These analyses extended previous findings which identified significant GxE associations between GABRA2 and characteristics of the social environment, but suggested that this gene confers risk for alcohol dependence only among men (Pescosolido et al. 2008). The present study was conducted to explore the relationships between alcohol dependence, gender, GABRA2 genotype, and everyday negative and positive experiences in social domains such as family, work, and community. A series of regressions examined main effects of gender, genotype, and negative and positive daily life events, as well as two-way and three-way interactions between (1) gender and genotype; (2) daily hassles/uplifts and genotype; and (3) gender, genotype, and daily hassles/uplifts. Significant main effects of gender and genotype were demonstrated, consistent with previous research using COGA data (Dick et al. 2006a, 2006b; Pescosolido et al. 2008). In addition, everyday hassles were associated with increased risk of alcohol dependence, while positive daily experiences were negatively related.
