Effective translation of findings from naturalistic experimental studies such as the adoption design, the siblings reared apart design, and the IVF design to prevention research depends in large part on the alignment of the conceptualization and measurement of the environment across the design types. For example, in the adoption study finding presented earlier (Leve et al., 2009), the environment was operationalized as parental structure. This is akin to Baumrind’s control dimension that is a component of authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles (Baumrind, 1971). However, this operationalization does not include the warmth dimension of Baumrind’s parenting typology, and as such, qualities related to maternal emotional tone are unmeasured, and a distinction between authoritative and authoritarian parenting is not possible. In addition to structure, parenting qualities such as warmth, positive support, and sensitivity are important for healthy child development and have been shown to be key behavioral targets in prevention studies (e.g., Lunkenheimer et al, 2008). The lack of harmonization between the conceptualization and measurement of parenting in a qualitative genetic study and that in a prevention study can pose a barrier to effective translation.
