Interaction of serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region and childhood neglect on criminal behavior and substance use for males and females.

Childhood neglect has been cited as a risk factor for later substance abuse and criminal behavior. However, a large body of literature shows that a substantial percentage of neglected and abused individuals do not go on to abuse substances or engage in criminal behavior. The current study investigates whether a genetic variant (serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region [5-HTTLPR]) in the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HTT) gene moderates the effect of childhood neglect on alcohol use problems, marijuana use, and criminal behavior. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health shows that 5-HTTLPR conditions the effect of neglect on marijuana use for females, but not for males. Findings also reveal a significant gene-environment correlation between 5-HTTLPR and neglect for females only. These results suggest that 5-HTTLPR is associated with an increased risk of neglect for females, and it also increases neglected females' risk of abusing marijuana.

Gender, genetic risk, and criminal behavior.

The threshold hypothesis asserts that the prevalence of offending is lower among females because females have a higher threshold for risk than males. As a result, females who do offend should exhibit greater concentrations of genetic and environmental risk than male offenders. In light of these statements, the current study examines the role of genetic factors in the etiology of female offending using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The results reveal that the genetic risk threshold is higher for females than for males. However, contrary to the threshold hypothesis, female offenders exhibit fewer genetic risks than male offenders.

Developmental lead exposure and adult criminal behavior: A 30-year prospective birth cohort study.

Using a variety of research designs and measures of lead absorption, numerous studies link childhood lead exposure to a range of cognitive and behavioral deficits, including low IQ, impulsivity, juvenile delinquency, and criminal behavior in adolescence and early adulthood. In this study, we tested the association between multiple measures of blood lead concentration assessed in childhood with criminal behavior in adulthood and across the life-course. Prospective data from the Cincinnati Lead Study (CLS) included blood lead measures quarterly across the first 78 months of life and the number of times a person was arrested across the life-course (from age 18 to 33 years) and in later adulthood (age 27 to 33 years). Childhood blood lead concentration prospectively predicted variation in adult arrests and arrests over the life-course, indicating lead absorption is implicated in the etiology of crime-especially in geographic areas where environmental sources of lead are more prevalent and concentrated. Efforts to decrease lead exposure in both developed and developing countries should be part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce social dislocation and crime.

Association between the A1 allele of the DRD2 gene and reduced verbal abilities in adolescence and early adulthood.

Behavioral genetic research has consistently revealed that genetic factors explain at least one half of the variance in measures of cognitive skills. However, the specific DNA markers involved in the etiology of cognitive abilities have remained elusive. The current study examined the association between the TaqI polymorphism in the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) and verbal skills. Analysis of data drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) revealed that the A1 allele was associated with group membership in high-, average-, and low-verbal skills groups for Caucasians. The results suggest that DRD2 may be related to domain specific cognitive abilities, such as verbal skills.

Prevalence and correlates of fire-setting in the United States: results from the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Fire-setting is a serious and costly form of antisocial behavior. Our objective in this study was to examine the prevalence and correlates of intentional fire-setting behavior in the United States. Data were derived from a nationally representative sample of US residents 18 years and older. Structured psychiatric interviews (N = 43,093) were completed by trained lay interviewers between 2001 and 2002. Fire-setting as well as mood, anxiety, substance use, and personality disorders of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition were assessed with the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) version. The prevalence of lifetime fire-setting in the US population was 1.0%. Respondents who were men, white, 18 to 35 years old, born in the United States, and living in the western region of the United States had significantly higher rates of fire-setting than their counterparts. Fire-setting was significantly associated with a wide range of antisocial behaviors. Multivariate logistic regression analyses identified strong associations between lifetime alcohol and marijuana use disorders, conduct disorder, antisocial and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders, and family history of antisocial behavior. Intentional illicit fire-setting behavior is associated with a broad array of antisocial behaviors and psychiatric comorbidities. Given the substantial personal and social costs related to arson, prevention and treatment interventions targeting fire-setters potentially could save lives and property.

Behavioral stability as an emergent process: toward a coherence theory of concentrated personal disadvantage.

