children to be very happy and well-adjusted, when they were subjected to quality parenting. But, given the data of this gene variant, it really means that 80% of our children are not vastly effected by the quality of parenting they receive. And, that only some children, about 20%, can be vastly affected by the quality (or lack thereof) of parenting they receive.
So, unless you know which variant your child posseses, you really don’t know if you an influence or the truly great effector.
May you be of great influence, at the very least.
Would knowing this make parents more apathetic or more involved?
Marie recently posted..Prelude to Day in a Burka
I added an addendum, Marie.
Thanks for letting me know I did not explain the concept well enough.
Roy
Wow. Is there some way to tell about the gene in terms of the child’s behavior? This is a very interesting study. And what does better parenting after one is 20 do to adult children?
Thanks for an interesting post, Roy.
Ann recently posted..Great Teams are High-Performance
Ann:
The gene test is available. For years, the studies revolved around children with problems, children who had neglectful or dispassionate parents. This was the first foray to examine the opposite kind of parenting.
Roy
Makes it difficult sometimes – is this where down the track planned births for certain genes will gain popularity and become the norm not the exception.
Roberta recently posted..Is filling the Vacuum getting you stuck?
I am not sure we have a test for this gene for the fetus (thankfully), Roberta…
Roy-
This is great data. “80% of our children are not vastly effected by the quality of parenting they receive”. Children are really resilient except for those 20% with the predisposed gene.
Jane recently posted..Ultimate Facebook Challenge Extended and Re-opened for 72 Hours
Glad you liked it, Jane.
And, I’m thrilled you dropped by. Please come back soon!
Roy
I’m glad you added the addendum, Roy. Especially if someone pulls only the one sentence, as Jane did above, it could be used by some parents to vacate responsibility for taking on their role at the level of responsibility each child deserves no matter what their gene pool. Parenting makes all the difference in the world in so many areas, as you know and highlighted in your second post on this topic. Parenting is such an important subject!
Tambre Leighn/coaching by tambre recently posted..Desire & Motivation ~ Keys to Recovery
Thanks for your comments, Tambre!
Actually, this post may be of more use in a different light. Parents are not responsible for the happiness or unhappiness of their children- for the most part.
Roy
Really interesting study you are sharing here Roy. Never heard about this and only think that I have been a good parent to our son. I am pretty sure he is a good kid, with a warm personality, intelligent and other than doing just stupid teen stuff, I think he has turned into a wonderful adult.
Lynn Brown recently posted..Daily Vitamins for Social Media Marketing Entrepreneurs
Lynn:
I found this study fascinating. And, what I think it really teaches us is that in 80% of the cases, we can’t make our child happy or unhappy. We can always (100%) influence them, hopefully letting them see the best things in life (not toys, but attitudes and beliefs).
And, for 20% of the kids- the ones who can be imprinted- then we need to make sure they never had neglectful or hurtful parents.
Roy
Hi Roy,
I just posted the opposite post (childhood stress and its effect on relationships in adulthood). Your post is very interesting. I love these gene and mental health studies. Here is one I reviewed on optimism: http://www.stressandhealthonline.com/blog/a-link-between-a-gene-and-mental-health-the-role-of-the-oxtr-gene/
Kristen recently posted..Childhood Stress Affects Relationships in Adulthood
Not quite the opposite, Kristen. But, interesting nonetheless.
I read your post and rendered my comments.
it’s a pleasure to meet you.
Roy
How about a T-shirt with just 5-HTTLPR written on it? That would be a conversation starter.
David Leonhardt recently posted..2011 Social Media Fail of the Year
David-
Absolutely correct. (It’s the same principle behind our corporate name…)
Roy
I don’t know if I would want to know this information. I believe that all children have the right to being subjected to good parenting and that is the kind of parenting that I will practice, when the time comes. In my several years of practicing social work, it was my experience that almost ALL children are reactionary and they all are sculpted by the kind of parenting they receive. That said, I have no idea whether or not they had the 5-HTTLPR gene variant.
Lauren Huston recently posted..Professional vs. Personal Use of Social Media
Lauren:
I agree with you. But, this does serve to let parents and their friends know that they should neither take full credit for very happy children nor full blame for children that seem maladjusted.
There is NO excuse to not provide your children the best chances to succeed. YOU elected to have them (or acquiesced). Either way, they rely upon us for sound foundations.
Roy
Technically I should have read this first and then the next post. But yes, this provides a whole new angle…. here’s hoping that parents try their best to impart the best to their children! That’s it!
Hajra recently posted..What are you looking for?
Hi Roy A Ackerman Phd Ea,
Thanks you for your post, I’ve heard a few people say stuff about parents.
How parents aren’t paying enough attention to their children, parents aren’t spending enough time with their children, parents aren’t parenting their children, and how parents are relying on the government and schools to parent their children.
But I’ve never really noticed it much. Then again, I’m oblivious to people.
Cheerio
Interesting concepts, there!
thanks for visiting.
Roy