WHO IS INTERESTED IN...?

profilemae12
all_in_one.zip

Thesis Statement for Your Research Paper PowerPoint.ppt

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

What Makes a Strong Thesis Statement?

A strong thesis statement gives direction to the paper and limits what you need to write about. It also functions to inform your readers of what you will discuss in the body of the paper. All paragraphs of the essay should explain, support, or argue with your thesis.

A strong thesis statement requires proof; it is not merely a statement of fact. You should support your thesis statement with detailed supporting evidence will interest your readers and motivate them to continue reading the paper.

Sometimes it is useful to mention your supporting points in your thesis. An example of this could be: John Updike's Trust Me is a valuable novel for a college syllabus because it allows the reader to become familiar with his writing and provides themes that are easily connected to other works. In the body of your paper, you could write a paragraph or two about each supporting idea. If you write a thesis statement like this it will often help you to keep control of your ideas.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Thesis Type

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Thesis Type

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Where Does The Thesis Statement Go?

  • A good practice is to put the thesis statement at the end of your introduction so you can use it to lead into the body of your paper. This allows you, as the writer, to lead up to the thesis statement instead of diving directly into the topic. If you place the thesis statement at the beginning, your reader may forget or be confused about the main idea by the time he/she reaches the end of the introduction. Remember, a good introduction conceptualizes and anticipates the thesis statement.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Tips For Drafting/Writing Thesis Statements

  • Know the topic. The topic should be something you know or can learn about. It is difficult to write a thesis statement, let alone a paper, on a topic that you know nothing about. Reflecting on personal experience and/or researching will help you know more information about your topic.
  • Limit your topic. Based on what you know and the required length of your final paper, limit your topic to a specific area. A broad scope will generally require a longer paper, while a narrow scope will be sufficiently proven by a shorter paper.
  • Brainstorm. If you are having trouble beginning your paper or writing your thesis, take a piece of paper and write down everything that comes to mind about your topic. Did you discover any new ideas or connections? Can you separate any of the things you jotted down into categories? Do you notice any themes? Think about using ideas generated during this process to shape your thesis statement and your paper.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Thesis Formula

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Thesis Formula

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Thesis: Prison overcrowding in

America is a national shame

In your paper you will talk about:

Shameful fact #1 (ex: creates competition for limited resources)

Shameful fact #2 (ex: increased likelihood of recidivism)

Shameful fact #3 (ex: suicide rates are higher)

In order to justify your THESIS…….

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Topic: America’s aging population

Opinion: could cause problems in social security programs

Thesis: America’s aging population will soon cause problems in social security programs

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

What MUST come in this paper……

Social Security Problem #1 (caused by aging population)

Social Security Problem #2

Social Security Problem #3

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Topic: Industrial pollution

Opinion: increased penalties for polluters

Thesis: increased penalties are needed for America’s industrial polluters.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

What MUST come in this paper……

Justification #1 (for increased penalties)

Justification #2 ….

Justification #3 ….

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Thesis Builder & Outline Builder

http://tommarch.com/electraguide/thesis.php

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Now…

  • Lets look at your topics!

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Solitary Confinement

Topic:

+

Opinion

=

Thesis Statement

What MUST be covered in the Paper?

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

False Confessions

Topic:

+

Opinion

=

Thesis Statement

What MUST be covered in the Paper?

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Drug Court Programs

Topic:

+

Opinion

=

Thesis Statement

What MUST be covered in the Paper?

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Tech Enhanced Stalking

Topic:

+

Opinion

=

Thesis Statement

What MUST be covered in the Paper?

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Race Bias in Sentencing

Topic:

+

Opinion

=

Thesis Statement

What MUST be covered in the Paper?

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Risk and Benefits of Tasers

Topic:

+

Opinion

=

Thesis Statement

What MUST be covered in the Paper?

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Post Incarceration Employment Programs
for Inmates

Topic:

+

Opinion

=

Thesis Statement

What MUST be covered in the Paper?

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Incarceration in the U.S. for
Non-Violent Drug Offensies

Topic:

+

Opinion

=

Thesis Statement

What MUST be covered in the Paper?

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Serial Killers

Topic:

+

Opinion

=

Thesis Statement

What MUST be covered in the Paper?

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Gender Bias Throughout the CCJ System

Topic:

+

Opinion

=

Thesis Statement

What MUST be covered in the Paper?

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e

© 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cox/McCamey/Scaramella, Introduction to Policing 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Crime genes1.pdf

24 / THE BIOLOGIST / Vol 61 No 3 Vol 61 No 3 / THE BIOLOGIST / 25

sought advice from researchers involved in the Dutch family study. Mobley had an above average IQ, but a family history of males who either exhibited violent and antisocial behaviour or were successful businessmen, such as Mobley’s father. The defence lawyers asked for a gene test for MAOA function in an attempt to commute the death penalty to a life sentence. This was refused on the grounds that the genetic research referred to did not meet the required standards for permissible scientific evidence. Mobley was executed in 2005.

An absence of MAOA function is thought to be extremely rare, but the low activity MAOA variant has been dubbed the ‘warrior gene’. Controversial research has found a high incidence among Maori men (56% in a small study) and this figure was used to explain problems of risk taking behaviour, aggression and violent crime (Lea and Chambers, 2007). Extensive critical coverage followed the reports, focusing on alternative socioeconomic explanations under media headlines such as: “White justice blamed for Maori conviction rate”. Other research papers have linked the MAOA variant to various forms of risky behaviour and to gang membership (Beaver, 2009).

