Psychological Development and Education ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (4): 550-560.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2025.04.11

Previous Articles    

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal Axis Multilocus Genetic Variation, Peer Victimization, and Adolescent Aggression: The Mediating Role of Empathy

SONG Xiaofan, CAO Yanmiao, LIN Xiaonan, JI Linqin, ZHANG Wenxin   

  1. School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014
  • Published:2025-07-12

PDF (PC)

Abstract: The extant studies interpreted the gene-environment interactions (G×E) as the different responsiveness or sensitivity to environmental influences between individuals with diverse genotypes and failed to reveal the underlying mechanisms through which the G×E manifest. The present study examined the interaction between HPA-axis multilocus genetic profile score (MGPS) and peer victimization on adolescent aggression, as well as the mediating role of cognitive and affective empathy. The study utilized longitudinal data from a community sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 1076, Mage = 13.31 years, 50.2% girls). The results showed that peer victimization increases adolescent aggressive behavior among those with lower HPA-axis MGPS. Further, the moderating effects were mediated by cognitive rather than affective empathy. For adolescents with lower HPA-axis MGPS, peer victimization was related to lower levels of cognitive empathy, which increased the risk for aggressive behavior. This study provides a new perspective for understanding the etiology of aggressive behavior, emphasizing the importance of exploring the gene-endophenotypes-behavior mechanism.

Key words: HPA-axis system genes, peer victimization, aggression, empathy, mediated moderation model

CLC Number: 

