Out in the Open: The Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence for Victims in Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Relationships.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health problem in the United States. While our understanding of this form of violence has grown substantially over the past several decades, the majority of research involving victims of IPV has focused almost exclusively on female heterosexual victims. Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to how this form of violence affects specific populations, such as gay and lesbian victims. It is possible that gay and lesbian victims may experience more maladaptive outcomes as a result of unique components of same-sex IPV, their sexual minority status in American society, and the lack of appropriate services tailored to victims of this violence. Using data from the second wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, this study contributes to the research on gay and lesbian victims of IPV by investigating same-sex and opposite-sex adolescent victims' experiences with depression, alcohol-related problems, marijuana use, violent delinquency, and property delinquency. Results indicate that opposite-sex victims experienced more depressive symptoms, alcohol problems, and marijuana use than non-victims and engaged in higher levels of violent and property delinquency than non-victims. IPV within the context of same-sex relationships led to more depressive symptoms and greater involvement in violent delinquency, with the impact of IPV on violent delinquency being greater for victims of same-sex IPV compared with opposite-sex IPV. The implications of this study could inform interventions for victims of same-sex IPV and lead to more comprehensive services to address the needs of gay and lesbian victims of this violence.

Sex Differences in Sources of Resilience and Vulnerability to Risk for Delinquency.

Research on adolescent risk factors for delinquency has suggested that, due to genetic differences, youth may respond differently to risk factors, with some youth displaying resilience and others a heightened vulnerability. Using a behavioral genetic design and data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, this study examines whether there are sex differences in the genetic and environmental factors that influence the ways in which adolescents respond to cumulative risk for violent, nonviolent, and overall delinquency in a sample of twins (152 MZ male, 155 MZ female, 140 DZ male, 130 DZ female, and 204 DZ opposite-sex twin pairs). The results revealed that males tended to show greater vulnerability to risk for all types of delinquency, and females exhibited greater resilience. Among males, additive genetic factors accounted for 41, 29, and 43 % of the variance in responses to risk for violent, nonviolent, and overall delinquency, respectively. The remaining proportion of variance in each model was attributed to unique environmental influences, with the exception of 11 % of the variance in nonviolent responses to risk being attributed to common environmental factors. Among females, no significant genetic influences were observed; however, common environmental contributions to differences in the ways females respond to risk for violent, nonviolent, and overall delinquency were 44, 42, and 45 %, respectively. The remaining variance was attributed to unique environmental influences. Overall, genetic factors moderately influenced males' responses to risk while environmental factors fully explain variation in females' responses to risk. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of improving the understanding of relationships between risks and outcomes, as well as informing policy and practice with adolescent offenders.

Gaze pattern variations among men when assessing female attractiveness.

Pilot data from eye-tracking research suggest that each male participant has his own gaze pattern, usefully regarded as an individual difference, when viewing female targets whom they are rating for attractiveness. Gaze patterns appear to be consistent within a given male participant across a variety of target models, and these individual differences may override characteristics of the model in determining fixation points, body region focus, and other eye-tracker variables. The goal of the present study was to elucidate these variations of gaze pattern by assessing the extent to which systematic "types" of gaze patterns exist among a group of male participants. Latent class analysis was used to place 60 men into groups based on their gaze pattern. A two-cluster solution produced the most interpretable analysis, and groups formed by this clustering were significantly different from each other on variables of interest. Cross validation of this solution across three additional female models resulted in some support for generalization, though exceptions were noted.

Dopamine receptor (D4) polymorphism is related to comorbidity between marijuana abuse and depression.

The rates of marijuana abuse are steadily increasing in the U.S. Data suggest that comorbid marijuana abuse and depression is associated with worse outcomes than either diagnosis. Genetic studies independently link the DRD4 gene polymorphism to substance use and to internalizing disorders, but no study has examined whether the DRD4 polymorphism is linked to comorbid marijuana use and depression in a population sample. This study examined associations between the DRD4 gene 48bp VNTR polymorphism and comorbidity between marijuana use frequency and depression in a diverse, non-clinical adolescent sample (n=1882; ages 14 to 18) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Multinomial regression analyses indicated that the odds of being comorbid for depressive symptoms and marijuana use are approximately 2.5≥ with the ≥7R/≥7R genotype than youths who carry the <7R/<7R genotype, controlling for the effects of ethnicity, gender, age, violent victimization, and alcohol related problems. Findings provide genetic clues for psychopathology characterized by prominent externalizing and internalizing features.

