Albert et al. (2015a, 2015b) recently evaluated whether glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1) gene polymorphisms moderated the impact of the Fast Track intervention on adult externalizing psychopathology. Specifically, they found that EAs carrying a variant of NR3C1 (rs10482672) in intervention group had the lowest risk for externalizing psychopathology including substance abuse and antisocial behavior at age 25, the effects of which were partly mediated by childhood externalizing psychopathology and adolescent problem behavior (Albert et al. 2015a, 2015b). Glucocorticoid receptor proteins coded by NR3C1 genes are involved in inhibitory signaling processes of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a core biological mechanism underlying human response to environmental stress. More specifically, the hypothalamus initiates a cascade of neuroendocrine signaling that mobilizes the body’s resources to resolve perceived threat, with one response component being the release of the glucocorticoid hormone cortisol, which is involved crucially in the negative feedback loop that inhibits further hormone secretion and HPA axis activity to return homeostasis (DeRijk et al. 2008). Polymorphisms in NR3C1 have been associated with glucocorticoid resistance and reduced HPA axis negative feedback (DeRijk et al. 2008), as well
