Image by João Araujo.
Curious timing, this: hot on the heels of my pal Tristan‘s new book Opening Up, John Timmer at Ars Technica has an interesting article about monogamy, pair-bonding and genetics — by way of a new study. It’s all about the guys, of course — for now — in Study: men with genetic variant struggle with commitment. Mainstream press is calling it the “monogamy gene” and Timmer begs (or perhaps he demands, I don’t know his proclivities in such matters) to differ about that label. (So does Brandon Keim @ Wired.) A couple snips:
(…) While many humans at least aspire to monogamous relationships, pairing among our animal colleagues can range from complete monogamy to an “anything goes” approach to sexual commitment. In at least one cluster of closely related species, differences in pair-bonding behavior have been tied to a genetic difference that affects a receptor for a hormone called arginine vasopressin (AVP). Now, researchers have used a panel of twins to study the same gene in humans, and they find results suggesting it may influence relationship behavior as well.
(…) The authors used a panel of over 1,000 twins from a Swedish population that were involved in relationships of over five years, 82 percent of whom were married. The twins and their partners were surveyed for relationship behavior and their genotype at several sites near AVPR1A was determined. Correlations between the relationship scores and genotypes were determined.
A single variant, termed RS3, showed a statistically significant connection with behavior within a relationship, leading the authors to focus on a comparison between males carrying two copies of a specific genetic variant called 334 and those with no copies. Those with two copies of RS3-334 were nearly twice as likely to be in unmarried relationships (32 vs. 17 percent), and over twice as likely to report what they termed a “marital crisis” within the last year (34 vs. 15 percent). Their partners also rated their relationships lower in the areas of affection expression, cohesion, and consensus. (…read more.)
Update: Mind Hacks eloquently blogs, The Gene Genie meddles with relationships: “Not Exactly Rocket Science has a great article on the recent finding that the AVPR1A gene is linked to relationship problems in heterosexual men. Unfortunately, it’s been widely reported in the mainstream media as being a ‘gene for relationship problems’ or a ‘gene for marital bliss’ but it’s really not.” (…read even more; interestingly it goes on to mention studies about tongue bitterness and genetics! Thanks, P!)
