The last two decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of studies of the role of gene × environment interactions in the development and course of substance and mental disorders. More recently, prevention researchers have begun to extend the gene × environment interaction paradigm to include gene × intervention interactions. Brody and colleagues have been pioneers in this area (Brody et al., 2009; Beach et al., 2010; Brody, Chen et al., 2012). The promise of this line of research is two-fold. First, in line with the concept of precision medicine, the knowledge gleaned from gene × intervention interaction studies may serve to improve the efficiency in which limited prevention resources are allocated. More specifically, an individual’s genetic profile might be used to determine the extent they would benefit from a particular preventive intervention. A second promise that gene × intervention research holds out is the potential for informing theories of etiology of substance abuse and mental disorders as discussed below within the context of the findings of the present study.