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.

Interaction of the TaqIA polymorphism and poor parental socialization on changes in adolescent marijuana use.

The current study uses data from the genetic subsample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) in waves I and II (ages of 11-19 and 12-20 respectively) to investigate the interaction of the TaqIA polymorphism and poor parental socialization on changes in adolescent marijuana use. Results reveal that TaqIA interacts with poor parental rule setting, but not quality of mother-child communication, to influence changes in marijuana use. Adolescents who are homozygous for the A1 and whose parents allow the youth to set their own curfew experience significant increases in marijuana use during adolescence. In contrast, youths with the A1/A1 genotype whose parents do not allow the adolescent to set their own curfew experience significant decreases in the frequency of marijuana use. These results suggest that direct parental social control may effectively suppress the genetic risk of the A1/A1 genotype on marijuana use in adolescence. The study's limitations are noted.

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.

The developmental origins of externalizing behavioral problems: parental disengagement and the role of gene-environment interplay.

A line of research has revealed that the influence of genes on behavioral development is closely tied to environmental experiences. Known as gene-environment interaction, research in this area is beginning to reveal that variation in parenting behaviors may moderate genetic influences on antisocial behaviors in children. Despite growing interest in gene-environment interaction research, little evidence exists concerning the role of maternal disengagement in the conditioning of genetic influences on childhood behavioral problems. The current study is intended to address this gap in the literature by analyzing a sample of twin pairs drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). Analysis of the ECLS-B provided evidence that maternal disengagement moderates genetic influences on the development of externalizing problems.

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.

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.

Child neglect, social context, and educational outcomes: examining the moderating effects of school and neighborhood context.

Research on child neglect has found that neglected children are more likely to experience worse developmental outcomes than non-neglected children. These negative outcomes include antisocial behavior as well as poor school performance. Eco-developmental theory has found that adverse social contexts often worsen these outcomes for neglected and maltreated youths. However, little research has been done on the educational outcomes of neglected children and none of it has employed a national, longitudinal, community sample with an examination of social context. We do so in our research and find that several types of child neglect significantly predict a variety of poor educational outcomes at the bivariate level and that physical and educational neglect were significantly associated with a composite measure of school problems in multivariate analysis. We offer several explanations for our findings and future directions for research.

Genetic risk, parent-child relations, and antisocial phenotypes in a sample of African-American males.

Gene x environment interactions have been found to be associated with the development of antisocial behaviors. The extant gene x environment research, however, has failed to measure directly the ways in which global measures of genetic risk may interact with a putative environmental risk factor. The current study addresses this gap in the literature and examines the interrelationships among a global measure of genetic risk based on five genetic polymorphisms, a measure of parent-child relations, and eight antisocial phenotypes. Analysis of African-American males (N = 145 to 159) drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) revealed two broad findings. First, the genetic risk and parent-child relations scales were inconsistently related to the outcome variables. Second, genetic risk and parent-child relations interacted to predict variation in all of the eight antisocial phenotype measures. These findings point to the possibility that measures of genetic risk that are based on multiple polymorphisms can be employed to examine the gene x environmental basis to antisocial behavioral phenotypes.

Interaction of 5HTTLPR and marijuana use on property offending.

This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine whether a polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene (SHTTLPR) moderates the effects of marijuana use on property offending. The results reveal that 5HTTLPR interacts with marijuana use to predict significantly higher levels of property offending for African American females. The interaction coefficient is not statistically significant for Caucasian males, African American males, or Caucasian females. These findings suggest that marijuana use is associated only with higher levels of property offending among African American females who carry one or more copies of the 5HTTLPR short allele.

An interaction between DAT1 and having an alcoholic father predicts serious alcohol problems in a sample of males.

The current study examines whether the dopamine transporter (DAT1) VNTR polymorphism and paternal alcoholism are related to serious alcohol problems. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we found that the DAT1 polymorphism interacted with paternal alcoholism to predict serious alcohol problems among males. Specifically, the 10-repeat allele conferred an increase of alcohol problems only among males who also had an alcoholic father; the 10-repeat allele was unrelated to alcohol problems for males without an alcoholic father. Coefficient tests revealed that this interaction effect was stronger among African-American males. Females who possessed the 9-repeat allele were more likely to report serious alcohol problems, but this effect was not moderated by paternal alcoholism. These analyses suggest that additive and interactive effects of DAT1 and paternal alcoholism may operate differently across genders and races.

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.

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.