| Serotonergic (5-HT) dysfunction has been implicated in both behavioral and affective dysregulation in clinically sampled adults. However, studies of these relationships in children/adolescents have produced inconsistent results; the relationship between 5-HT dysfunction and affective dysregulation has been largely unexamined; social and environmental variables have been found to complicate relationships between 5-HT and behavior, and no studies have examined 5-HT's potential role in the development of children of alcoholics who are at increased risk for later problems such as alcoholism and aggressiveness. In part, this study examined relationships among biology [whole blood 5-HT], environment [parental characteristics], and behavior [irritable impulsive aggressiveness and affective dysregulation]. The sample consisted of 50 families with 150 subjects having usable whole blood 5-HT samples, including 88 community-recruited adult alcoholic and control parents and their 45 male and 17 female offspring (M = 10.88 +/- 2.03 years). The study also examined effects of potential moderating variables (e.g., pubertal status) on relationships between 5-HT dysfunction and behavioral and affective dysregulation in one of the largest samples of children to date.;In adults, whole blood 5-HT was positively related to affective dysregulation [current depression] (N = 88, r = .32, p < .01). In children, both maternal violence and maternal alcohol consumption were positively related to child behavioral dysregulation [CBCL Attack scores] (R2 = .46, [F(4,41) = 8.75, p < .001]) and maternal alcohol consumption was positively related to child affective dysregulation [CBCL Anxious/Depressed scores] ( R2 = .53, [F(5,45) = 9.97, p < .001]). Neither relationships between whole blood 5-HT and either alcohol dependence or ASPD diagnosis in adults nor relationships between socioenvironmental characteristics and child whole blood 5-HT were supported.;Importantly, however, while few of the formal hypotheses were supported in the fun data sets, the primary hypothesized relationships did emerge within subsets. In low SES ASPD men, whole blood 5-HT was significantly and positively related to affective dysregulation [NEO-FFI Neuroticism scores] ( n = 12, r = .73, p < .01). In children, results indicated that whole blood 5-HT was significantly and negatively related to both behavioral (n = 14, r = .63, p = .02) and affective (n = 14, r = --.57, p = .04) dysregulation in pubescent, but not in prepubescent children (n = 48, r = --.06, p = .69; n = 48, r = --.15, p = .31, respectively). For the relationships between parental characteristics and child behavior, both main and interaction effects were found. For example, maternal characteristics were related to child behavior in prepubescent, but not pubescent children. Some results and interaction effects were discussed within a developmental framework. Clinical and research implications and study limitations were discussed. It was recommended that future research evaluate moderating variables such as pubertal status, gender, social competence, and SES. |