Reducing a convicted murderer’s sentence because they have certain genes sounds a little far-fetched, but it has already happened. In Italy and the US, a common genetic variant, present in around a third of Caucasian men, has been successfully used in the defence of violent criminals. Yet both the science and the ethics of the issue are still very much under debate.

The variant in question is an allele conveying low activity of monoamine oxidase A (MAOA)1, an enzyme involved in regulating the metabolism of several neurotransmitters, including dopamine and serotonin, which influence brain function (Shih et al., 1999).

The first attempt to use evidence of MAOA levels as a mitigating factor for a convicted murderer was in the US in 1994. Research published the previous year had found no MAOA function in five male members of a Dutch family who exhibited low IQ and abnormal violent behaviour (Brunner et al., 1993). The MAOA gene is X-linked, and these men and others in successive generations all exhibited problem behaviour including impulsive aggression, arson and rape.

The defence team representing convicted murderer Stephen Mobley

CRIME GENES

Dr Mairi Levitt looks at how lawyers are increasingly looking to use

defendants’ genes to defend criminal behaviour, despite the evidence for its

use being largely unconvincing

GENETICS CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR

BIOGRAPHY

Dr Mairi Levitt is a senior lecturer at Lancaster University. Her research is in the field of bioethics, focusing on the implications of genetics and medical technologies.

Hannah
Highlight

is subject to genetic, biological and environmental influences and could be said to have genetic and environmental good luck or bad luck. Despite these differences, the legal system holds most people responsible for their actions if they are over the age of criminal responsibility and are sane2. Legal responsibility is a status assigned to an individual not an empirical description, and is key to the operation of the modern legal system (Barnes, 2003).

It is now acknowledged that gene and environmental interactions affect behaviour, and no doubt research will continue to find correlations between specific forms of behaviour, environmental factors and genetic traits that may or may not be replicated. Epigenetics complicates the idea of a gene environment or nature-nurture divide still further with the findings that nurture can influence not only behaviour and health in later life, but also in subsequent generations (Buchen, 2010).

Evidence of genetic traits in the normal range, such as MAOA variants, have most commonly been presented as mitigating evidence in

DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION ON THIS ARTICLE? CONTACT US AT [email protected] Vol 61 No 3 / THE BIOLOGIST / 27

GENETICS CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR

REFERENCES Barnes, B. Genes, agents and the institution of responsible action. New Genetics and Society 21(3), 291-302 (2003). Beaver, K. M. et al. Monoamine oxidase A genotype is associated with gang membership and weapon use. Compr. Psychiatry 51(2), 130-134 (2009). Brunner, H. G. et al. Abnormal behavior associated with a point mutation in the structural gene for monoamine oxidase A. Science 262, 578-580. (1993). Buchen, L. In their nature. Nature 467, 146-148 (2010). Caspi, A. et al. Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children. Science 297 (5582), 851-854 (2002a). Caspi, A. et al. Supplementary material. Description of methods and measurements used in the Dunedin multidisciplinary health and development study. Science (2002b). Denno, D. W. “Behavioral Genetics Evidence in Criminal Cases: 1994–2007” in Farahany N. A. (ed) The impact of behavioral sciences on criminal law (Oxford University Press, chapter 10, 2009). Lea, R. & Chambers, G. Monamine oxidase, addiction and the ‘warrior’ gene hypothesis. New Zealand Medical Journal 120, 1250 (2007). Levitt, M. Genes, environment and responsibility for violent behaviour: “Whatever genes one has it is preferable that you are prevented from going around stabbing people”. New Genetics and Society 32(1), 4-17 (2013). Shih, J. C et al. Monoamine oxidase: from genes to behaviour. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 22, 197-217. www.annualreviews. org/doi/pdf/10.1146/ annurev.neuro.22.1.197 (1999).

Headline news

How to spot a murderer’s brain Do you r genes, r at her t ha n upbringing, determine whether you will become a criminal? Adrian Raine believed so – and breaking that taboo put him on a collision course with the world of science. The Guardian, 2013

Scientists identify gene that may trigger violence in abused children Scientists have identified a gene that plays a role in the cycle of violence in men abused in childhood. The discovery could explain why some survive unhappy childhoods, and go on to normal lives, while others turn to violence, crime or antisocial behaviour. The Guardian, 2012

Judges reduce sentences if genetics, neurobiology are blamed A survey of judges in 19 states found that if a convicted criminal is a psychopath, judges consider it an aggravating factor in sentencing, but if judges also hear biological explanations for the disorder, they reduce the sentence by about a year on average. Science Daily, 2012

obvious why such a genetic factor would reduce individual responsibility. Instead, it could make individuals more responsible (and blameworthy) once they have the information about their genetic risk. If they fail to act on the information, they might be held to be responsible for the consequences, in the same way as someone who continues to drive while suffering from a condition that causes unpredictable blackouts. The genetic trait could be seen as making an offender more dangerous and potentially liable to more severe penalties (that is, longer sentences) to protect the public (Denno, 2009; Levitt, 2013).