The best predictor of future misbehavior is a history of aberrant and wayward conduct. Even so, few theories attempt to account for time-stable maladaptive pathways. To this end, we advance a theory of stability, what we term Coherence Theory. Coherence Theory conceptualizes stability as an emergent property that occurs when antisocial dispositions, social consequences, and misconduct coalesce within an individual. In this sense, misconduct is viewed as only one component of a larger, overarching and multi-faceted emergent construct we label as "concentrated personal disadvantage." When these three components coalesce within an individual, temporal stability in maladaptive pathways should be expected. Using nationally representative, longitudinal data from the National Survey of Children, we test specific hypotheses derived from our theory. This study makes use of the first and second waves of survey data (N wave 1 = 2,301; N wave 2 = 1,423). The sample overall was 51% male and 52% white. Our analyses provide tentative support for the proposed theory. Concentrated personal disadvantage was found to emerge when the identified constellation of variables coalesced in individuals, and was found to be relatively stable over a 5 year period for males and females. Coherence Theory challenges traditional theories on the stability of antisocial pathways, offers specific conditions under which high levels of stability are likely, and explains why disruption off of antisocial pathways is so difficult.

The interaction of DRD2 and violent victimization on depression: an analysis by gender and race.

BACKGROUND: Recent research has shown that a polymorphism in the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) moderates the association between stressful life events and depression. The present study builds off this literature and examines whether DRD2 moderates the effect of violent victimization on depression. Furthermore, the current analyses investigate whether the effects of DRD2 and violent victimization vary by gender and by race for females. METHODS: Respondents from waves II and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) completed questionnaires regarding their depressive symptoms and violent victimization experiences (n = 2380). RESULTS: Multivariate regression results reveal that violent victimization has a strong independent effect on depressive symptoms for Caucasian females. In contrast, violent victimization is only associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms among African American females when they carry at least one A1 allele of DRD2. Results also show that DRD2 has a significant independent effect on depressive symptoms for males and African American females. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that African American females who carry the A1 allele of DRD2 may be more vulnerable to the negative effects of violent victimization than African American females who do not carry at least one copy of the A1 allele. LIMITATIONS: The current study's findings may not generalize to clinical populations, adults, and individuals residing in other countries. In addition, the effects of DRD2 may reflect other polymorphisms that are in linkage with DRD2.

Association of prenatal and childhood blood lead concentrations with criminal arrests in early adulthood.

BACKGROUND: Childhood lead exposure is a purported risk factor for antisocial behavior, but prior studies either relied on indirect measures of exposure or did not follow participants into adulthood to examine the relationship between lead exposure and criminal activity in young adults. The objective of this study was to determine if prenatal and childhood blood lead concentrations are associated with arrests for criminal offenses. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Pregnant women were recruited from four prenatal clinics in Cincinnati, Ohio if they resided in areas of the city with a high concentration of older, lead-contaminated housing. We studied 250 individuals, 19 to 24 y of age, out of 376 children who were recruited at birth between 1979 and 1984. Prenatal maternal blood lead concentrations were measured during the first or early second trimester of pregnancy. Childhood blood lead concentrations were measured on a quarterly and biannual basis through 6.5 y. Study participants were examined at an inner-city pediatric clinic and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Total arrests and arrests for offenses involving violence were collected from official Hamilton County, Ohio criminal justice records. Main outcomes were the covariate-adjusted rate ratios (RR) for total arrests and arrests for violent crimes associated with each 5 microg/dl (0.24 micromol/l) increase in blood lead concentration. Adjusted total arrest rates were greater for each 5 microg/dl (0.24 micromol/l) increase in blood lead concentration: RR = 1.40 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07-1.85) for prenatal blood lead, 1.07 (95% CI 0.88-1.29) for average childhood blood lead, and 1.27 (95% CI 1.03-1.57) for 6-year blood lead. Adjusted arrest rates for violent crimes were also greater for each 5 microg/dl increase in blood lead: RR = 1.34 (95% CI 0.88-2.03) for prenatal blood lead, 1.30 (95% CI 1.03-1.64) for average childhood blood lead, and 1.48 (95% CI 1.15-1.89) for 6-year blood lead. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal and postnatal blood lead concentrations are associated with higher rates of total arrests and/or arrests for offenses involving violence. This is the first prospective study to demonstrate an association between developmental exposure to lead and adult criminal behavior.

Anabolic-androgenic steroid use and involvement in violent behavior in a nationally representative sample of young adult males in the United States.

