We did not detect a main effect of genotype on externalizing, nor is there evidence of gene-environment correlation. This demonstrates that in the absence of environmental risk, males with a “risky” genotype are no more likely to exhibit problematic behavior than are their counterparts carrying a high-activity allele. Furthermore, they are not more likely to experience physical discipline through passive, active, or evocative means related to their genotype. In other words, children’s genotypes are not associated with their rearing environment, which is in part a product of their parents’ heritable characteristics (via passive gene-environment correlation); their genotype does not elicit an environmental response such as harsher discipline (evocative correlation); and their genotype does not influence an active selection of environmental circumstances (via active correlation).