To be held morally responsible, there has to be a possibility that the person could have chosen to act differently. If there is really no choice, then the person may not be morally (or legally) responsible and is not usually thought to be worthy of blame or praise. Free will can be defined as the capacity to choose rationally from alternative actions. When human beings make choices, they choose from the practical alternatives available to them in their present situation.

It may be harder for some men, like Bayout, to refrain from criminal violence than it is for others; everyone

Yet there are a number of huge problems when making assumptions about the link between certain gene variants and criminal behaviour. First, very different types of behaviour may be defined as antisocial, aggressive or violent depending on the particular context and historical period. And a gene variant that is present in a substantial proportion of the male population doesn’t have strong explanatory power on its own. As with other complex behaviours, researchers are looking at the interplay of genetic and environmental factors.

In an influential study that has been replicated, Caspi et al. (2002a) took the environmental factor of childhood maltreatment and the genetic MAOA factor, both of which are associated with antisocial behaviour in adulthood, and using data collected in the Dunedin birth cohort study, antisocial behaviour was assessed when the white male subjects were age 261.

Twelve per cent of men with low activity MAOA genotype had experienced maltreatment in childhood, but were responsible for 44% of the convictions for violence. Of those with the genetic and environmental indicator, 85% developed some form of antisocial

behaviour. Those who were not maltreated were unlikely to display adult antisocial behaviour. For those maltreated but with high levels of MAOA functioning, the genetic factor seemed to have a protective effect against later antisocial behaviour.

Since the Mobley case, evidence on MAOA levels has been brought into criminal courts. In the first Italian case, Abdelmalek Bayout stabbed a man to death who he claimed had insulted him. On appeal, his sentence was cut by one year, when evidence was produced that said he had the MAOA trait associated with violent behaviour. The research referred to at the trial did not include Bayout’s ethnic group (he was Algerian) and no evidence about his childhood environment was presented (Times newspaper report, 2009). And in the Caspi et al. study, those with low levels of MAOA and no childhood maltreatment were actually found to be less aggressive.

Genes and responsibility for behaviour It is likely that MAOA research will be seen in UK courts in the future and judges and juries will be asked to consider its relevance. So far, such evidence has been introduced in the offender’s interests, but it is not EXPERT

VIEWS A panel of experts, convened during Biology Week 2013, at the Royal Institution concluded that the link between specific gene variations and behaviour is weak and too heavily influenced by environment to be useful in court. The panel then warned against its use in the criminal justice system at this stage (see The Biologist Vol 60 (6) p9).

Professor Robin Mackenzie, from Kent Law School, University of Kent (pictured), said “people blaming their genes” would

increasingly be seen in courts.

However, she warned against judging those found

to possess certain genes,

citing how children suffering “callous non-emotional conduct disorder”, which may be hereditary, are often seen as fledgling psychopaths.

FOOTNOTES 1 As females have two copies of the X chromosome, they don’t neatly divide into low and high groups. Nearly half have a low- high MAOA combination and it is not known which allele is active in an individual. Only 12% of women had the low-low variant (see Caspi et al, 2002b). 2 Criminal liability requires that the individual committed the wrongful act or omission (actus rea) voluntarily and knew what they were doing, had a wrongful state of mind (mens rea). ‘Voluntarily’ does not imply that the person necessarily wanted to do it, but that the act was done under the person’s control.

an attempt to avoid a death sentence in the US. The combination of a genetic trait and childhood maltreatment has been correlated with an increased incidence of violent and antisocial behaviour. It does not provide a causal link between the gene environment interaction and the specific act for which a suspect is put on trial.

Since childhood maltreatment and other environmental risk factors are already presented in mitigation in UK courts, particularly where the offenders are children, it seems likely that a defence team will also bring forward evidence of low- activity MAOA in an attempt to help their client. The jury is out on what the future holds.

26 / THE BIOLOGIST / Vol 61 No 3

It is likely that MAOA research will be seen in the UK courts in the future

Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
epigenetics!!!

Copyright of Biologist is the property of Society of Biology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

Copyright of Biologist is the property of Society of Biology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

Gene-based evolationary theories in criminology1.pdf

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES IN CRIMINOLOGY*

LEE ELLIS Minot State University

ANTHONY WALSH Boise State University

In the past 20 years, several theories of criminal (and antisocial) behavior have been proposed from an evolutionary perspective, some of which specifically stipulate that people vary in their genetic disposi- tions toward criminality. It is these theories, herein called gene-based evolutionary theories, that are the focus of this article. Two categories of gene-based evolutionary theories are described. One category is crime specific, pertaining to the offenses of rape, spousal assault/mur- der, and child abuse/neglect. The second category consists of two gen- eral theories of criminal and antisocial behavior: the cheater (or cad vs. dad) theory, and the r/K theory. In addition to assuming that genes contribute to variation in criminal (and antisocial) behavior, all five of these theories assume that natural selection has acted on human popu- lations to open up reproductive niches for individuals and groups who victimize others. While the theories are still far too new to have been fully tested, we derive some of the most obvious hypotheses from each theory and explore the relevant empirical evidence. We show that while gene-based evolutionary theories often make predictions similar to strictly environmental theories, they also lead to unique hypotheses, several of which have at least some support.

