Differential genetic and environmental influences on developmental trajectories of antisocial behavior from adolescence to young adulthood.
Little research has investigated differential genetic and environmental influences on different developmental trajectories of antisocial behavior. This study examined genetic and environmental influences on liabilities of being in life-course-persistent (LCP) and adolescent-limited (AL) type delinquent groups from adolescence to young adulthood while considering nonviolent and violent delinquency subtypes and gender differences. A genetically informative sample (n = 356, 15-16 years) from the first three waves of In-Home Interview of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health was used, with 94 monozygotic and 84 dizygotic pairs of same-sex twins (50% male). Biometric liability threshold models were fit and found that the male-specific LCP type class, chronic, showed more genetic influences, while the AL type classes, decliner and desister, showed more environmental influences. Genetic liability and shared environment both influence the persistence of antisocial behavior. The development of female antisocial behavior appears to be influenced more by shared environment.
Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Canada; Child & Family Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada. Electronic address: yza296@sfu.ca.
Yao
Y
Zheng
Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, USA.
H Harrington
HH
Cleveland
D000293:Adolescent; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D057566:Self Report; D014429:Twins, Dizygotic / Q000235:genetics; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic / Q000235:genetics; D055815:Young Adult
Adolescent; Antisocial behavior; Developmental taxonomic theory; Environmental influence; Gender difference; Genetic influence