An alternative explanation to that of active/evocative rGE is based on the notion of passive rGE. In this scenario genetic factors do not operate directly on the environment but are associated with them indirectly—for example, where individuals with a particular genotype are more likely than others to inhabit a given environment. An example from the current study would be where adolescents genetically predisposed towards depression are more likely to have parents that are prone to negativity because genes involved in parental negativity in parents are involved in adolescent depression in children. In this case the phenotypic association is the spurious result of a shared aetiology.