According to modern (or gene-based) evolutionary theory, natural selection can operate on traits only if the traits are genetically influenced (Daly and Wilson, 1983:341) and only if the genes are not universally pres- ent in a population (Browne, 1995:985). In the case of behavior, nearly all of the effects of genes are quite indirect because they are mediated through complex chains of events occtirring in the brain. This means that there are almost certainly no genes for something as complex as criminal behavior. Nevertheless, many genes may affect brain functioning in ways that either increase or reduce the chances of individuals learning various complex behavior patterns, including behavior patterns that happen to be

• We thank Linda Mealey, Edward Miller, Alan Widmayer and Linda Ebertz for helpful suggestions.

CRIMINOLOGY VOLUME 35 NUMBER 2 1997 229

230 ELLIS AND WALSH

so offensive to others that criminal sanctions have been instituted to mini- mize their recurrence (Ellis, 1990d).

This review may not appeal to most criminologists because it rests on the assumption that genetic factors influence criminal behavior. A survey found that only about 20% of criminologists are receptive to the notion that genetic factors have important influences on criminal behavior (Ellis and Hoffman, 1990). For those who are open to persuasion on this point, several recent reviews may be consulted for supportive evidence (Bock and Goode, 1996; Carey, 1992; Eysenck and Gudjonsson, 1989:108; Lyk- ken, 1995:92; Mealey, 1995:526; Raine, 1993; Walters, 1992:604). The evi- dence is particularly strong in the case of offenders who exhibit antisocial behavior prior to puberty and persist in doing so throughout adolescence and early adulthood (Cadoret and Stewart, 1991; Cadoret et al., 1995; Moffitt, 1993; Willerman et al., 1992). Evidence of genetic influences on serious and persistent criminal and antisocial behavior has now come from general family studies (Jones et al., 1980), twin studies (Cloninger and Gottesman, 1987; Rowe, 1990), adoption studies (Carey, 1992; Cadoret et al., 1995; Raine and Dunkin, 1990:638; Willerman et 1., 1992), and one study of twins reared apart (Grove et al., 1990).

Onejyasoii_mosL.criminologistS-ar,e .skepticgLabout genetic influences on criminal behavior is that it seems improbable that behavior that is defined differently in every society could have a genetic foundation (see Walsh, 1995a:174). In other words, why would genes affect behavior that is circumscribed by laws that vary from one society to another? Much of the answer lies in the fact that in nearly all societies with written criminal statutes, there are a fairly standard set of "core behavior patterns" that are criminalized (Ellis, 1990a:19; Eysenck and Gudjonsson, 1989:1). These criminalized acts have in common the fact that they directly harm other societal members, either physically or by damaging or confiscating prop- erty. While most societies go on to criminalize numerous other "periph- eral" acts, the core offenses remain almost universally criminalized. This means that as long as one focuses on so-called victimful offenses (i.e., vio- lent and property crimes), it is possible to maintain that there is little vari- ation from one society to another in what constitutes criminal behavior (Ellis, 1990a).

The similarity in what constitutes victimful crimes in all societies may be compared to the extent of agreement among psychological and psychiatric clinicians on another socially defined concept: mental illness. Despite continued disputes over precisely how to define and identify schizophre- nia, unipolar and bipolar depression, phobias, alcoholism, and so on, the essential "core" of each of these mental conditions is sufficiently clear to

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY T H E O R I E S 231

have allowed researchers to investigate the possibility of their being influ- enced by genetics. The results of these studies have consistently impli- cated genetic factors in most major forms of mental illness (reviewed by Andrews et al., 1990).

If genetic factors influence people's varying probabilities of criminal behavior, as current evidence suggests, why would such genes exist? Obvi- ously, environmental theories cannot address this question because they assume that there are no such genes. For those willing to set aside envi- ronmental theories as incomplete (but not necessarily incorrect), a fasci- nating possibility presents itself: Perhaps some evolutionary forces are responsible for the existence of genes that promote criminal behavior; In other words, persons who are highly disposed toward crime might be able to reproduce at fairly high rates, at least under certain conditions, such as when the chances of being identified or punished are fairly low (e.g., in large cities as opposed to small communities).

As this review will show, recent explorations of this possibility have gone far beyond Lombroso's (1896) suggestion that criminals are atavistic throwbacks to some primitive human life form. Not only did Lombroso know nothing of genetics, he also thought criminals were poorly adapted to life in complex industrial societies. Recently, several evolutionary theo- rists have argued that criminals may actually be better adapted for living in large modern societies than for living in small foraging or horticultural communities.

It is important to emphasize that the concept of genetic influence is not equivalent to genetic determinism and that genetic influence does not mean that a behavior pattern is unlearned. Breeding experiments with various animal species have shown that genes can and do influence learn- ing (Gould and Marler, 1987). More precisely, the ability to learn and the disposition to learn some things more readily than others appear to have genetic foundations, and the responsible genes can respond to natural selection pressure (Kenrick, 1987). Presumably, varying capacities and dispositions to learn are present in animal populations to the extent these capacities and dispositions facihtate reproduction relative to animals whose behavior is more instinctually motivated. Especially in large mam- mals such as ourselves, numerous genetic programs appear to exist that affect how our brains function in ways that facilitate general tendencies to learn as well as tendencies to learn some things more readily than others.

