From the study:

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[...]
Geographical regions characterized by cultural collectivism exhibit a greater prevalence of S allele carriers of the serotonin transporter gene, even when cultural regions rather than nations served as the unit of analysis. Additionally, we show that global variability in historical pathogen prevalence predicts global variability in individualism-collectivism owing to genetic selection of the S allele of the serotonin transporter gene in regions characterized by high collectivism. Importantly, we also reveal a novel and surprising negative association between individualism-collectivism, frequency of S allele carriers of the serotonin transporter gene and global prevalence of anxiety and mood disorder.
[...]
Emphasizing social norms that increase social harmony and encourage giving social support to others, collectivism serves an 'anti-psychopathology' function by creating an ecological niche that lowers the prevalence of chronic life stress, protecting genetically susceptible individuals from environmental pathogens known to trigger negative emotion and psychopathology.
[...]
Taken together, these findings dovetail nicely as two examples of how cultural values serve adaptive functions by tuning societal behaviour so that social and environmental risk factors are reduced and physical and mental health of group members is maintained.

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ABSTRACT:

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Culture-gene coevolutionary theory posits that cultural values have evolved, are adaptive and influence the social and physical environments under which genetic selection operates. Here, we examined the association between cultural values of individualism-collectivism and allelic frequency of the serotonin transporter functional polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) as well as the role this culture-gene association may play in explaining global variability in prevalence of pathogens and affective disorders. We found evidence that collectivistic cultures were significantly more likely to comprise individuals carrying the short (S) allele of the 5-HTTLPR across 29 nations. Results further show that historical pathogen prevalence predicts cultural variability in individualism-collectivism owing to genetic selection of the S allele. Additionally, cultural values and frequency of S allele carriers negatively predict global prevalence of anxiety and mood disorder. Finally, mediation analyses further indicate that increased frequency of S allele carriers predicted decreased anxiety and mood disorder prevalence owing to increased collectivistic cultural values. Taken together, our findings suggest culture-gene coevolution between allelic frequency of 5-HTTLPR and cultural values of individualism-collectivism and support the notion that cultural values buffer genetically susceptible populations from increased prevalence of affective disorders. Implications of the current findings for understanding culture-gene coevolution of human brain and behaviour as well as how this coevolutionary process may contribute to global variation in pathogen prevalence and epidemiology of affective disorders, such as anxiety and depression, are discussed.

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Full study:
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2009/10/27/rspb.2009.1650.full
PDF:
http://rapidshare.com/files/299726965/rspb.2009.1650.full.pdf

Discuss

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"One of the Germans... would frequently snatch a child from the
woman's arms and... tear the child in half... Such incidents...
occurred all the time." - A Year in Treblinka, Yankel Wiernik,
Treblinka's "most authoritative eyewitness"

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Lul israel

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Why is Brazil and Mexico so far ahead of the USA? Surely the native population of America prior to European involvement would still have kept the USA carrier rate considerably above the UK? The same with Australia

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The chart doesn't make sense to me...

Why is Brazil and Mexico so far ahead of the USA? Surely the native population of America prior to European involvement would still have kept the USA carrier rate considerably above the UK? The same with Australia

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Quote: from Dedalus at 9:23 pm on Oct. 29, 2009

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The chart doesn't make sense to me...  

 Why is Brazil and Mexico so far ahead of the USA? Surely the native population of America prior to European involvement would still have kept the USA carrier rate considerably above the UK? The same with Australia

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There is very little indigenous influence on modern American and Australian societies.

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Then why is South Africa, which has a large UK heritage so far away?

I mean looking at that graph I can say that those closer to the bottom have a higher suicide rate and so on and you might argue bthat in favour of this allele, BUT I could equally argue it from a SOCIOLOGICAL point of view and draw a very similar graph whereby you would see capitalist societies closer to the bottom, dictatorships and other forms in the middle and communist states at the top.

I'm sure there are also plenty of other arguments that would present a simlar graph of unhappiness.

Could you draw this graph for us, by the way? The one you allege?

Suicide rates? It seems the 30-50 individual-collectevist countries have the largest with Japan being more collectivist than the Anglophone countries and having a larger suicide rate.
The US and UK have a largeish gap in suicide rates though they are almost identical on the graph.

Sweden and Denmark are in the top 5 most Democratic countries (Democracy index) with Japan being about as democratic as the USA. Spain is more democratic than the US and UK but towards the center.

I don't see how this is similar.

This graph is not about happiness but individualism and collectivism.

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"One of the Germans... would frequently snatch a child from the
woman's arms and... tear the child in half... Such incidents...
occurred all the time." - A Year in Treblinka, Yankel Wiernik,
Treblinka's "most authoritative eyewitness"