Although we initially selected GABRA2 for the present analyses in view of its previous associations with externalizing behavior and externalizing disorders (Dick, Bierut, et al., 2006; Edenberg et al., 2004), more recent findings from the model organism (mouse) literature indicate that GABRA2 is also involved in a network of genes that regulate the stress response (Dai et al., 2009). This regulation of the biological cascade associated with stress may explain why the parental externalizing → life events → adolescent externalizing pathway is more robust for those with certain GABRA2 genotypes compared to others.
