Genotype-environment correlation and family relationships

Traditionally, the unit for analysis in considering adult mental health has been the individual. Research, assessment, and treatment of psychological and behavioral issues have most often focused on identifying or changing certain characteristics of the recognized target individual. When considering development and children, the focus often widens to include parents, though research, intervention, and treatments again tend to address behaviors, emotions, or cognitions of the identified problem child. Exceptions to this general trend can be found in empirically supported preventive and intervention programs that involve children, parents, schools, and communities (e.g., Hawkins, Catalano, & Arthur, 2002; Olds, Hill, O'Brien, Rache, & Mortiz, 2003; Reid & Webster-Stratton, 2001; Robbins, Alexander, & Turner, 2000). These programs address the systems (such as school, workplace, peer groups, and families) in which individuals act and interact and the influences that these systems can have on psychological and behavioral functioning. Though evidence indicates that these systems-based interventions are effective, it is not yet clear what the mechanisms are through which individual factors influence and are influenced by others.