In the present article we have shown that genetic factors play a role in explaining why some adolescents report experiencing environments high in stressors while some report experiencing environments low in stressors. Further, we have shown that this heritability can be explained via the association between these environmental measures and behavioural and emotional problems. There are several ways in which we can interpret this finding. The first explanation is derived from the concepts of active and evocative rGE: whereby genetic factors operate in such a way as to make a person create or seek out an environment that ‘matches’ their genotype. In this interpretation our models would show that genetic factors involved in oppositionality, delinquency, physical aggression, and depression lead a person to increase their likelihood of experiencing negative life events, perhaps through excessive risk taking or an interpersonal style characterised by instability and conflict. This interpretation would also mean that genes involved in oppositionality, delinquency, depression and anxiety in children evoke negativity in their mother. Interestingly this would mean that only genes involved in oppositionality and delinquency evoke negativity in their father, perhaps indicating greater responsiveness to child internalising in mothers than fathers.
