Mediating Analysis Approaches: Trends and Implications for Advanced Applications in HRD Research

The Problem In HRD research, while mediation research is receiving more attention, less is known about to what extent it has been used and what methodological approaches have been adopted by HRD researchers. Also, several critical methodological issues such as the common method variance (CMV) are often indicated by researchers who utilize mediational analysis in their studies. These issues have been known to hinder sound theory-building efforts among HRD researchers.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Implicit Essentialism: Genetic Concepts Are Implicitly Associated with Fate Concepts

Genetic essentialism is the tendency for people to think in more essentialist ways upon encountering genetic concepts. The current studies assessed whether genetic essentialist biases would also be evident at the automatic level. In two studies, using different versions of the Implicit Association Test [1], we found that participants were faster to categorize when genes and fate were linked, compared to when these two concepts were kept separate and opposing. In addition to the wealth of past findings of genetic essentialism with explicit and deliberative measures, these biases appear to be also evident with implicit measure

Adolescent Loneliness and Social Skills:Agreement and Discrepancies Between Self-, Meta-, and Peer-Evaluations

Contains fulltext : 160961.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Lonely adolescents report that they have poor social skills, but it is unknown whether this is due to an accurate perception of a social skills deficit, or a biased negative perception. This is an important distinction, as actual social skills deficits require different treatments than biased negative perceptions. In this study, we compared self-reported social skills evaluations with peer-reported social skills and meta-evaluations of social skills (i.e., adolescents' perceptions of how they believe their classmates evaluate them). Based on the social skills view, we expected negative relations between loneliness and these three forms of social skills evaluations. Based on the bias view, we expected lonely adolescents to have more negative self- and meta-evaluations compared to peer-evaluations of social skills. Participants were 1342 adolescents (48.64 % male, M age = 13.95, SD = .54). All classmates rated each other in a round-robin design to obtain peer-evaluations. Self- and meta-evaluations were obtained using self-reports. Data were analyzed using polynomial regression analyses and response surface modeling. The results indicated that, when self-, peer- and meta-evaluations were similar, a greater sense of loneliness was related to poorer social skills. Loneliness was also related to larger discrepancies between self- and peer-evaluations of loneliness, but not related to the direction of these discrepancies. Thus, for some lonely adolescents, loneliness may be related to an actual social skills deficit, whereas for others a biased negative perception of one's own social skills or a mismatch with the environment may be related to their loneliness. This implies that different mechanisms may underlie loneliness, which has implications for interventions.11 p

Monoamine related functional gene variants and relationships to monoamine metabolite concentrations in CSF of healthy volunteers

BACKGROUND: Concentrations of monoamine metabolites in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have been used extensively as indirect estimates of monoamine turnover in the brain. CSF monoamine metabolite concentrations are partly determined by genetic influences. METHODS: We investigated possible relationships between DNA polymorphisms in the serotonin 2C receptor (HTR2C), the serotonin 3A receptor (HTR3A), the dopamine D(4 )receptor (DRD4), and the dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH) genes and CSF concentrations of 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) in healthy volunteers (n = 90). RESULTS: The HTR3A 178 C/T variant was associated with 5-HIAA levels (p = 0.02). The DBH-1021 heterozygote genotype was associated with 5-HIAA (p = 0.0005) and HVA (p = 0.009) concentrations. Neither the HTR2C Cys23Ser variant, nor the DRD4 -521 C/T variant were significantly associated with any of the monoamine metabolites. CONCLUSIONS: The present results suggest that the HTR3A and DBH genes may participate in the regulation of dopamine and serotonin turnover rates in the central nervous system

Season of Birth and Dopamine Receptor Gene Associations with Impulsivity, Sensation Seeking and Reproductive Behaviors

Season of birth (SOB) has been associated with many physiological and psychological traits including novelty seeking and sensation seeking. Similar traits have been associated with genetic polymorphisms in the dopamine system. SOB and dopamine receptor genetic polymorphisms may independently and interactively influence similar behaviors through their common effects on the dopaminergic system.Based on a sample of 195 subjects, we examined whether SOB was associated with impulsivity, sensation seeking and reproductive behaviors. Additionally we examined potential interactions of dopamine receptor genes with SOB for the same set of traits. Phenotypes were evaluated using the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory, the Barratt Impulsivity Scale, the Eysenck Impulsivity Questionnaire, the Sensation Seeking Scale, and the Delay Discounting Task. Subjects were also asked about their age at first sex as well as their desired age at the birth of their first child. The dopamine gene polymorphisms examined were Dopamine Receptor D2 (DRD2) TaqI A and D4 (DRD4) 48 bp VNTR. Primary analyses included factorial genderxSOB ANOVAs or binary logistic regression models for each dependent trait. Secondary analysis extended the factorial models by also including DRD2 and DRD4 genotypes as independent variables. Winter-born males were more sensation seeking than non-winter born males. In factorial models including both genotype and season of birth as variables, two previously unobserved effects were discovered: (1) a SOBxDRD4 interaction effect on venturesomeness and (2) a DRD2xDRD4 interaction effect on sensation seeking.These results are consistent with past findings that SOB is related to sensation seeking. Additionally, these results provide tentative support for the hypothesis that SOB modifies the behavioral expression of dopaminergic genetic polymorphism. These findings suggest that SOB should be included in future studies of risky behaviors and behavioral genetic studies of the dopamine system

Trajectories of Early Adolescent Loneliness: Implications for Physical Health and Sleep

