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The influence of harshness and unpredictability on female sexual development: Addressing gene–environment interplay using a polygenic score

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2021

Gabriel L. Schlomer Open the ORCID record for Gabriel L. Schlomer [Opens in a new window]  and
Qi Sun
Gabriel L. Schlomer*
Affiliation:
Division of Educational Psychology and Methodology, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, NY, USA
Qi Sun
Affiliation:
Division of Educational Psychology and Methodology, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, NY, USA
*
Corresponding author. Gabriel L. Schlomer, email: Gschlomer@albany.edu
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Abstract

Recent developments in the application life history theory to human development indicate two fundamental dimension of the early environment – harshness and unpredictability – are key regulators life history strategies. Few studies have examined the manner with which these dimensions influence development, though age at menarche (AAM) and age at first sexual intercourse have been proposed as possible mechanisms among women. Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (N = 3,645) were used to examine direct and indirect effects of harshness (financial difficulties) and unpredictability (paternal transitions) on lifetime and past year sexual partners during adolescence and young adulthood. Genetic confounding was addressed using an AAM polygenic score (PGS) and potential gene-by-environment interactions were also evaluated using the PGS. Path model results showed only harshness was directly related to AAM. Harshness, unpredictability, and AAM were indirectly related to lifetime and past year sexual partner number via age at first sexual intercourse. The PGS did not account for any of the associations and no significant interactions were detected. Implications of these results for developmental models derived from life history theory are discussed as well as the role of PGSs in gene–environment interplay research.

Keywords

ALSPACGxElife history theorymenarchePGSsexual behavior
Type
Special Issue Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 34 , Issue 2: Special Issue: Dimensions of early experience and adaptive and maladaptive development , May 2022 , pp. 731 - 741
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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