The Relationship Code: Deciphering Genetic and Social Influences on Adolescent Development

By Jenae M. Neiderhiser

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674011260
• ISBN13: 9780674011267
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 560 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.7" x 8.9"