Human Growth and Development / Unit 2 HGD 0172 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Differential Susceptibility
The idea
Differential susceptibility is the finding that some genotypes are more sensitive than others to environments, both bad ones and good ones. In one study of adolescent males, those carrying the short allele of a serotonin-related gene had more depressive episodes when family support was low, and fewer when family support was high. Adolescents with the long allele showed no such difference. The same genotype was a risk in one family and an advantage in another.
In practice
Two outcomes for the short-allele group, worse with poor support and better with strong support, beside a flat line for the long allele.
Where people slip
A risk-only reading treats such alleles as simple vulnerabilities. Differential susceptibility turns that around: sensitivity cuts both ways, so children most harmed by harsh environments may also gain most from supportive ones. It is a finding about groups, so it cannot tell which individual child carries the sensitivity or how any one child will respond.
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