We examined the effects of anabolic-androgenic steroid use on serious violent behavior. Multivariate models based on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 6823) were used to examine the association between lifetime and past-year self-reported anabolic-androgenic steroid use and involvement in violent acts. Compared with individuals who did not use steroids, young adult males who used anabolic-androgenic steroids reported greater involvement in violent behaviors after we controlled for the effects of key demographic variables, previous violent behavior, and polydrug use.

Juvenile sex offenders and institutional misconduct: the role of thought psychopathology.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the institutional behaviour of incarcerated sex offenders. AIM: To study the relationships between juvenile sex offending, thought psychopathology and institutional misconduct. METHOD: We applied negative binomial regression and Area Under Curve Receiver Operating Characteristic (AUC-ROC) analyses to self-report and records data from institutionalised delinquents (N = 813) committed to the California Youth Authority to explore the links between sex offending and institutional misconduct, controlling for offender demographics, institution, index offence, and self-reported and official criminal history. RESULTS: Juvenile sex offending was associated with six forms of institutional misconduct (sexual, general and total misconduct as reviewed by parole board) over 12 and 24 months prior to rating. Two measures of thought psychopathology, which were related to psychosis-like thought, were significantly associated with juvenile sex offender status. These constructs did not, however, mediate the independent predictive effects of adolescent sex offending on institutional misconduct. CONCLUSION: Interventions to help incarcerated young offenders are likely to be particularly important for those with a sex offending history as they are otherwise likely to persist with antisocial behaviours of all kinds within and beyond the institution. Attention to their thought processes may be particularly useful.

Delinquent peer group formation: evidence of a gene x environment correlation.

Emerging evidence suggests that variants of specific genes may influence some youths to seek out or associate with antisocial peers. Using genotypic data (N= 1,816) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (J. R. Udry, 1998, 2003), the authors tested this possibility. They found that the 10R allele of the dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene was associated with self-reported delinquent peer affiliation for male adolescents from high-risk environments (beta range = .13-.14) despite controlling for delinquent involvement, self-control, and drug and alcohol use. The authors discuss the importance of using a biosocial framework to examine issues related to adolescent development.

A gene x gene interaction between DRD2 and DRD4 is associated with conduct disorder and antisocial behavior in males.

BACKGROUND: Antisocial behaviors are complex polygenic phenotypes that are due to a multifactorial arrangement of genetic polymorphisms. Little empirical research, however, has been undertaken that examines gene x gene interactions in the etiology of conduct disorder and antisocial behavior. This study examined whether adolescent conduct disorder and adult antisocial behavior were related to the dopamine D2 receptor polymorphism (DRD2) and the dopamine D4 receptor polymorphism (DRD4). METHODS: A sample of 872 male participants from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) completed self-report questionnaires that tapped adolescent conduct disorder and adult antisocial behavior. DNA was genotyped for DRD2 and DRD4. RESULTS: Multivariate regression analysis revealed that neither DRD2 nor DRD4 had significant independent effects on conduct disorder or antisocial behavior. However, DRD2 interacted with DRD4 to predict variation in adolescent conduct disorder and in adult antisocial behavior. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that a gene x gene interaction between DRD2 and DRD4 is associated with the development of conduct disorder and adult antisocial behavior in males.

Evidence of a gene x environment interaction in the creation of victimization: results from a longitudinal sample of adolescents.

A large body of research has revealed that aggressive personality traits and violent criminal behaviors are influenced by genetic factors. Surprisingly, however, no research has been devoted to investigating the potential genetic origins to adolescent victimization. In the current study, the authors address this gap in the literature by using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine whether different variants of the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) are related to victimization, net of the effects of environmental measures. The results of the multivariate models revealed a significant gene X environment interaction in the creation of victimization for White males. Specifically, DRD2 interacted with delinquent peers to predict victimization. The authors discuss the implications of these findings.

Evaluating the effects of birth complications on low self-control in a sample of twins.

Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory has generated an abundance of research examining the effects of low self-control on crime and analogous behaviors. Less research, however, has focused on the factors that contribute to the development of low self-control. Gottfredson and Hirschi maintain that ineffective parents are the sole cause for the emergence of low self-control. At the same time, they disregard the possibility that low self-control has a biological or genetic component. This article extends prior research and examines the effects of birth complications and parental involvement on low self-control. Using a sample of twin children, the authors find that parental involvement is only weakly and inconsistently related to low self-control. On the other hand, although most of the birth complications had no appreciable effect on low self-control, anoxia (oxygen starvation) emerged as the strongest and most consistent predictor of low self-control.

A longitudinal analysis of the effects of a DRD4 polymorphism on marijuana use.

The current study used a variable- and person-centered approach to examine whether a DRD4 polymorphism explained within-individual differences in frequency of marijuana use from adolescence into emerging adulthood. Data were analyzed from 1897 respondents from the genetic subsample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) at waves I (ages 13-17), II (ages 14-18), and III (ages 21-25). Latent class growth model results revealed that marijuana use was characterized by four trajectories (non-users/experimenters, increasers, desisters, and chronic users), and that the DRD4 polymorphism differentiated increasers from non-users/experimenters. Overall, the results suggested that the DRD4 polymorphism may be relevant to differences in the developmental trajectories of marijuana use.

Genetic and environmental contributions to the relationship between violent victimization and criminal behavior.

Studies have shown that there is a significant association between violent victimization and criminal behavior. One potential explanation for this association is that genetically mediated processes contribute to both violent victimization and criminal behavior. The current study uses data from the twin sample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 2,568) to examine whether genetic and/or environmental factors explain the correlation between violent victimization and criminal behavior in adolescence and early adulthood. Results from the bivariate genetic analyses reveal that genetic factors explain 39% of the covariance between violent victimization and delinquency in adolescence and 20% of the correlation between violent victimization and criminal behavior in early adulthood. The remaining covariance between violent victimization and criminal behaviors is attributed to the same nonshared environmental factors operating on both. The implications of these findings in relation to the victimization literature are discussed.

An interaction between perceived stress and 5HTTLPR genotype in the prediction of stable depressive symptomatology.

A significant amount of research has examined the interaction between a functional polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene (5HTTLPR) and stressful life events in the prediction of depression and depressive symptomatology. The results of these studies have produced conflicting evidence, with some studies substantiating a significant interaction and others failing to detect a significant interaction. The purpose of the current study was to add to this line of research by testing for an interaction between 5HTTLPR and perceived stress in the prediction of stable depressive symptomatology. Analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) indicates that the association between perceived stress and depression is moderated by 5HTTLPR genotype for females, but not for males. Specifically, females who were homozygous for the short allele were significantly more likely to report symptoms of depression in the face of perceived stress when compared to females who were homozygous or heterozygous for the long allele.

Dopaminergic polymorphisms and educational achievement: results from a longitudinal sample of Americans.

Although educational attainment has been found to be moderately heritable, research has yet to explore candidate genes for it. Drawing on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, in the current study, we examined the association between polymorphisms in three dopaminergic genes (DAT1, DRD2, and DRD4), a dopamine index, and educational attainment. Statistically significant effects were found for DAT1, DRD2, DRD4, and the dopamine index for highest level of education. This study is the first to our knowledge that links measured genes to educational attainment.

A dopamine gene (DRD2) distinguishes between offenders who have and have not been violently victimized.

Research has shown that offenders, on average, are more likely to be violently victimized than nonoffenders. However, a substantial percentage of offenders are not violently victimized. The current study uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to investigate whether variants of a polymorphism in the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) distinguish between offenders who are violently victimized and offenders who are not violently victimized. The results show that offenders who are violently victimized are more likely to carry the DRD2 (A1) risk allele than offenders who have not been violently victimized.

The intersection of genes and neuropsychological deficits in the prediction of adolescent delinquency and low self-control.

Gottfredson and Hirschi's A General Theory of Crime, Moffitt's developmental taxonomy theory, and Caspi et al.'s Gene x Environment study are three of the most influential pieces of contemporary criminological scholarship. Even so, there has been little attempt to integrate and empirically assess these three perspectives simultaneously. This article addresses this gap in the literature by analyzing phenotypic and genotypic data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The results revealed that all three perspectives have considerable empirical support, where neuropsychological deficits interact with the MAOA genotype to predict adolescent delinquency and levels of self-control for White males. The theoretical implications of the findings are noted.