The Relationship Code

by Reiss, David; Neiderhiser, Jenae M.; Hetherington, E. Mavis; Plomin, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780674000544
• ISBN10: 0674000544
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-02-01
• Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr

Summary

The Relationship Code is the report of a longitudinal study, conducted over a ten-year period, of the influence of family relationships and genetic factors on competence and psychopathology in adolescent development. The sample for this landmark study included 720 pairs of same-sex adolescent siblings--including twins, half siblings, and genetically unrelated siblings--and their parents. Using a clear expressive style, David Reiss and his coinvestigators identify specific mechanisms that link genetic factors and the social environment in psychological development. They propose a striking hypothesis: family relationships are crucial to the expression of genetic influences on a broad array of complex behaviors in adolescents. Moreover, this role of family relationships may be very specific: some genetic factors are linked to mother-child relationships, others to father-child relations, some to relationship warmth, while others are linked to relationship conflict or control. The specificity of these links suggests that family relationships may constitute a code for translating genetic influences into the ontogeny of behaviors, a code every bit as important for behavior as DNA-RNA.

Author Biography

David Reiss is Vivian Gill Distinguished Research Professor at the George Washington University Medical Center.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Preface	xi
Reader's Guide	xvii
Introduction: Reconciling Social and Genetic Influences on Adolescent Development	1	(10)
PART 1 LOGICAL TOOLS FOR ANALYZING ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT	11	(134)
Relationships and Adolescent Development	13	(31)
Genetic Influences on Development	44	(25)
Genetic Analysis of Adolescent Development	69	(34)
Studying Adolescent Siblings and Their Families	103	(42)
PART 2 GENES AND RELATIONSHIPS: THESIS, ANTITHESIS, SYNTHESIS	145	(284)
A Theory of Adolescents' Shared and Nonshared Family Relationships	147	(21)
Major Findings on Adolescents' Family Relationships	168	(38)
Influences on Stability and Change in Adolescent Adjustment	206	(37)
Influences on Stability and Change in Adolescents' Families	243	(26)
Linking Family Relationships and Adolescent Development	269	(40)
Genetic Influences on Change in Family Relationships and Adolescent Development	309	(34)
The Relationship Code	343	(42)
Genetically Informed Portrayals of Adolescents and Their Families	385	(32)
Epilogue: The Family	417	(12)
Appendix A: Explanation of Methods for Data Presented in Chapters 8 through 13	429	(22)
Appendix B: Explanation of Results	451	(30)
Appendix C: Additional Genetic Analyses	481	(2)
Glossary	483	(6)
References	489	(22)
Index of Tables and Figures	511	(8)
General Index	519