Association between the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) and adult unresolved attachment.
- 1 January 2009
- journal article
- Published by American Psychological Association (APA) in Developmental Psychology
- Vol. 45 (1), 64-76
- https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014026
Abstract
Research on antecedents of organized attachment has focused on the quality of caregiving received during childhood. In recent years, research has begun to examine the influence of genetic factors on quality of infant attachment. However, no published studies report on the association between specific genetic factors and adult attachment. This study examined the link between the 5-HTTLPR promoter polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene and adult unresolved attachment assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview. Genetic material and information on attachment-related loss or trauma were available for 86 participants. Multivariate regression analyses showed an association between the short 5-HTTLPR allele and increased risk for unresolved attachment. Temperament traits and psychological symptoms did not affect the association between 5-HTTLPR and unresolved attachment. The authors hypothesize that the increased susceptibility to unresolved attachment among carriers of the short allele of 5-HTTLPR is consistent with the role of serotonin in modulation of frontal-amygdala circuitry. The findings challenge current thinking by demonstrating significant genetic influences on a phenomenon previously thought to be largely environmentally driven.Funding Information
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (RO1 DA05821)
This publication has 71 references indexed in Scilit:
- A sibling adoption study of adult attachment: The influence of shared environment on attachment states of mindAttachment & Human Development, 2007
- Unresolved maternal attachment representations, disrupted maternal behavior and disorganized attachment in infancy: links to toddler behavior problemsJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2007
- Infant genotype may moderate sensitivity to maternal affective communications: Attachment disorganization, quality of care, and the DRD4 polymorphismSocial Neuroscience, 2007
- Modulation of emotion by cognition and cognition by emotionNeuroImage, 2007
- DRD4 7-repeat polymorphism moderates the association between maternal unresolved loss or trauma and infant disorganizationAttachment & Human Development, 2006
- Mental Representations of Attachment in Identical Female Twins with and without Conduct ProblemsChild Psychiatry and Human Development, 2006
- Examining the role of parental frightened/frightening subtypes in predicting disorganized attachment within a brief observational procedureDevelopment and Psychopathology, 2006
- Chapter IV. Maternal Frightened, Frightening, or Atypical Behavior and Disorganized Infant Attachment PatternsMonographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 1999
- Unresolved loss due to miscarriage: an addition to the Adult Attachment InterviewAttachment & Human Development, 1999
- Propensities towards absorption are related to lapses in the monitoring of reasoning or discourse during the Adult Attachment InterviewAttachment & Human Development, 1999