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. 2015 Jul 17;10(7):e0133430.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133430. eCollection 2015.

Adolescent Loneliness and the Interaction between the Serotonin Transporter Gene (5-HTTLPR) and Parental Support: A Replication Study

Annette W M Spithoven  1 , Patricia Bijttebier  1 , Wim Van Den Noortgate  2 , Hilde Colpin  1 , Karine Verschueren  1 , Karla Van Leeuwen  3 , Stephan Claes  4 , Luc Goossens  1
Affiliations

Adolescent Loneliness and the Interaction between the Serotonin Transporter Gene (5-HTTLPR) and Parental Support: A Replication Study

Annette W M Spithoven et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Gene-by-environment interaction (GxEs) studies have gained popularity over the last decade, but the robustness of such observed interactions has been questioned. The current study contributes to this debate by replicating the only study on the interaction between the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and perceived parental support on adolescents' peer-related loneliness. A total of 1,111 adolescents (51% boys) with an average age of 13.70 years (SD = 0.93) participated and three annual waves of data were collected. At baseline, adolescent-reported parental support and peer-related loneliness were assessed and genetic information was collected. Assessment of peer-related loneliness was repeated at Waves 2 and 3. Using a cohort-sequential design, a Latent Growth Curve Model was estimated. Overall, a slight increase of loneliness over time was found. However, the development of loneliness over time was found to be different for boys and girls: girls' levels of loneliness increased over time, whereas boys' levels of loneliness decreased. Parental support was inversely related to baseline levels of loneliness, but unrelated to change of loneliness over time. We were unable to replicate the main effect of 5-HTTLPR or the 5-HTTLPR x Support interaction effect. In the Discussion, we examine the implications of our non-replication.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Loneliness scores over time for boys and girls separately.
On average, loneliness levels increased over time. When separated for gender, only girls’ levels of loneliness increased over time, whereas boys’ levels of loneliness decreased.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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