Our results have important implications for gene association and measured gene × measured environment studies. Specifically, studies attempting to detect associations between specific genes and EXT will be more likely to yield significant results if they also incorporate measures of environmental adversity. Our results can also inform developmental theories of psychopathology. For example, individuals who exhibit an early onset and persistent course of antisocial behavior and substance use disorders seem to experience both greater genetic and greater environmental risk33,67-71. A potential mechanism is that G-E correlation processes lead to greater exposure to environmental risk while the experience of greater environmental adversity then results in the expression of more genetic vulnerabilities (i.e., increased genetic variance via G × E interactions). These processes are then likely to magnify over time channeling individuals into relatively stable developmental trajectories69,70,72. At present, most gene association studies examine the link between a specific gene and a lifetime case of a disorder73. Given the interplay of these genetic, environmental, and developmental processes, a sensible prediction is that specific genes will be most reliably associated with the developmental
