b-2 Adrenergic receptor gene variations and coping styles in twins Andreas Busjahn a,b, *, Kristina Freier b , Hans-Dieter Faulhaber b , Guo-Hua Li b , Magda Rosenthal b , Jens Jordan b , Margret R. Hoehe b , Bernd Timmermann b , Friedrich C. Luft b a HealthTwiSt, Wiltberg Strasse 50, 13125 Berlin, Germany b Franz Volhard Clinic and Max Delbru ¨ck Center For Molecular Medicine, Medical Faculty of the Charite?, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany Abstract We tested the hypothesis that the b-2 adrenergic receptor (b-2 AR) gene locus, with known effects on blood pressure regulation, is also involved in psychological coping styles. 166 pairs of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins and DZ twin parents were investigated. We found common genetic variance for the coping factor Emotional Coping and blood pressure. Using three microsatellites we found linkage between the b-2 AR gene locus and the coping factor Active Coping . Using allele-specific PCR of all the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene causing amino acid substitutions we identified associations between the  /491 G/A SNP and various coping factors. We conclude that the b-2 AR gene is relevant to coping. These preliminary findings suggest a molecular genetic underpinning of the relationship between psychological and physiological phenotypes important to cardiovascular risk. # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Coping; Genetics; Environment; Twins * Corresponding author. Tel.:  /49-30-9417-2202; fax:  /49-30-9417-2206 E-mail address: busjahn@healthtwist.de (A. Busjahn). Biological Psychology 61 (2002) 97  /109 www.elsevier.com/locate/biopsycho 0301-0511/02/$ - see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII:S0301-0511(02)00054-6