Vrijen Charlotte, Nolte Ilja M, Oldehinkel Albertine J, Veenstra René, Kretschmer Tina
University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands.
Dev Psychopathol. 2023 Apr 18:1-12. doi: 10.1017/S0954579423000445.
Bullying research has shown repeatedly that victims of bullying have an increased risk for later internalizing problems and bullies have an increased risk for later externalizing problems. Bullying involvement is often, either explicitly or implicitly, presented as part of a causal mechanism for maladjustment. However, genetic vulnerability may confound the reported associations. This study examined to what extent genetic vulnerability can account for the reported associations between bullying involvement (age 11-14) and later internalizing and externalizing problems (age 16), using data from the TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey ( = 1604). Because polygenic scores capture only a fraction of the total genetic effect, they were extrapolated to the size of single-nucleotide polymorphism and twin heritability estimates to examine genetic confounding while controlling for (hypothetical) polygenic scores that fully capture the genetic effect. Genetic vulnerability for internalizing and externalizing problems confounded, respectively, the association between bullying victimization and later internalizing problems, and the association between bullying perpetration and later externalizing problems. As such, this study showcases a method that can be broadly used to assess the magnitude of genetic confounding. Caution is, however, warranted in interpreting particularly the less straightforward extrapolations of polygenic scores to the size of twin heritability estimates.
欺凌研究反复表明，受欺凌的受害者日后出现内化问题的风险增加，欺凌者日后出现外化问题的风险增加。参与欺凌行为通常被明确或隐含地视为适应不良因果机制的一部分。然而，基因易感性可能会混淆所报告的关联。本研究利用青少年个体生活追踪调查（N = 1604）的数据，考察了基因易感性在多大程度上可以解释所报告的欺凌行为参与（11 - 14岁）与日后内化和外化问题（16岁）之间的关联。由于多基因分数仅捕获了总遗传效应的一部分，因此将它们外推到单核苷酸多态性和双胞胎遗传率估计的大小，以在控制（假设的）完全捕获遗传效应的多基因分数的同时检查基因混杂情况。内化和外化问题的基因易感性分别混淆了受欺凌与日后内化问题之间的关联，以及欺凌行为实施与日后外化问题之间的关联。因此，本研究展示了一种可广泛用于评估基因混杂程度的方法。然而，在解释特别是将多基因分数不太直接地外推到双胞胎遗传率估计大小时，需要谨慎。
