Prof.dr. M.J. Bakermans-Kranenburg (Marian) Faculty    Social and Behavioural Sciences E-mail    bakermans@fsw.leidenuniv.nl Phone    071 527 3798     Date of birth June 19, 1965 Place of birth Alphen aan den Rijn Study Child and family studies Ph.D. October 7, 1993 Date of accession September 1, 2007 Subject Genes and environment in the development of attachment and emotion regulation

Keywords

Attachment, intervention, gene-environment interaction, emotion regulation, meta-analysis

My inspiration

A growing number of studies confirm the moderating role of child temperamental reactivity or negative emotionality in the association between inadequate rearing and the development of externalising behaviour, for example in the context of family conflict or low quality day care. Complementary to this temperament-by-parenting interplay is the search for genetic vulnerabilities to negative rearing experiences that increase the risk for negative developmental outcomes. However, temperamental and genetic factors that are considered risk factors may actually be susceptibility factors reflecting heightening susceptibility to the effects of the environment in general, with adverse contexts fostering negative outcomes, and supportive contexts promoting positive outcomes. Together with my colleagues Marinus van IJzendoorn I examine the how temperamental and dopamine-related genetic factors affect susceptibility to the environment, for better and for worse. Intervention studies as experimental manipulations of the environment have their natural place in this line of research.