  • B844
Achenbach, T. M., & Resorta, L. A. (2001). Manual for ASEBA school-age forms and profiles (pp. 99-107). Burlington, VT:University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.
Ansary, N. S., McMahon, T. J., & Luthar, S. S. (2017). Trajectories of emotional-behavioral difficulty and academic competence:A 6-year, person-centered, prospective study of affluent suburban adolescents. Development and Psychopathology, 29(1), 215-234.
Belsky, J. (1997). Theory testing, effect-size evaluation, and differential susceptibility to rearing influence:The case of mothering and attachment. Child Development, 68(4), 598-600.
Bevilacqua, L., Carli, V., Sarchiapone, M., George, D. K., Goldman, D., Roy, A., & Enoch, M. A. (2012). Interaction between FKBP5 and childhood trauma and risk of aggressive behavior. Archives of General Psychiatry, 69(1), 62-70.
Binder, E. B. (2009). The role of FKBP5, a co-chaperone of the glucocorticoid receptor in the pathogenesis and therapy of affective and anxiety disorders.Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34, S186-S195.
Blair, R. J. R. (2013). The neurobiology of psychopathic traits in youths.Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14(11), 786-799.
Boele, S., Van der Graaff, J., De Wied, M., Van der Valk, I. E., Crocetti, E., & Branje, S. (2019). Linking parent-child and peer relationship quality to empathy in adolescence:A multilevel meta-analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(6), 1033-1055.
Boyce, W. T., & Ellis, B. J. (2005). Biological sensitivity to context:I. An evolutionary-developmental theory of the origins and functions of stress reactivity. Development and Psychopathology, 17(2), 271-301.
Buitelaar, J. K. (2013). The role of the HPA-axis in understanding psychopathology:Cause, consequence, mediator, or moderator?European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 22(7), 387-389.
Burnett Heyes, S., Jih, Y. R., Block, P., Hiu, C. F., Holmes, E. A., & Lau, J. Y. (2015). Relationship reciprocation modulates resource allocation in adolescent social networks:Developmental effects.Child Development, 86(5), 1489-1506.
Caspi, A., McClay, J., Moffitt, T. E., Mill, J., Martin, J., Craig, I. W., … Poulton, R. (2002). Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children.Science, 297, 851-854.
Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. E. (2006). Gene-environment interactions in psychiatry:Joining forces with neuroscience. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 7(7), 583-590.
Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (1996). Equifinality and multifinality in developmental psychopathology.Development and Psychopathology, 8(4), 597-600.
Davis, M. H. (1980). A multidimensional approach to individual differences in empathy. Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 10, 85.
De Waal, F. B., & Preston, S. D. (2017). Mammalian empathy:Behavioural manifestations and neural basis.Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 18(8), 498-509.
DeRijk, R. H., van Leeuwen, N., Klok, M. D., & Zitman, F. G. (2008). Corticosteroid receptor-gene variants:Modulators of the stress-response and implications for mental health.European Journal of Pharmacology, 585(2-3), 492-501.
Ehrenreich, S. E., Beron, K. J., & Underwood, M. K. (2016). Social and physical aggression trajectories from childhood through late adolescence:Predictors of psychosocial maladjustment at age 18. Developmental Psychology, 52(3), 457-462.
Estévez, E., Cañas, E., Estévez, J. F., & Povedano, A. (2020). Continuity and overlap of roles in victims and aggressors of bullying and cyberbullying in adolescence:A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17,(20), 7452. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17207452
Estévez, E., Jiménez, T., & Segura, L. (2019). Emotional intelligence and empathy in aggressors and victims of school violence.Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(3), 488-496.
Hanish, L. D., & Guerra, N. G. (2002). A longitudinal analysis of patterns of adjustment following peer victimization. Development and Psychopathology, 14(1), 69-89.
Harrewijn, A., Vidal-Ribas, P., Clore-Gronenborn, K., Jackson, S. M., Pisano, S., Pine, D. S., & Stringaris, A. (2020). Associations between brain activity and endogenous and exogenous cortisol-A systematic review. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 120, 104775. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104775
Hunnikin, L. M., Wells, A. E., Ash, D. P., & Van Goozen, S. H. (2020). The nature and extent of emotion recognition and empathy impairments in children showing disruptive behaviour referred into a crime prevention programme. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 363-371.
Ke, T., De Simoni, S., Barker, E., & Smith, P. (2022). The association between peer-victimization and structural and functional brain outcomes:A systematic review. JCPP Advances, 2(2), e12081. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12081
Kuhlman, K. R., Geiss, E. G., Vargas, I., & Lopez-Duran, N. (2018). HPA-axis activation as a key moderator of childhood trauma exposure and adolescent mental health. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 46(1), 149-157.
Kujawa, A., Dougherty, L. E. A., Durbin, C. E., Laptook, R., Torpey, D., & Klein, D. N. (2014). Emotion recognition in preschool children:Associations with maternal depression and early parenting. Development and Psychopathology, 26(1), 159-170.
