Abstract
Adolescence is a time of increased emotionality and major changes in emotion regulation often elicited in autonomy-relevant situations. Both genetic as well as social factors may lead to inter-individual differences in emotional processes in adolescence. We investigated whether both 5-HTTLPR and attachment security influence adolescents’ observed emotionality, emotional dysregulation, and their aggressive hostile autonomy while interacting with their mothers. Eighty-eight adolescents at age 12 were observed in interaction with their mothers during a standardized, emotion eliciting computer game task. They were genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR, a repeat polymorphism in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene. Concurrent attachment quality was assessed by the Late Childhood Attachment Interview (LCAI). Results revealed a significant gene × attachment effect showing that ss/sl carriers of 5-HTTLPR show increased emotional dysregulation and aggressive hostile autonomy towards their mothers. The results of the study suggest that secure attachment in adolescence moderates the genetically based higher tendency for emotional dysregulation and aggressive reactions to restrictions of autonomy during emotional social interactions with their mothers.
Highlights
Adolescence, Autonomy, and EmotionalityAdolescence is characterized by increased emotionality and daily mood fluctuations especially in early adolescence (Larson et al, 2002; Maciejewski et al, 2015)
The frequencies of the distribution of short and long allele variations of the 5-HTTLPR in the complete adolescent sample were 42% and 58%, respectively, which are comparable to the European population (Gelernter et al, 1997)
The 5-HTTLPR genotype distribution was in the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (χ2 (2, N = 96) = 0.96, ns)
Summary
Adolescence is characterized by increased emotionality and daily mood fluctuations especially in early adolescence (Larson et al, 2002; Maciejewski et al, 2015). This may be due to hormonal changes around puberty, brain development, cognitive, and social changes and stressors (Laursen, 1995; Forbes and Dahl, 2010; Somerville et al, 2010). Especially by parents, become major triggers (Laursen, 1995; Oudekerk et al, 2015) for impulsive anger, aggressive quarrel or sadness that affects psychophysiological regulation during adolescent-parent interactions (Cook et al, 2015). Adolescents experience intense negative emotions when they are confronted with goal blocking in this domain
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
