Jenae Neiderhiser

Jenae M. Neiderhiser is an American behavior geneticist who is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies at Pennsylvania State University, where she is also co-director of the Gene Environment Research Initiative.

Career Jenae M. Neiderhiser is a native of Pennsylvania, and received her B.A. in psychology (with a Biology minor) from the Johnstown campus of the University of Pittsburgh in 1988.

After receiving her doctorate, Neiderhiser was a postdoctoral fellow from 1995 through 1997 at the Center for Family Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at George Washington University.

Research Neiderhiser studies the dual effect of genes and environment on behavior and is particularly interested in how individuals shape their own environments. She often uses twin and adoption studies in her research. One aim of the study is to understand how pollution and community violence affect adopted children.

In earlier work, Neiderhiser examined the role of genetics on men's marital relationships. She and colleagues found that men who have certain genetic variant report less bonding with their partners, greater marital discord, and higher chances of divorce.

Affiliations She is the president of the Behavior Genetics Association for the term 2018–2019. She was elected as a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science in 2016.

Selected works Jenae M. Neiderhiser has authored hundreds of articles, and several books.

Books Knopik, V.S., Neiderhiser, J.M., DeFries, J.C., & Plomin, R. (2017). Behavioral Genetics. Seventh Edition. Worth. Horwitz, B. N., & Neiderhiser, J. M. (Eds.). (2016). Gene-environment interplay in interpersonal relationships across the lifespan. New York, NY:Springer. Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., Knopik, V. S., & Neiderhiser, J. M. (2005). Behavioral genetics. New York: Worth Reiss, D., Neiderhiser, J. M., Hetherington, E. M., & Plomin, R. (2000). The relationship code: Deciphering genetic and social influences on adolescent development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Articles Amanda M. Ramos, Amanda M. Griffin, Jenae M. Neiderhiser, David Reiss. Did I Inherit My Moral Compass? Examining Socialization and Evocative Mechanisms for Virtuous Character Development. Behavior Genetics, 2019; Neiderhiser, J. M., Marceau, K., de Araujo-Greecher, M., Ganiban, J. M., Shaw, D. S., Reiss, D. & Leve, L. D. (2016). Comparing medical records and self-report to measure pregnancy and delivery risk: Estimating the roles of genetic risk, perinatal risk, and rearing environment on early childhood adjustment. Behavior Genetics, 46(3), 334–352. Brotnow, L., Reiss, D., Stover, C.S., Ganiban, J., Leve, L.D., Neiderhiser, J.M., Shaw, D.S., Stevens, H.E. (2015). Expectant mothers maximizing opportunities: Maternal characteristics moderate multifactorial prenatal stress in the prediction of birth weight in a sample of children adopted at birth. PLoS ONE, 10(11): e0141881. Narusyte, J., Andershed, A.-K., Neiderhiser, J.M. & Lichtenstein, P. (2007). Aggression as a mediator of genetic contributions to the association between negative parent-child relationships and adolescent antisocial behavior. Journal of European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 16(2), 128–137. Neiderhiser, J.M., Reiss, D., & Hetherington, E.M. (1996). Genetically informative designs for distinguishing developmental pathways during adolescence: Responsible and antisocial behavior. Development and Psychopathology, 8(4), 779–791.