McKenna, B. G., Hammen, C., & Brennan, P. A. (2021). HPA-axis multilocus genetic profile score moderates the association between maternal prenatal perceived stress and offspring depression in early adulthood. Development and Psychopathology, 33(1), 122-134.
Mendonça, M. S., Mangiavacchi, P. M., Mendes, A. V., Loureiro, S. R., Martín-Santos, R., Glória, L. S., … Rios, Á. F. (2023). DNA methylation in regulatory elements of the FKBP5 and NR3C1 gene in mother-child binomials with depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 331, 287-299.
Miller, P. A., & Eisenberg, N. (1988). The relation of empathy to aggressive and externalizing/antisocial behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 324-344.
Monroe, S. M., & Simons, A. D. (1991). Diathesis-stress theories in the context of life stress research:Implications for the depressive disorders. Psychological Bulletin, 110(3), 406-425.
Mynard, H., & Joseph, S. (2000). Development of the multidimensional peer-victimization scale.Aggressive Behavior:Official Journal of the International Society for Research on Aggression, 26(2), 169-178.
Naaijen, J., Mulder, L. M., Ilbegi, S., de Bruijn, S., Kleine-Deters, R., Dietrich, A., … Buitelaar, J. K. (2020). Specific cortical and subcortical alterations for reactive and proactive aggression in children andadolescents with disruptive behavior. Neuroimage:Clinical, 27, 102344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102344
Nowacki, J., Wingenfeld, K., Kaczmarczyk, M., Chae, W. R., Abu-Tir, I., Deuter, C. E., … Otte, C. (2020). Cognitive and emotional empathy after stimulation of brain mineralocorticoid and NMDA receptors in patients with major depression and healthy controls. Neuropsychopharmacology, 45(13), 2155-2161.
Pagliaccio, D., Luby, J. L., Bogdan, R., Agrawal, A., Gaffrey, M. S., Belden, A. C., … Barch, D. M. (2014). Stress-system genes and life stress predict cortisol levels and amygdala and hippocampal volumes in children. Neuropsychopharmacology, 39(5), 1245-1253.
Pagliaccio, D., Luby, J. L., Bogdan, R., Agrawal, A., Gaffrey, M. S., Belden, A. C., … Barch, D. M. (2015). HPA axis genetic variation, pubertal status, and sex interact to predict amygdala and hippocampus responses to negative emotional faces in school-age children. Neuroimage, 109, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.01.017
Pasalich, D. S., Dadds, M. R., & Hawes, D. J. (2014). Cognitive and affective empathy in children with conduct problems:Additive and interactive effects of callous-unemotional traits and autism spectrum disorders symptoms. Psychiatry Research, 219(3), 625-630.
Plieger, T., Felten, A., Splittgerber, H., Duke, É., & Reuter, M. (2018). The role ofgenetic variation in the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1) and mineralocorticoid receptor (NR3C2) in the association between cortisol response and cognition under acute stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 87, 173-180.
Pluess, M. (2015). Individual differences in environmental sensitivity. Child Development Perspectives, 9(3), 138-143.
Pluess, M., & Belsky, J. (2013). Vantage sensitivity:Individual differences in response to positive experiences.Psychological Bulletin, 139(4), 901-916.
Pluess, M., De Brito, S. A., Bartoli, A. J., McCrory, E., & Viding, E. (2022). Individual differences in sensitivity tothe early environment as a function of amygdala and hippocampus volumes:An exploratory analysis in 12-year-old boys. Development and Psychopathology, 34(3), 901-910.
Raine, A. (2018). Antisocial personality as a neurodevelopmental disorder.Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 14, 259-289.
Rose, A. J., & Rudolph, K. D. (2006). A review of sex differences in peer relationship processes:Potential trade-offs for the emotional and behavioral development of girls and boys. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1), 98-131.
Salmivalli, C., & Isaacs, J. (2005). Prospective relations among victimization, rejection, friendlessness, and children's self-and peer-perceptions. Child Development, 76(6), 1161-1171.
Sarapas, C., Cai, G., Bierer, L. M., Golier, J. A., Galea, S., Ising, M., … Yehuda, R. (2011). Genetic markers for PTSD risk and resilience among survivors of the World Trade Center attacks. Disease Markers, 30(2-3), 101-110.
Schriber, R. A., Anbari, Z., Robins, R. W., Conger, R. D., Hastings, P. D., & Guyer, A. E. (2017). Hippocampal volume as an amplifier of the effect of social context on adolescent depression. Clinical Psychological Science, 5(4), 632-649.
Sullivan, T. N., Farrell, A. D., & Kliewer, W. (2006). Peer victimization in early adolescence:Association between physical and relational victimization and drug use, aggression, and delinquent behaviors among urban middle school students. Development and Psychopathology, 18(1), 119-137.
Ttofi, M. M., Farrington, D. P., & Lösel, F. (2012). School bullying as a predictor of violence later in life:A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective longitudinal studies. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17(5), 405-418.
Uzefovsky, F., & Knafo-Noam, A. (2016). Empathy development throughout the life span. In Social Cognition (pp. 89-115). Routledge.
Van Goozen, S. H., Langley, K., & Hobson, C. W. (2022). Childhood antisocial behavior:A neurodevelopmental problem.Annual Review of Psychology, 73, 353-377.
