Nature versus nurture?
Kids who have a “gloomy” personality gene can end up with more sunnier outlooks when they are parented in a positive manner.
Even if children have an unhappy disposition caused by lower serotonin levels in the brain, positive parenting can help tremendously.
A new study on nearly 1,900 children aged 9 through 15 with a gene variation predisposing them to lower serotonin levels in the brain, which can lead to a more negative disposition, suggests the youths were more likely to maintain happier emotions when exposed to positive parenting.
“Genetically susceptible” children who experienced unsupportive parenting showed fewer positive emotions in the three independent experiments comprising the study.
Study author Benjamin L. Hankin, an associate professor of clinical child and developmental cognitive neuroscience psychology at the University of Denver, used a great analogy to describe it in simpler terms.
“A weed will grow anywhere,” Hankin said, “but if you’re an orchid, you’re probably more reactive and responsive to your environment. If you have a really negative, punishing environment, you’re probably not going to grow up to be a beautiful orchid.”
Most people have no idea whether their genes predispose their children toward lower brain serotonin levels, but children who seem chronically moody are likely to be affected.
Regardless of genetics, every child can benefit from warm, supportive and positive parenting.
The study is published online Oct. 4 in the journal Translational Psychiatry.
