title: Different Slopes for Different Folks: Genetic Influences on Growth in Delinquent Peer Association and Delinquency During Adolescence.
abstract: An extensive line of research has identified delinquent peer association as a salient environmental risk factor for delinquency, especially during adolescence. While previous research has found moderate-to-strong associations between exposure to delinquent peers and a variety of delinquent behaviors, comparatively less scholarship has focused on the genetic architecture of this association over the course of adolescence. Using a subsample of kinship pairs (N = 2379; 52% female) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-Child and Young Adult Supplement (CNLSY), the present study examined the extent to which correlated individual differences in starting levels and developmental growth in delinquent peer pressure and self-reported delinquency were explained by additive genetic and environmental influences. Results from a series of biometric growth models revealed that 37% of the variance in correlated growth between delinquent peer pressure and self-reported delinquency was explained by additive genetic effects, while nonshared environmental effects accounted for the remaining 63% of the variance. Implications of these findings for interpreting the nexus between peer effects and adolescent delinquency are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Criminal Justice, Pennsylvania State University, Abington, 1600 Woodland Road, Abington, PA, 19001, USA, ejc22@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Connolly
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: Joseph L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Nedelec
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Beaver
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Barnes
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D020377:Self Efficacy