The importance of incorporating a developmental perspective into studies of gene by intervention interaction, in order to test whether gene by intervention effects vary across time, is highlighted by the work of Russell et al.(2017). The main effect of genes has been shown to vary across time; for example, genes involved in alcohol use outcomes appear to become more important in emerging adulthood when regulations surrounding access to alcohol are relaxed(Dick et al., 2006; Guo, Wilhelmsen, & Hamilton, 2007; Irons, Iacono, Oetting, & McGue, 2012). Further, the importance of gene-environment interaction effects has been shown to vary across time(Dick et al., 2007), with environments varying in importance at different developmental stages. Accordingly, it follows that gene-by-intervention effects may also be time-sensitive.