Van Goozen, S. H., Langley, K., Northover, C., Hubble, K., Rubia, K., Schepman, K., … Thapar, A. (2016). Identifying mechanisms that underlie links between COMT genotype and aggression in male adolescents with ADHD. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57(4), 472-480.
Van Noorden, T. H., Haselager, G. J., Cillessen, A. H., & Bukowski, W. M. (2015). Empathy and involvement in bullying in children and adolescents:A systematic review. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(3), 637-657.
Van Zonneveld, L., Platje, E., de Sonneville, L., Van Goozen, S., & Swaab, H. (2017). Affective empathy, cognitive empathy and social attention in children at high risk of criminal behaviour. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 58(8), 913-921.
Zhang, W., Cao, C., Wang, M., Ji, L., & Cao, Y. (2016). Monoamine oxidase a (MAOA) and catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) gene polymorphisms interact with maternal parenting in association with adolescent reactive aggression but not proactive aggression:Evidence of differential susceptibility. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(4), 812-829.
颜志强, 苏彦捷. (2021). 认知共情和情绪共情的发展差异:元分析初探. 心理发展与教育, 37(1), 1-9.
周雅, 范方, 彭婷, 李媛媛, 龙可, 周洁莹, 梁颖欣. (2017). NR3C1基因多态性及单倍型、父母教养方式对青少年焦虑障碍的影响. 心理学报, 49(10), 1287-1301.
[1] YOU Zhiqi, GUO Yushun, ZHANG Lu, LI Xiaojun. The Relationship between Interparental Conflict and Prosocial Behavior in Adolescents: The Role of Interpersonal Trust and Empathy [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2025, 41(1): 51-59.
[2] LIN Danhua, FENG Shuhui, SHEN Zijiao, XIAO Jiale. The Relationship between Parent-child Communication and Peer Victimization among Rural-to-urban Migrant Children: Based on Latent Profile Analysis [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(6): 832-844.
[3] HUANG Qiang, HOU Jinqin, CHEN Zhiyan. A Study on Exploring Factors Related to Peer Victimization from a Home-school Cooperation Perspective:A Moderated Mediation Model [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(6): 845-852.
[4] YAN Zhiqiang, ZHOU Ke, ZENG Xiao, XU Hui, ZHU Xiaoqian, ZHANG Juan. The Relationship between Preschooler’s Executive Function and Aggressive Behavior: The Mediation Effect of Cognitive Empathy [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(6): 788-797.
[5] JI Linqin, ZOU Xiaohui, ZHANG Lulu, ZHANG Liang. The Relationship between Children and Adolescent's Bullying Behavior and Callous-unemotional Traits and Empathy: A Cross-lagged Analysis [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(4): 532-541.
[6] HU Yihao, XU Luyan, BIAN Xiaohua, ZHOU Ying, LIU Junsheng. Peer Victimization and Depression among Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Effects of Classroom Norm Salience for Aggression [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(4): 542-549.
[7] WANG Yue, XIONG Yuke, REN Ping, YANG Liu, MIAO Wei. Effects of Bully-victimization on Proactive and Reactive Aggression in Early Adolescence: The Role of Moral Disengagement and Gender [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(3): 410-418.
[8] GAO Ling, MENG Wenhui, LIU Jiedi, YANG Jiping, WANG Xingchao. Parental Phubbing and Adolescent’s Cyberbullying Perpetration: The Roles of Self-esteem and Basic Empathy [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(3): 439-448.
[9] WANG Hao, YU Guoliang. The Relation between Attachment Anxiety and Depression among College Students: The Sequential Mediation Effects of Relational Aggression and Relationship Quality in Dating Relationships [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2022, 38(6): 879-885.
[10] FU Xuewei, SUN Jianing, XIAO Jiale, WANG Haosen, LIN Danhua. The Effect of Parental Perceived Family Stress on Child Problem Behaviors: The Mediating Roles of Parental Psychological Aggression and Child Cortisol Response to Stress [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2022, 38(5): 635-647.
[11] LIN Shuwei, SUN Binghai, HUANG Jiaxin, XIAO Weilong, LI Weijian. The Effect of Empathy on Generalized Reciprocity: The Mediating Effect of Self-other Overlap [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2022, 38(4): 475-484.
[12] LIU Tiantian, LI Yan, LI Youjia, JIANG Xinmiao. Co-parenting and Preschool Children's Social Behavior: The Chain Mediating Effects of Parent-child Relationship and Sibling Relationship Quality [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2021, 37(5): 638-647.
[13] JI Linqin, ZHANG Meng, DONG Meihui, PAN Bin, ZHANG Wenxin. The Bidirectional Associations between Aggression and Peer Victimization from Late Childhood to Early Adolescence: A Cross-lagged Study [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2021, 37(5): 701-709.
[14] CHEN Hui, HE Ting, TANG Yuanqiong, TANG Yixin, LU Fengyong, LIN Xiuyun. The Associations and Pathways between Empathy and Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Problems [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2021, 37(3): 439-446.
[15] CHEN Zixun, FENG Yingxue, SONG Wenli, LIU Xia. The Relationship of Parent-child Separation, Peer Victimization and Depression in Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2021, 37(3): 429-438.
Viewed
Full text


Abstract

Cited
  Shared   
  Discussed   
No Suggested Reading articles found!
Copyright 2018 © Editorial office of Psychological Development and Education
Supported by Beijing Magtech Co.Ltd