Hey Baby, Is It in the Genes or the Jeans?

Study Links Gene Variant in Men to Marital Discord

By Shankar Vedantam Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, September 2, 2008; A02

Men are more likely to be devoted and loyal husbands when they lack a particular variant of a gene that influences brain activity, researchers announced yesterday -- the first time that science has shown a direct link between a man's genes and his aptitude for monogamy.

The finding is striking because it not only links the gene variant -- which is present in two of every five men -- with the risk of marital discord and divorce, but also appears to predict whether women involved with these men are likely to say their partners are emotionally close and available, or distant and disagreeable. "Men with two copies of the allele had twice the risk of experiencing marital dysfunction, with a threat of divorce during the last year, compared to men carrying one or no copies," . . .

The finding set off a debate about whether people should conduct genetic tests to fi…