The current study examines the relationship between prolonged loneliness, physical health, and sleep among young adolescents (10–13 years; N = 1214; 53% girls). Loneliness was measured at 10, 12 and 13 years of age along with parent-reported health and sleep outcomes. Using growth mixture modelling, 6 distinct trajectories were identified: ‘low increasing to high loneliness’ (n = 23, 2%), ‘high reducing loneliness’ (n = 28, 3%), ‘medium stable loneliness’ (n = 60, 5%), ‘medium reducing loneliness’ (n = 185, 15%), ‘low increasing to medium loneliness’ (n = 165, 14%), and ‘low stable loneliness’ (n = 743, 61%). Further analyses found non-significant differences between the loneliness trajectories and parent-report health and sleep outcomes including visits to health professionals, perceived general health, and sleep quality. The current study offers an important contribution to the literature on loneliness and health. Results show that the relationship may not be evident in early adolescence when parent reports of children’s health are used. The current study highlights the importance of informant choice when reporting health. The implications of the findings for future empirical work are discussed

Multivariate Analysis of Dopaminergic Gene Variants as Risk Factors of Heroin Dependence

BACKGROUND: Heroin dependence is a debilitating psychiatric disorder with complex inheritance. Since the dopaminergic system has a key role in rewarding mechanism of the brain, which is directly or indirectly targeted by most drugs of abuse, we focus on the effects and interactions among dopaminergic gene variants. OBJECTIVE: To study the potential association between allelic variants of dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2), ANKK1 (ankyrin repeat and kinase domain containing 1), dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4), catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) and dopamine transporter (SLC6A3) genes and heroin dependence in Hungarian patients. METHODS: 303 heroin dependent subjects and 555 healthy controls were genotyped for 7 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs4680 of the COMT gene; rs1079597 and rs1800498 of the DRD2 gene; rs1800497 of the ANKK1 gene; rs1800955, rs936462 and rs747302 of the DRD4 gene. Four variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs) were also genotyped: 120 bp duplication and 48 bp VNTR in exon 3 of DRD4 and 40 bp VNTR and intron 8 VNTR of SLC6A3. We also perform a multivariate analysis of associations using Bayesian networks in Bayesian multilevel analysis (BN-BMLA). FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: In single marker analysis the TaqIA (rs1800497) and TaqIB (rs1079597) variants were associated with heroin dependence. Moreover, -521 C/T SNP (rs1800955) of the DRD4 gene showed nominal association with a possible protective effect of the C allele. After applying the Bonferroni correction TaqIB was still significant suggesting that the minor (A) allele of the TaqIB SNP is a risk component in the genetic background of heroin dependence. The findings of the additional multiple marker analysis are consistent with the results of the single marker analysis, but this method was able to reveal an indirect effect of a promoter polymorphism (rs936462) of the DRD4 gene and this effect is mediated through the -521 C/T (rs1800955) polymorphism in the promoter

Differential serotonin transport is linked to the rh5-HTTLPR in peripheral blood cells

The human serotonin transporter (SERT) gene possesses a 43-base pair (bp) insertion-deletion promoter polymorphism, the h5-HTTLPR. Genotype at this locus correlates with variation in anxiety-related personality traits and risk for major depressive disorder in many studies. Yet, the complex effects of the h5-HTTLPR, in combination with closely associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), continue to be debated. Moreover, although SERT is of high clinical significance, transporter function in vivo remains difficult to assess. Rhesus express a promoter polymorphism related to the h5-HTTLPR. The rh5-HTTLPR has been linked to differences in stress-related behavior and cognitive flexibility, although allelic variations in serotonin uptake have not been investigated. We studied the serotonin system as it relates to the 5-HTTLPR in rhesus peripheral blood cells. Sequencing of the rh5-HTTLPR revealed a 23-bp insertion, which is somewhat longer than originally reported. Consistent with previous reports, no SNPs in the rh5-HTTLPR and surrounding genomic regions were detected in the individuals studied. Reductions in serotonin uptake rates, cell surface SERT binding, and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid/serotonin ratios, but not SERT mRNA levels, were associated with the rh5-HTTLPR short allele. Thus, serotonin uptake rates are differentiable with respect to the 5-HTTLPR in an easily accessible native peripheral tissue. In light of these findings, we foresee that primary blood cells, in combination with high sensitivity functional measurements enabled by chronoamperometry, will be important for investigating alterations in serotonin uptake associated with genetic variability and antidepressant responsiveness in humans

The Oxytocin Receptor (OXTR) Contributes to Prosocial Fund Allocations in the Dictator Game and the Social Value Orientations Task

Background: Economic games observe social decision making in the laboratory that involves real money payoffs. Previously we have shown that allocation of funds in the Dictator Game (DG), a paradigm that illustrates costly altruistic behavior, is partially determined by promoter-region repeat region variants in the arginine vasopressin 1a receptor gene (AVPR1a). In the current investigation, the gene encoding the related oxytocin receptor (OXTR) was tested for association with the DG and a related paradigm, the Social Values Orientation (SVO) task. Methodology/Principal Findings: Association (101 male and 102 female students) using a robust-family based test between 15 single tagging SNPs (htSNPs) across the OXTR was demonstrated with both the DG and SVO. Three htSNPs across the gene region showed significant association with both of the two games. The most significant association was observed with rs1042778 (p = 0.001). Haplotype analysis also showed significant associations for both DG and SVO. Following permutation test adjustment, significance was observed for 2–5 locus haplotypes (p,0.05). A second sample of 98 female subjects was subsequently and independently recruited to play the dictator game and was genotyped for the three significant SNPs found in the first sample. The rs1042778 SNP was shown to be significant for the second sample as well (p = 0.004, Fisher’s exact test). Conclusions: The demonstration that genetic polymorphisms for the OXTR are associated with human prosocial decisio