The Interaction Effect of Parental Rejection and Oxytocin Receptor Gene Polymorphism on Depression: A Cross-Cultural Study in Non-Clinical Samples

Vincenzo Paolo Senese, Kazuyuki Shinohara, Paola Venuti, Marc H. Bornstein, Vittorio Rosanio, Carla Nasti, Michelle Jin-Yee Neoh, Marzia Maresca and Gianluca Esposito
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Vincenzo Paolo Senese: Psychometric Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Kazuyuki Shinohara: Department of Neurobiology and Behavior Unit of Basic Medical Sciences Course of Medical and Dental Sciences, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki 852-8042, Japan
Paola Venuti: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, 38100 Trento, Italy
Marc H. Bornstein: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20810, USA
Vittorio Rosanio: Psychometric Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Carla Nasti: Psychometric Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Michelle Jin-Yee Neoh: Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637511, Singapore
Marzia Maresca: Institute of Relational and Family Psychology and Psychotherapy (ISPPREF), 80127 Napoli, Italy
Gianluca Esposito: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, 38100 Trento, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: Parental rejection has been consistently empirically implicated in a wide array of developmental, behavioural and psychological problems worldwide. However, the interaction effect between parental rejection in childhood and the oxytocin receptor genotype on psychological adjustment has yet to be investigated. The present study aimed to investigate gene–environment interaction effects between parental rejection (maternal and paternal) and oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene polymorphisms (rs53576 and rs2254298) on depressive symptoms in adults in different cultural contexts. Adults from Italy and Japan ( N = 133, age = 18–27 years, females = 68) were preliminarily genotyped and then completed the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire for mothers and fathers and the Beck Depression Inventory. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that paternal rejection was related to self-reported depression and that the effect of parental rejection was moderated by OXTR gene polymorphisms and nationality. Among Italians, OXTR rs2254298 A-carriers showed resilience to negative early parental care, whereas among Japanese, OXTR rs53576 non-A-carriers showed resistance to negative early paternal care. These findings align with expected relations between perceived acceptance–rejection and an individual’s psychological adjustment, as proposed by interpersonal acceptance–rejection theory, and indicate the need for future studies adopting a multicultural and multilevel approach to better understand how the effects of parental rejection extend into adulthood.

Keywords: depression; gene–environment interactions; oxytocin; interpersonal acceptance–rejection theory; psychological adjustment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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