Paternal indifference and neglect in early life and creativity: Exploring the moderating role of TPH1 genotype and offspring gender

PLoS One. 2020 Jul 29;15(7):e0221383. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221383. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

For further understanding the joint contribution of environment, heredity and gender to creativity, the present research examined the prospective impact of paternal indifference & neglect in early life, TPH1 rs623580, offspring gender, and the interaction effects thereof on creativity in five hundred and thirty-nine unrelated healthy Chinese undergraduate students. Paternal indifference & neglect in early life was assessed on the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and creativity on the Runco Creativity Assessment Battery (rCAB). Two primary findings emerged. Firstly, significant paternal indifference & neglect × TPH1 genotype interaction effects were identified in predicting all three dimensions of creativity (fluency, originality, and flexibility). Paternal indifference & neglect in early life negatively predicted fluency, originality, and flexibility when individuals carry A allele of TPH1 (rs623580). Secondly, there was a significant interaction effect of TPH1 genotype by offspring gender on flexibility. Only in males, individuals who carry A allele were linked with lower level of flexibility compared to TT homozygote individuals. No significant three-way interaction was found. In conclusion, the current findings provided the first preliminary evidence for the moderation effect of TPH1 on the relationship between parenting and creativity, and TPH1- offspring gender interaction on creativity; future studies are needed to validate these findings.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Alleles
  • Apathy*
  • Creativity*
  • Female
  • Genotype
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Parenting
  • Prospective Studies
  • Tryptophan Hydroxylase / genetics*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • TPH1 protein, human
  • Tryptophan Hydroxylase

Grants and funding

This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (31470999, 31771235), Key special project of national key research and development program of China (SQ2017YFB1400102) and Shandong Provincial Institute of Qilu Cultural Studies to JZ. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.