TY - JOUR
T1 - Candidate genes and voter turnout
T2 - Further evidence on the role of 5-HTTLPR
AU - Deppe, Kristen Diane
AU - Stoltenberg, Scott F.
AU - Smith, Kevin B.
AU - Hibbing, John R.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation (BCS-08-26828).
PY - 2013/4
Y1 - 2013/4
N2 - Recently in this journal, Charney and English (2012) presented an extensive critique of candidate gene association studies using the widely noted Fowler and Dawes (2008) article on the relationship between self-reported voter turnout and both 5-HTT (serotonin transporter) and MAOA (monoamine oxidase A) as the driving example of their evaluation. Reanalysis of the Fowler and Dawes data by Charney and English, based on four critiques of candidate gene studies, led to the conclusion that neither polymorphism is related to variations in turnout. We add to this empirical debate by conducting an independent test using an original dataset containing 5-HTT data and two separate participation variables: self-reported participation and actual voting records. Our results confirm the original conclusions by Fowler and Dawes on 5-HTT, but also support several of the critiques suggested by Charney and English. We conclude by offering suggestions for the way candidate gene association studies should be interpreted by the discipline and processed by journal editors.
AB - Recently in this journal, Charney and English (2012) presented an extensive critique of candidate gene association studies using the widely noted Fowler and Dawes (2008) article on the relationship between self-reported voter turnout and both 5-HTT (serotonin transporter) and MAOA (monoamine oxidase A) as the driving example of their evaluation. Reanalysis of the Fowler and Dawes data by Charney and English, based on four critiques of candidate gene studies, led to the conclusion that neither polymorphism is related to variations in turnout. We add to this empirical debate by conducting an independent test using an original dataset containing 5-HTT data and two separate participation variables: self-reported participation and actual voting records. Our results confirm the original conclusions by Fowler and Dawes on 5-HTT, but also support several of the critiques suggested by Charney and English. We conclude by offering suggestions for the way candidate gene association studies should be interpreted by the discipline and processed by journal editors.
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U2 - 10.1017/S0003055413000087
DO - 10.1017/S0003055413000087
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84877971986
SN - 0003-0554
VL - 107
SP - 375
EP - 381
JO - American Political Science Review
JF - American Political Science Review
IS - 2
ER -