A unique aspect of the sample in this study is that it comprised adolescents with both high (62%) and low risk to develop AUD (based on parental diagnosis). Thus, the variability in behavior and environmental exposure in this sample may facilitate the detection of these nuanced genetic influences. However, our results cannot be generalized to other populations with other type of risk (e.g., drug use) or no risk. Another important characteristic is the prospective nature of the study, where the gene–environment interaction predicted future externalizing behavior, thus establishing a temporal relation of the gene–environment interaction effect upon outcome.
