The current study found evidence that high levels of parent–child conflict exacerbate shared environmental influences on child CP, and, in doing so, effectively dampen the proportion of variance accounted for by genetic influences. Moreover, because the models we used control for gene–environment correlation confounds (i.e. rGE; non-random exposure to particular environmental experiences), the exacerbation of shared environmental influences on CP by high levels of conflict is likely to represent ‘true’ G × E. Such findings have several interrelated implications. First, they clearly suggest that G × E are not restricted to the diathesis–stress model of moderation, but can take other forms as well. In this case, results were more consistent with a bioecological G × E, which postulates that, in some cases, adverse environments may provide such a strong ‘social push’ for negative outcomes that the importance of genetic factors on individual differences is accordingly diminished. What might this mean in concrete terms? Our results suggest that children experiencing conflictive parenting are, on average, prone to higher levels of CP, and that this increase is due largely to the common
