The real test, of course, came in the group that got the intervention. How would the kids with the risk allele respond? According to the vulnerability model, they should improve less than their counterparts with the protective allele; the modest upgrade that the video intervention created in their environment wouldn’t offset their general vulnerability.
As it turned out, the toddlers with the risk allele blew right by their counterparts. They cut their externalizing scores by almost 27 percent, while the protective-allele kids cut theirs by just 12 percent (improving only slightly on the 11 percent managed by the protective-allele population in the control group). The upside effect in the intervention group, in other words, was far larger than the downside effect in the control group. Risk alleles, the Leiden team concluded, really can create not just risk but possibility.
But where do looks come into this? Whats the effect of placing or removing ugly children within the group. If you remove the ugly children from the classroom will the ADHD children (or even all the children) would stop being distracted by being forced to tease and bully them, and be able instead to focus their energy on something more academically beneficial? What about the ugly kids’ parents? They’re often just as ugly if not more so – teachers time would be better spent not having to placate them at parents evening because little Johhny had his head flushed down the toilet again. Loose the ugly kids – loose the ugly parents. Win Win.
