To investigate the combined effect of an exon III variable number tandem repeat in the dopamine receptor gene (DRD4) and insecure attachment style on risk for tobacco, cannabis and alcohol use problems in young adulthood.
This study examined associations between the DRD4 gene 48bp VNTR polymorphism and comorbidity between marijuana use frequency and depression in a diverse, non-clinical adolescent sample (n=1882; ages 14 to 18) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health).
To investigate the combined effect of an exon III variable number tandem repeat in the dopamine receptor gene (DRD4) and insecure attachment style on risk for tobacco, cannabis and alcohol use problems in young adulthood.
This study shows that carriers of the DRD4 7-repeat allele are disproportionally affected by the negative and positive effects of parental monitoring such that carriers of the DRD4 7-repeat allele, as compared to non-carriers, are more likely to use cannabis when levels of parental monitoring are low, and less likely to use cannabis when parental monitoring levels are high.
This study shows that carriers of the DRD4 7-repeat allele are disproportionally affected by the negative and positive effects of parental monitoring such that carriers of the DRD4 7-repeat allele, as compared to non-carriers, are more likely to use cannabis when levels of parental monitoring are low, and less likely to use cannabis when parental monitoring levels are high.