Effects of an attachment-based intervention on daily cortisol moderated by dopamine receptor D4: a randomized control trial on 1- to 3-year-olds screened for externalizing behavior

Dev Psychopathol. 2008 Summer;20(3):805-20. doi: 10.1017/S0954579408000382.

Abstract

The effect of the Video-Feedback Intervention to Promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) on daily cortisol production was tested in a randomized controlled trial with 130 families with 1- to 3-year-old children screened for their relatively high levels of externalizing behavior. Six 1.5-hr intervention sessions focusing on maternal sensitivity and discipline were conducted with individual families at their homes. Children in the intervention group showed lower cortisol levels, with a moderating role of the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) VNTR exon III polymorphism. The VIPP-SD program proved to be effective in decreasing daily cortisol production in children with the DRD4 7-repeat allele, but not in children without the DRD4 7-repeat allele. Our findings indicate that children are differentially susceptible to intervention effects dependent on the presence of the 7-repeat DRD4 allele.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alleles
  • Arousal / physiology*
  • Behavior Therapy / methods*
  • Child Behavior Disorders / genetics
  • Child Behavior Disorders / psychology
  • Child Behavior Disorders / therapy*
  • Child, Preschool
  • Education / methods
  • Exons / genetics
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
  • Humans
  • Hydrocortisone / blood*
  • Infant
  • Internal-External Control*
  • Minisatellite Repeats
  • Mother-Child Relations
  • Object Attachment*
  • Polymorphism, Genetic / genetics
  • Receptors, Dopamine D4 / genetics*
  • Temperament / physiology
  • Video Recording

Substances

  • Receptors, Dopamine D4
  • Hydrocortisone