This report describes the design of and early results from the Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS; HD042608, NICHD, NIDA, and the Office of the Director, U.S. PHS), a prospective adoption study designed to examine specific features of family relationships that mediate or moderate the expression of genetic influences beginning in infancy. The investigation of G×E interaction effects and rGE can provide crucial information about malleable environmental processes that might reduce adverse genetic risk and child characteristics that buffer against environmental risk. Thus, a long-term goal of the EGDS is to systematically identify specific family processes and resiliency processes that could serve as malleable targets for future intervention studies.
