天生债务人——基因与信用卡债务有关

7月 29, 2010

Born into Debt: Gene Linked to Credit-Card Balances?
天生债务人——基因与信用卡债务有关
作者：Valerie Ross 译者：飘飘 提交日期：2010年7月20日

A recent study was the first to show that a particular gene affects financial behavior outside the lab

When trying to understand why some people have trouble living within their means, we tend to blame factors such as high interest rates and irresponsible spending. Now researchers have found another possible culprit to add to the list: a gene linked to credit-card debt.

如果你想知道为什么有些人的生活总是捉襟见肘，我们可能会认为应该归咎于高利息率和花钱大手大脚的习惯。但现在研究者发现，还有另一个罪魁祸首：基因与信用卡债务是有关系的。

Earlier work has shown that genetics plays a role in how we handle money. But a recent study was the first to show that a particular gene affects financial behavior outside the lab. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and the London School of Economics looked at genetic data and questionnaires already collected from more than 2,000 young adults aged 18 to 26 as part of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. In particular, they looked at whether these young adults said they had any credit-card debt and what version of the MAOA gene they had.

早期的研究告诉我们，遗传会影响我们的理财方式。但是，最近一项研究首先在实验室以外证明了某个特定的基因对理财行为存在影响。加州大学的研究者，San Diego，以及伦敦经济学院将基因数据与来自超过2000名18到26岁之间的年轻成年人的调查问卷得出的数据进行对比研究。这些数据是全国青少年健康纵向调查研究项目的一部分。他们特别就这些年轻成年受访者是否有信用卡债务的情况和他们所带有的单胺氧化酶基因型进行了对比。

Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) is an enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters (signal­ing chemicals) in the brain. Previous studies have linked the low-efficiency versions of the MAOA gene—the variants that cause less MAOA to be produced by brain cells—to impulsiveness.

单胺氧化酶是一种能分解脑部神经传导物质（信号化学物质）的酶。早前的研究认为低效能单胺氧化酶基因型（即导致脑部单胺氧化酶含量偏低的基因型）与冲动有关。

In the new study, people with one “low” MAOA gene and one “high” MAOA gene reported having credit-card debt 7.8 percent more often than did people with two “high” versions, the researchers found, even when they controlled for factors such as education and socio­economic status. For people with two “low” versions of the gene, that number jumped to 15.9 percent.

而新的研究发现，有一个低效能单胺氧化酶基因与一个高效能单胺氧化酶基因的人比有一对高效能单胺氧化酶基因的人存在信用卡债务的频率大7.8%。研究者发现，即使当他们对教育程度和社会经济状况等因素进行了控制后，情况也是一样。而对于有一对低效能单胺氧化酶基因的人来说，存在信用卡债务的频率竟高达15.9%。

The researchers were surprised by the magnitude of the difference. “The effect is almost as big as financial literacy,” meaning people’s ability to digest complicated financial information, says Jan-Emmanuel de Neve, an author of the study.

研究者对这种巨大差异表示惊讶。“（基因的）这种影响可以与理财素养（即人们理解复杂的财务信息的能力）（对个人财务的影响）比肩了。”该研究的一位作者，Jan-Emmanuel de Neve说。

But, de Neve cautions, an individual’s version of the MAOA gene does not predict whether he or she is carrying debt. The gene affects credit-card debt the way other genes have been found to play a role in breast cancer: a particular version of the gene increases risk, but many other genetic and environmental factors are important, too.

但是，需要注意的是，仅凭单胺氧化酶基因的基因型并不能预测一个人是否会负债累累。基因对信用卡债务的影响就和基因对乳腺癌的影响一样：某种基因型会提高罹患风险，但还有很多其他基因以及环境因素也同样起着重要的影响。

原文来源：scientificamerican

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