Psychological Development and Education ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (4): 518-527.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2025.04.08

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Combined Effects of Maternal Rejection and Dopaminergic Polygenes on Externalizing Behavior in Preschoolers: A Proximal Mechanism of Effortful Control

XING Shufen1, BAI Rong2, LIU Xia2, LI Sen3   

  1. 1. School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048;
    2. Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875;
    3. School of Education, Hebei University, Hebei 071002
  • Published:2025-07-12

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Abstract: Two hundred and eighty-five preschool children and their mothers were recruited as participants to examine the effect and mechanism of maternal rejection and dopaminergic genes on children’s externalizing behavior. Mothers reported their rejective parenting behaviors, children’s externalizing behaviors, and effortful control. Children’s dopaminergic genes were typed by collecting saliva. After controlling children’s sex, age, and parental education levels, results showed that: (1) Maternal rejection was a significant predictor of children’s externalizing behavior; (2) There was a significant interaction between maternal rejection and dopamine polygenic cumulative scores on children’s externalizing behaviors. The interaction was in line with the “diathesis-stress model”. That is, compared with children with higher polygenic cumulative scores, children with lower scores showed more externalizing behaviors when experienced maternal rejection; (3) The mediating role of children’s effortful control was significant in the above interaction. These findings provide support for theoretical development and intervention research in the field.

Key words: maternal rejection, dopamine polygenic cumulative score, effortful control, externalizing behavior, preschooler

CLC Number: 

  • B844
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