Recently, a "Swiss army knife" model of how genes may infiuence brain functioning has been advocated (Cosmides and Tooby, 1992). According to this model, humans (and other animals) have evolved special modules and networks in their brains that incline them to learn certain behavioral responses readily. Thus, depending upon the particular environment to

232 ELLIS AND WALSH

which humans are exposed, much of human behavior could be differen- tially channeled in particular directions by genes that modify small behav- ior-control modules in the brain. All of this learning could have been shaped by natural selection forces to which numerous generations of ancestors were exposed.

Whether this "Swiss army knife" model of the brain proves to be true or not, everything in the theories that we are about to review is entirely com- patible with the assumption that criminal behavior is largely learned behavior. Nevertheless, these theories all share the assumption that for both genetic and environmental reasons, people will vary in the ease with which they learn some behaviors rather than others, including criminal behavior. As one evolutionary criminologist put it, "Genes do not code themselves for jimmying a lock or stealing a car—criminal acts must be acquired by socialization and learning because the genome does not waste precious DNA encoding the specifics" (Rowe, 1996:285).

MODERN EVOLUTIONARY THEORY

Two scientific breakthroughs from the nineteenth century are at the heart of modem biology: One was Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, which never dealt with the concept of genes. The other was Gregor Men- del's discoveries, which eventually led to the field of genetics. Especially after these two monumental discoveries were combined in the 1920s to give rise to the so-called Modern Synthesis, they became enormously use- ful for understanding how life on earth arose and how life has been trans- formed into millions of species over billions of years (Blackburn and Schneider, 1994:233; Degier, 1991:230; Lopreato, 1984:16). Out of the Modem Synthesis arose various versions of gene-based (neo-Darwinian) evolutionary theory (Dawkins, 1976:v; Grene, 1982:1; Lewin, 1982:718). All versions of this gene-based theory of evolution have converged on a simple but powerful idea: To the degree a particular characteristic is prev- alent in a population, it is likely to have contributed to the reproductive success of the ancestors of the individuals currently living. Increasingly, this fundamental principle has been applied to the study of behavior (e.g.. Buss, 1994; Wright, 1995), including criminal behavior (Ellis, 1990c).

A term that has come to be widely used in the applications of gene- based evolutionary theory in the study of criminal behavior is kin selection. Kin selection refers to the idea that individuals can often help ensure the representation of their genes in subsequent generations not simply by hav- ing offspring of their own, but also by helping other close genetic relatives to have offspring. Of course, the best way to pass on one's genes to the next generation is to have offspring of one's own who go on to do likewise.

Imbedded in the concept of kin selection is the realization that often

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY T H E O R I E S 233

one cannot identify close genetic relatives with certainty. As we will dis- cuss, this opens the door to numerous social strategies and counterstrate- gies that animals, including ourselves, may use that affect not only one's own reproduction, but that of others with whom one has contact.

APPLICATIONS OF GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THINKING TO THE STUDY OF

CRIMINALITY

Two concepts that have received a great deal of attention from those who are applying gene-based evolutionary theory to the study of criminal and antisocial behavior are those of deception and cheating. Arguments have been made that such behavior could often be advantageous to repro- duction (e.g., Harpending and Sobus, 1987; Mealey, 1995; Rowe, 1996:278). The reasoning is as follows: If genes promoting altruistic and cooperative behavior can evolve by natural selection, as some evidence suggests (Rushton et al., 1986), genes could also evolve that predispose organisms to take advantage of the altruistic and cooperative behavior of others without reciprocating (Badcock, 1986; Thompson, 1980; Thornhill, 1979). This in tum could favor the evolution of attempts by altruists to detect and punish (or ostracize) nonreciprocators. Through this escalating set of social relationships may evolve reproductive strategies rooted in deception and cheating (Cosmides and Tooby, 1992; Ellis, 1990b). If ten- dencies to learn deceptive and cheating tactics are genetically influenced, so too may be the tendencies to be vigilant against the use of such tactics by others (Bond and Robinson, 1988:296).

Several evolutionary theorists have argued that the best way for cheat- ers to avoid detection is for them to go so far as to even virtually deceive themselves. Thus, self-deception may have evolved as a character trait that helps cheaters fool others (Beahrs, 1991; Beckstrom, 1989:81; Dugatkin, 1992; Trivers, 1991). In a number of social species, an "arms race" of deception/cheating, and attempts to detect and foil such tactics, may have given rise to the evolution of retaliatory tactics, which may exert pressures for the evolution of even more subtle forms of deception and cheating (Clutton-Brock and Parker, 1995). The human ability to commu- nicate linguistically (especially in writing) may have evolved in part because it facilitates the detection of cheaters and victimizers (Ellis, 1990b).

As this review will show, these arguments have allowed evolutionary social scientists to deduce a number of novel hypotheses, several of which are extremely relevant to criminology. The theories to be reviewed all assume that for genetic reasons, if people (or other animals) are going to be altruistic, they are most hkely to be so toward close genetic relatives

234 ELLIS AND WALSH

and/or toward others who are willing to reciprocate. The theories also assume that most people are genetically capable of at least occasionally being deceptive, and that a significant minority of human beings (and other animals) may be genetically prone to be extremely deceptive and otherwise prone to take advantage of others, sometimes even close rela- tives and friends. When human deception and victimizing behavior reach high levels of harm, the term criminal is often applied to the behavior, and when offenders are sufficiently chronic in these activities, they are said to be antisocial or psychopathic (or sociopathic).

