Gene variant may foretell success in program for at-risk kids
Disruptive children with DNA twist respond best to 10-year intervention, study finds
By Bruce Bower
A particular genetic variant can indicate whether children at risk for developing serious behavior problems are more likely to benefit from an early intervention program, a new study shows.
Researchers are a long way, though, from being able to conduct genetic tests to identify grade-schoolers most likely to respond to such programs, cautions psychologist Dustin Albert of Duke University in Durham, N.C. When that day comes, society will have to grapple with the ethics of genetically screening at-risk kids, he predicts.