Childhood sexual abuse and impulsive personality traits: Mixed evidence for moderation by DRD4 genotype

Abstract

This project examines associations between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and two dimensions of impulsivity (sensation seeking and premeditation), and tests whether CSA-personality associations are moderated by the DRD4 exon III VNTR polymorphism. Sample 1 is from a longitudinal study of university students measured at 10 waves over ages 18–24years (n=500). Sample 2 is from a national sample of young adult sibling pairs, ages 18–24, from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n=2559). In both samples, CSA was associated with elevated sensation seeking. In Sample 1, the association between CSA and sensation seeking was moderated by DRD4 genotype; this gene×environment interaction effect, however, was not replicated in Sample 2. Results suggest new avenues for research on CSA in the area of normal-range personality variation.