We now describe each of the five specific gene-based evolutionary theo- ries of criminal and antisocial behavior with a focus on identifying testable hypotheses that may be derived from each theory. Many of the hypothe- ses derived from these theories overlap ones that can be derived from strictly social environmental theories, although we show that they go beyond them in some intriguing directions.

EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES OF SPECIFIC TYPES OF CRIMES

Two types of gene-based evolutionary theories of criminal behavior can be identified. One type focuses on specific crimes, such as rape, spousal assault, and child abuse, and the other type is applied generally to criminal and antisocial behavior. We discuss each of these two types in tum.

RAPE (AND SEXUAL ASSAULT)

Since the early 1980s, numerous theorists have proposed that sexual assault may have been favored by natural selection (Ellis, 1989b, 1991b, in press; Lalumiere and Ouinsey, 1996; Shields and Shields, 1983; Thiessen, 1986; Thornhill and Thornhill, 1983, 1987, 1992; van der Dennen, 1992). These proposals basically assert that sexual aggression has been naturally selected to be exhibited predominantly by the sex that invests the least in each offspring conceived. In nearly all species, but especially among mam- mals, males are not directly involved in gestating offspring, nor do they invest nearly as much time and energy in their offspring after birth as do females. Successfully reproducing females, on the other hand, rarely escape making high parental investments.

Being relatively free of parenting responsibilities, males have more to gain in reproductive terms from having multiple sex partners than do females (Browne, 1995:995). Since males who succeed in having multiple sex partners generally reproduce more prolifically than males who have just one, it is important to consider the sort of tactics that may have evolved to assist males in securing multiple sex partners.

According to the evolutionary theory of rape, the male reproductive

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY T H E O R I E S 235

advantage derived from having multiple sex partners has resulted in natu- ral selection favoring genes promoting brain patterns for "pushiness" in pursuit of sexual intercourse. In some males, genes may carry pushiness to the point of actual force, especially after less violent tactics fail to yield results. In other words, over generations, pushy males will probably be more successful at passing on their genes, including any genes coding for readily learning pushy sexual behavior, than will less pushy males. While these ideas may not be pleasant to contemplate, proponents of the evolu- tionary theory of rape contend that the dynamics of rape cannot be fully understood without taking into account its reproductive consequences. Further insight into the evolutionary theory of rape can come from consid- ering various hypotheses derived from it.

Hypothesis 1: Males should predominate in the commission of rape and sexual assault. Even though females could at least occasionally gain in reproductive terms from being sexually assertive, especially with high-sta- tus males (Belsky et al., 1991), there is little doubt that males have the most to gain from sexual assertiveness. Because of the minimal invest- ment of time and energy males must make in each offspring compared to what females must make, they always stand to gain more than females in reproductive terms from becoming pushy when it comes to sex, at least when other tactics are unsuccessful. Thus, evolutionary theory predicts that most sexual assaults will be committed by males, and this is clearly the case throughout the world (reviewed by Cohn, 1993; Ellis, 1989b:82, in press).

Strictly environmental theories make the same prediction, but they posit that differential socialization accounts for the gender difference in propen- sity to rape and that if each gender was identically socialized it would be equally likely (or unlikely) to rape. As explained more below, one prob- lem with this explanation is that it fails to predict that forced copulations occur in numerous nonhuman species in which nothing akin to differential gender socialization exists, and in all of these species also, most of the assailants are males. Nonevolutionary theories may also point to gender differences in physical strength and aggressiveness to explain the gender difference in propensity to sexually assault. For evolutionary theorists, this begs the question of why these differences exist in the first place (i.e.. What reproductive advantages do they confer?), and they would point out that strength and aggressiveness (sexual and otherwise) may be more pro- nounced in males due in part to these traits facilitating sexual intimidation.

Hypothesis 2: Sexual assaults should not be exclusively a human phe- nomenon; males of other species should have evolved similar genetically promoted tendencies. The two main alternative theories of rape are the feminist theory and the social learning theory (Ellis, 1989b). As noted above, these theories usually account for why nearly all rapists are males

236 ELLIS A N D WALSH

by invoking differential socialization, which implies that sexual assault is a unique human phenomenon, an argument made by Brownmiller (1975:3) in her classic defense of the feminist theory. The evolutionary theory, on the other hand, leads to the opposite hypothesis: If genes contributing to rape have evolved in males because they can reproductively (and thus genetically) benefit from multiple matings more than females can, there is no reason to think that similar genes would not have evolved in other species. The evidence on the matter is clearly on the side of the evolution- ary hypothesis. Forced copulations have been documented in numerous nonhuman species, and in all cases, males are almost always the assailants (Ellis, 1989b:45; Palmer, 1989; Thornhill and Thornhill, 1992:364). This is even true of some species of monogamous birds in which no significant sex differences exist in terms of size or physical strength (McKinney et al., 1983).

Hypothesis 3: Rape should be strongly resisted by female victims because it denies them the opportunity to choose sex partners who are most likely to help care for offspring. Feminist and social leaning theories of rape both assume that females want control over deciding with whom they have sex (Ellis, 1989b). However, these theories do not explain why such control would be important. Evolutionary theory offers an explanation for this desire by postulating that it has been strongly favored by natural selection. Females who tend to withoid copulating with a male until they are rela- tively confident that the male will help care for any offspring that are pro- duced will be evolutionarily favored over females who copulate simply on the basis of sexual attraction (Townsend, 1995:175). In other words, because females gestate offspring and males do not, females have a lower ceiling than males do in terms of the number of offspring they can possibly have in a lifetime. One of the main things a female can do to raise this ceiling somewhat (although never as high as the male's) is to choose a mate who will help her care for offspring.

