Genetic variation in 5HTTLPR is associated with emotional resilience

AbstractEmotional resilience can be defined as the ability to maintain healthy and stable levels of psychological functioning in the wake of stress and trauma. Although genes that contribute to psychopathology (often in interaction with environmental stressors) are being detected with increasing consistency, genes that influence resilience to stress have been less studied. In this study, 423 undergraduate college students completed a psychometrically sound 10‐item self‐report measure of resilience (CDRISC‐10) and provided blood for DNA. Linear and logistic regression analyses were used to model relationships between the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5HTTLPR) and CDRISC‐10 scores and categories, respectively. CDRISC‐10 scores were normally distributed (mean 26.17, SD 5.88 [range 5–40]). In models adjusting for ancestry proportion scores (to mitigate confounding by population stratification) and other covariates, each copy of the “s” allele of 5HTTLPR was associated with ∼1‐point lower CDRISC‐10 score. Each copy of the “s” allele was associated with increased (adjusted OR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.06–2.21, P = 0.024) odds of being in the low resilient category (>1 SD below t