Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-cphqk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-24T23:38:18.909Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Candidate Genes and Voter Turnout: Further Evidence on the Role of 5-HTTLPR

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2013

KRISTEN DIANE DEPPE ,
SCOTT F. STOLTENBERG ,
KEVIN B. SMITH  and
JOHN R. HIBBING
KRISTEN DIANE DEPPE*
Affiliation:
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
SCOTT F. STOLTENBERG*
Affiliation:
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
KEVIN B. SMITH*
Affiliation:
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
JOHN R. HIBBING*
Affiliation:
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
*
Kristen Diane Deppe is Graduate Student, Department of Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (kd.anderson@huskers.unl.edu).
Scott F. Stoltenberg is Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (sstoltenberg2@unl.edu).
Kevin B. Smith is Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (ksmith1@unl.edu).
John R. Hibbing is Foundation Regents Professor of Political Science and Psychology, Department of Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (jhibbing1@unl.edu).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Recently in this journal, Charney and English (2012) presented an extensive critique of candidate gene association studies using the widely noted Fowler and Dawes (2008) article on the relationship between self-reported voter turnout and both 5-HTT (serotonin transporter) and MAOA (monoamine oxidase A) as the driving example of their evaluation. Reanalysis of the Fowler and Dawes data by Charney and English, based on four critiques of candidate gene studies, led to the conclusion that neither polymorphism is related to variations in turnout. We add to this empirical debate by conducting an independent test using an original dataset containing 5-HTT data and two separate participation variables: self-reported participation and actual voting records. Our results confirm the original conclusions by Fowler and Dawes on 5-HTT, but also support several of the critiques suggested by Charney and English. We conclude by offering suggestions for the way candidate gene association studies should be interpreted by the discipline and processed by journal editors.

Type
FORUM: THE DEBATE OVER GENOPOLITICS
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 107 , Issue 2 , May 2013 , pp. 375 - 381
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bertolino, Alessandro, Arciero, Giampiero, Rubino, Valeria, Latorre, Valeria, De Candia, Mariapia, Mazzola, Viridiana, Blasi, Giuseppe, et al. 2005. “Variation of Human Amygdala Response during Threatening Stimuli as a Function of 5’HTTLPR Genotype and Personality Style.” Biological Psychiatry 57 (12): 1517–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buckholtz, Joshua W., and Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas. 2008. “MAOA and the Neurogenetic Architecture of Human Aggression.” Trends in Neurosciences 31 (3): 120–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carpenter, Siri. 2012. “Psychology's Bold Initiative.” Science 335 (6076): 1558–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caspi, Avshalom, Hariri, Ahmad R., Holmes, Andrew, Uher, Rudolf, and Moffitt, Terrie E.. 2010. “Genetic Sensitivity to the Environment: The Case of the Serotonin Transporter Gene and Its Implications for Studying Complex Diseases and Traits.” American Journal of Psychiatry 167 (5): 509–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caspi, Avshalom, McClay, Joseph, Moffitt, Terrie E., Mill, Jonathan, Martin, Judy, Craig, Ian W., Taylor, Alan, and Poulton, Richie. 2002. “Role of Genotype in the Cycle of Violence in Maltreated Children.” Science 297 (5582): 851–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caspi, Avshalom, Sugdon, Karen, Moffitt, Terrie E., Taylor, Alan, Craig, Ian W., Harrington, HonaLee, McClay, Joseph, et al. 2003. “Influence of Life Stress on Depression: Moderation by a Polymorphism in the 5-HTT Gene.” Science 301 (5631): 386–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Charney, Evan, and English, William. 2012. “Candidate Genes and Political Behavior.” American Political Science Review 106 (1): 1–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fowler, James H. 2006. “Altruism and Turnout.” Journal of Politics 68 (3): 674–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fowler, James H., and Dawes, Christopher T.. 2008. “Two Genes Predict Voter Turnout.” Journal of Politics 70 (3): 579–94.Google Scholar
Fowler, James H., and Kam, Cindy D.. 2007. “Beyond the Self: Social Identity, Altruism, and Political Participation.” Journal of Politics 69 (3): 813–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldstein, David B. 2009. “Common Genetic Variation and Human Traits.” New England Journal of Medicine 360 (17): 1696–98.Google Scholar
Hariri, Ahmad R., Drabant, Emily M., and Weinberger, Daniel R.. 2006. “Imaging Genetics: Perspectives from Studies of Genetically Driven Variation in Serotonin Function and Corticolimbic Affective Processing.” Biological Psychiatry 59 (10): 888–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hewitt, John K. 2012. “Editorial Policy on Candidate Gene Association and Candidate Gene-by-environment Interaction Studies of Complex Traits.” Behavior Genetics 42 (1): 1–2.Google Scholar
Hu, Xianzhang, Oroszi, Gabor, Chun, Jeffrey, Smith, Tom L., Goldman, David, and Schuckit, Marc A.. 2005. “An Expanded Evaluation of the Relationship of Four Alleles to the Level of Response to Alcohol and the Alcoholism Risk.” Alcohol Clinical Experimental Research 29 (1): 8–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jablonka, Eva, and Raz, Gal. 2009. “Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance: Prevalence, Mechanisms, and Implications for the Study of Heredity and Evolution.” Quarterly Review of Biology 84 (2): 131–76.Google Scholar
Little, Julian, Higgins, Julian P. T., Ioannidis, John P. A., Moher, David, Gagnon, France, von Elm, Erik, Khoury, Muin J., Cohen, Barbara, Davey-Smith, George, et al. 2009. “STrengthening the REporting of Genetic Association Studies (STREGA)—An Extension of the STROBE Statement.” European Journal of Clinical Investigation 39 (4): 247–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luco, Reini F., Pan, Qun, Tominaga, Kaoru, Blencowe, Benjamin J., Pereira-Smith, Olivia M., and Misteli, Tom. 2010. “Regulation of Alternative Splicing by Histone Modification.” Science 327 (5968): 996–1000.Google Scholar
Manzi, Jim. 2012. Uncontrolled. New York: Perseus.Google Scholar
Mefford, Heather C., Sharp, Andrew J., Baker, Carl, Itsara, Andy, Jiang, Zhaoshi, et al. 2008. “Recurrent Rearrangements of Chromosome 1q21.1 and Variable Pediatric Phenotypes.” New England Journal of Medicine 359 (16): 1685–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas, Buckholtz, Joshua W., Kolachana, Bhaskar, Hariri, Ahmad R., Pezawas, Lukas, Blasi, Giuseppe, Wabnitz, Ashley, et al. 2006. “Neural Mechanisms of Genetic Risk for Impulsivity and Violence in Humans.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 103 (16): 6269–74.Google Scholar
Poliseno, Laura, Salmena, Leonardo, Zhang, Jiangwen, Carver, Brett, Haveman, Willliam J., and Pandolfi, Pier P.. 2010. “A Coding-independent Function of Gene and Pseudogene mRNAs Regulates Tumor Biology.” Nature 465 (7301): 1033–38.Google Scholar
Settle, Jaime E., Dawes, Christopher T., Christakis, Nicholas A., and Fowler, James H.. 2010. “Friendships Moderate an Association between a Dopamine Gene Variant and Political Ideology.” Journal of Politics 72 (4): 1189–98.Google Scholar
Wendland, J. R., Martin, B.J., Kruse, M.R., Lesch, K-P, and Murphy, D.L.. 2006. “Simultaneous Genotyping of Four functional Loci of Human SLC6A4, with a Reappraisal of 5-HTTLPR and rs25531.” Molecular Psychiatry 11: 1–3.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.