Supporting this reasoning, research throughout the world has indicated that females are much more cautious in choosing sex partners than is true for males (Buss and Schmitt, 1993) and much more interested in personal- ity traits that suggest loyalty, commitment, and love of children than males are when identifying an ideal mate (Buss, 1994:32; Townsend, 1995). Fur- ther, this choosiness should be especially true of females who themselves expect to invest heavily in their offspring. Evolutionarily speaking, the differences in mating strategies by the average male and female create a tension in sexual relationships, and rape may be one of the unfortunate consequences of this tension (Thomhill and Thornhill, 1987:286).

Theoretically, male desires for multiple sex partners and female desires for males who are willing and able providers of resources for offspring have gamered a complex web of strategies and counterstrategies, although

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 237

always with a great deal of intra- and intersex diversity (Smuts and Smuts, 1993:29). The general (although not universal) female tendency to avoid mating with sexually philandering males could be one reason males are prone to exaggerate their likelihood of making monogamous commit- ments. These male exaggerations in tum could have favored females with keen abilities to "read" male sincerity, which could be countered by males taking deception to the point of self-deception (Tooke and Camire, 1991).

Hypothesis 4: Victims of sexual assault should primarily be females of reproductive age. According to evolutionary theory, rape victimization should be strongly associated with age. Specifically, the victims should be primarily of reproductive age. The evolutionary theory of rape would be seriously undercut by evidence of no correlation between age and rape victimization or by the discovery of even one society in which most sexual assault victims are not of reproductive age.

Strictly environmental theories of rape would imply that there should be at least some societies in which rape victims are not primarily of reproduc- tive age. So far, no such societies have been found. Of the 17 studies that have investigated the link between age and rape victimization, all have found the most vulnerable age to be in the range of 15 to 35 years (reviewed by Ellis, 1989b:50).

It should be noted that there is nothing in the evolutionary theory of rape that asserts that reproductive success constitutes a conscious motive for rape. Humans, like other animals, are generally prone to seek much more immediate goals (eating regularly, avoiding painful stimuli, copulat- ing periodically).

Hypothesis 5: In some societies, males who engage in forced copulations may not only reproduce relatively well, they could even out-reproduce males who only mate with voluntary sex partners. A criticism lodged against the evolutionary theory of rape has been that the probability of rape victims becoming pregnant is too low for sexual assault to have been naturally selected (Harding, 1985:51). While additional research is in order, this criticism does not appear to be well founded. Most studies place the probability of becoming pregnant from rape at only slightly below the rate from voluntary intercourse (reviewed by Ellis, 1989b:47; aiso see Krueger, 1988:24; Winston, 1987). In addition, several studies have found that when all sexual outlets are considered (i.e., both voluntary and forced), rapists have more active sex lives than do males who only engage in voluntary copulations (Abel et al., 1989; Byers, 1988; Koss et al., 1985; Malamuth, 1986). This suggests that any genes inclining males to fall back on force and deception when voluntary copulatory tactics do not succeed would increase the representation of their genes in a population unless fairly effective countermeasures were instituted. (As discussed below, this latter

238 ELLIS AND WALSH

reasoning could help to explain why criminal justice sanctions for rape are often severe.)

It is important to note at this point that the evolutionary theory of rape (or of any other crime) does not offer a moral defense. In fact, as dis- cussed in hypothesis 6, the very tendency most of us have to condemn rape (especially when loved ones are victims), may itself be part of an evolved counterstrategy against an act that threatens our own inclusive fitness (Ellis, 1990b).

Hypothesis 6: Penalties for rape will be severe to prevent genes conducive to rape from overtaking a population. Even if rape is part of a genetically influenced, evolved reproductive strategy, the complex behavior surround- ing the offense is still learned. As such, the probability that someone will act on urges to commit a sexual assault is certainly subject to environmen- tal influences, including the threat of punishment. Most criminal justice sanctions may be thought of as a set of evolved strategies whereby gener- ally altruistic people collectively protect their reproductive interests against invasion by people who are minimally altruistic (Boyd and Richer- son, 1992; Clutton-Brock and Parker, 1995; Ellis, 1990b). The typically severe penalties for rape may be a reflection of these efforts.

There is considerable evidence that many male would-be rapists are deterred by the punitive sanctions imposed on rapists. While studies have found that only about 10% to 20% of males admit to ever having commit- ted rape (Yegidis, 1986), up to 70% admit to at least using deceptive and/ or pushy tactics in order to achieve sexual intimacy in dating situations (reviewed by Ellis, 1996). Also, 25% to 50% of males concede that they might use forceful tactics if somehow assured that they would never be caught and punished for doing so (reviewed by Ellis, 1989b:6). About the only "natural" conditions that ever approximate such assurances come under warfare conditions. Numerous historical accounts have suggested that large proportions of males commit rape when the ability of victims and/or their relatives to retaliate is greatly diminished (Brownmiller, 1975:80; ElUs, 1989b:47; Shields and Shields, 1983).

