IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v70y2010i9p1277-1284.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Genotype-environment interaction and sociology: Contributions and complexities

Author

Listed:
  • Seabrook, Jamie A.
  • Avison, William R.

Abstract

Genotype-environment interaction (GxE) refers to situations in which genetic effects connected to a phenotype are dependent upon variability in the environment, or when genes modify an organism's sensitivity to particular environmental features. Using a typology suggested in the GxE literature, we provide an overview of recent papers that show how social context can trigger a genetic vulnerability, compensate for a genetic vulnerability, control behaviors for which a genetic vulnerability exists, and improve adaptation via proximal causes. We argue that to improve their understanding of social structure, sociologists can take advantage of research in behavior genetics by assessing the impact of within-group variance of various health outcomes and complex human behaviors that are explainable by genotype, environment and their interaction. Insights from life course sociology can aid in ensuring that the dynamic nature of the environment in GxE has been accounted for. Identification of an appropriate entry point for sociologists interested in GxE research could begin with the choice of an environmental feature of interest, a genetic factor of interest, and/or behavior of interest. Optimizing measurement in order to capture the complexity of GxE is critical. Examining the interaction between poorly measured environmental factors and well measured genetic variables will overestimate the effects of genetic variables while underestimating the effect of environmental influences, thereby distorting the interaction between genotype and environment. Although the expense of collecting environmental data is very high, reliable and precise measurement of an environmental pathogen enhances a study's statistical power.

Suggested Citation

  • Seabrook, Jamie A. & Avison, William R., 2010. "Genotype-environment interaction and sociology: Contributions and complexities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(9), pages 1277-1284, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:70:y:2010:i:9:p:1277-1284
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(10)00087-0
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lippman, A., 1992. "Led (astray) by genetic maps: The cartography of the human genome and health care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 1469-1476, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lei, Man-Kit & Beach, Steven R.H. & Simons, Ronald L. & Philibert, Robert A., 2015. "Neighborhood crime and depressive symptoms among African American women: Genetic moderation and epigenetic mediation of effects," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 120-128.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Green, Sara & Carusi, Annamaria & Hoeyer, Klaus, 2022. "Plastic diagnostics: The remaking of disease and evidence in personalized medicine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    2. Faure, Marlyn C. & Matshabane, Olivia P. & Marshall, Patricia & Appelbaum, Paul S. & Stein, Dan J. & Engel, Mark E. & de Vries, Jantina, 2019. "Does genetics matter for disease-related stigma? The impact of genetic attribution on stigma associated with rheumatic heart disease in the Western Cape, South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    3. Vincenzo Pavone & Flor Arias, 2010. "Pre-Implantation Genetic Testing in Spain: beyond the geneticization thesis," Working Papers 1012, Instituto de Políticas y Bienes Públicos (IPP), CSIC.
    4. Vailly, Joëlle, 2006. "Genetic screening as a technique of government: The case of neonatal screening for cystic fibrosis in France," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(12), pages 3092-3101, December.
    5. Arribas-Ayllon, Michael, 2016. "After geneticization," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 132-139.
    6. Schnittker, Jason, 2008. "An uncertain revolution: Why the rise of a genetic model of mental illness has not increased tolerance," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(9), pages 1370-1381, November.
    7. Easter, Michele M., 2012. "“Not all my fault”: Genetics, stigma, and personal responsibility for women with eating disorders," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(8), pages 1408-1416.
    8. Matthew W. Hughey & Devon R. Goss, 2015. "A Level Playing Field? Media Constructions of Athletics, Genetics, and Race," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 661(1), pages 182-211, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:70:y:2010:i:9:p:1277-1284. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.