5-HTTLPR, victimization and ecological executive function of adolescents

• Victimization and executive functions were tested in 2125 junior school students. 169 students were screened as executive dysfunction, and matched with 208 controls.
• Saliva samples were collected from both groups, and genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR.
• A 5-HTTLPR × victimization interaction on executive dysfunction was found.
• SS carriers were more vulnerable to an adversity-associated executive dysfunction.

Executive function (EF) plays an important role in guiding peer relationship, school performance and behavior control. Children exposed to traumatic environments have been reported to perform poorer in EF tasks. We explored if the relationship between victimization and EF was dependent on the functional variation 5-HTTLPR in a non-clinical sample of adolescents. Data on demographics, victimization and daily life EF were collected from school students (Han Chinese, n=2125). All those reporting executive dysfunction (n=169), and classmate controls (n=208), were genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR. It was shown that the number of victimizations associated positively with executive dysfunction (ED). This association was particularly strong in those homozygous for the short allele of 5-HTTLPR, whilst a statistical 5-HTTLPR×victimization interaction on ED was found. Our findings suggest that adolescents with a genotype conferring a low 5-HTT activity are more vulnerable to a childhood adversity-associated ED in their daily life.