title: Dopaminergic Polymorphisms, Academic Achievement, and Violent Delinquency.
abstract: Recent research in the field of educational psychology points to the salience of self-control in accounting for the variance in students' report card grades. At the same time, a novel empirical study from molecular genetics drawing on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) data has revealed that polymorphisms in three dopaminergic genes (dopamine transporter [DAT1], dopamine D2 receptor [DRD2], and dopamine D4 receptor [DRD4]) are also linked to adolescents' grade point averages (GPAs). Juxtaposing these two lines of research, the current study reanalyzed the Add Health genetic subsample to assess the relative effects of these dopaminergic genes and self-control on GPAs. The results showed that the effects of the latter were far stronger than those of the former. The interaction effects between the dopaminergic genes and a set of environmental factors on academic performance were also examined, producing findings that are aligned with the "social push hypothesis" in behavioral genetics. Finally, based on the criminological literature on the link between academic performance and delinquency, we tested whether dopaminergic effects on violent delinquency were mediated by GPAs. The results demonstrated that academic performance fully mediated the linkage between these genes and violent delinquency.
authors.affiliation: Chosun University, Gwangju, South Korea.
authors.forename: Ilhong
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.affiliation: Kyonggi University, Suwon-si, South Korea julaklee@hanmail.net.
authors.forename: Julak
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Chosun University, Gwangju, South Korea.
authors.forename: Seung-Gon
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004522:Educational Status; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D050638:Receptors, Dopamine D4 / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D000068356:Self-Control
chemical_list: C581293:DRD2 protein, human; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; C493214:SLC6A3 protein, human; D050638:Receptors, Dopamine D4
keywords: academic performance; delinquency; dopamine; genetics