related to the subsequent development of externalizing behavior, but only in the context of lower parental control (Bates et al. 1998). Further, Molina and colleagues have found that density of family history of alcoholism is related to the development of behavior problems in children, but only in the context of poor parenting (a measure that included reduced parental monitoring) (Molina et al. 2010). These studies both find that associations between predisposing factors (both known to at least partially reflect genetic influ-ence) and child behavior problems are stronger under conditions of lower parental monitoring, paralleling the finding from twin studies that genetic influences were stronger under conditions of lower parental monitoring. They provide a compelling rationale to study parental monitoring as a moderator of the effects associated with specific candidate genes involved in substance use and externalizing behavior, an effect which has now been demonstrated with respect to GABRA2 (Dick et al. 2009).