SPOUSAL AND "ROMANTIC TRIANGLE" ASSAULT

Several evolutionary theorists have proposed that spousal abuse, assault, and homicide (here collectively called spousal assault) may have evolutionary underpinnings (Buss, 1994:156; Daly and Wilson, 1988:295; Ellis, 1990c; Weir, 1992:353). Spousal assaults cover offenses ranging from occasional slapping and threatening bodily harm to repeated attacks, and even murder. Romantic triangle assaults are assaults directed by one indi- vidual toward another person (usually of the same sex) in order to prevent the victim from gaining (or retaining) sexual access to a third individual (usually of the opposite sex).

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 239

Basically, the evolutionary theory of spousal assault asserts that such behavior will, in one way or another, have a great deal to do with propri- ety over sexual access. And the theory suggests that the sex that runs the greatest risk of misidentifying its progeny will be particularly prone to resort to assaultive tactics to ensure exclusivity in sexual access. Accord- ingly, the following hypotheses may be derived from the theory.

Hypothesis 1: Males should be the main offenders in the case of spousal assaults and romantic triangle assaults. Studies have repeatedly shown that except for minor forms of spousal abuse—for which male and female assault rates are nearly equal (Arias et al., 1987:88; Straus et al., 1980)— males are far more abusive toward their spouses and dating partners than are females (Browne and Williams, 1989,1993; Roberts et al., 1993; Zawitz et al., 1993:25). This would be consistent with the fact that males have much more to lose reproductively from partner infidelity than do females. As explained below, while females whose partners are unfaithful can still accurately identify their offspring for the purpose of making parental investments, males cannot.

Hypothesis 2: Jealousy and suspicion of infidelity should be a key cause of spousal and dating assaults. As noted in hypothesis 1, the evolutionary explanation of spousal assault rests heavily on evidence that males are more likely than females to be the abusers, especially in the case of serious assaults and homicides. The evolutionary concept most often used to explain this pattern is that of cuckoldry (which refers to unwittingly help- ing to rear an offspring that is not one's own genetic descendant). Males can only infer that offspring are their genetic descendants by associating the offspring with the female(s) with whom they have had sex. To the degree a male's mate copulates with other males, he risks cuckoldry and thereby having his genes culled from the gene pool.

According to evolutionary theory, assaultive tendencies toward spouses and dating and cohabitating partners have been favored by natural selec- tion as tactics for helping to maintain a mate's sexual fidelity (Smuts, 1992:11). If this is true, jealousy and suspicions of infidelity should be major causes of spousal assaults and homicides. Evidence from many countries indicates that the single most important motivation behind spousal and romantic triangle assault is sexual jealousy and suspicions of infidelity (Crawford and Gartner, 1992; Laner, 1990; Lepowsky, 1994).

Hypothesis 3: "Spousal assaults" should not be an exclusively human phenomenon. Unlike strictly environmental theories of spousal assaults, nothing in evolutionary theory excludes the possibility of similar tactics existing outside the human species. In fact, it would be surprising to find that only humans had evolved violent tactics for discouraging mates from copulating with other partners. Males have been observed attacking

240 ELLIS AND WALSH

females who show interest in other males and/or fail to be sexually recep- tive toward the assailant in at least four other primate species: hamadryas baboons (Smuts and Smuts, 1993), toque macaques (Dittus, 1977), stumptail macaques (Whitten and Smith, 1984), and rhesus macaques (Lindburg, 1983). Similarly, males sometimes severely wound one another over "breeding rights" (Dunbar, 1984:132) in ways analogous to romantic triangle assaults in humans.

Hypothesis 4: Spousal assault should be highest in human populations that have fewer stable marriages, greater promiscuous sexual intercourse, and more children who do not receive the family name of the father. Although humans stand out among mammals in the degree to which males are directly involved in caring for offspring, throughout the world men still invest far less time and energy in caring for their offspring than do women (Oakes and Almquist, 1993:71; White, 1993:155). At least two factors have favored greater parental investment by human males relative to males of other mammalian species. One is the slow rate at which human infants develop out of a state of helplessness. This has favored the evolu- tion of pair bonding and cooperation between both parents to share in child care (Lovejoy, 1981; Walsh, 1995a:203). The second factor consists of various cultural practices that have made it possible for human males to identify their offspring with greater certainty than is true of other mam- mals. Such nearly universal practices as marriage, moral prohibitions against premarital intercourse, and patrilineal naming practices could all have been selected because they foster parental investment by males (Schulz, 1994:200).

Despite these customs, human males still risk cuckoldry to a substantial degree. In some countries, between 1% and 3% of children appear to have been fathered by someone other than the male claiming fatherhood (Brock and Shrimpton, 1991; Sasse et al., 1994), while in other countries rates of misidentified paternity are estimated at between 10% and 30% (Birkhead and Moller, 1992; Hirsch et al., 1980). It can hardly be doubted that natural selection has severely disfavored males who make little effort to ensure the sexual fidelity of the female with whom they share parental responsibilities.

Assuming that spousal assault for infidelity is a relatively desperate measure for preventing cuckoldry, the following predictions can be made: Cultures (or subcultures) in which spousal assaults are relatively high should be those in which (a) marriage is uncommon or unstable, (b) prohibitions against pre- and extramarital intercourse are lax, and/or (c) children infrequently receive their father's family name. We were able to locate no scientific evidence specifically undertaken to test these predictions.

Hypothesis 5: Spousal assault may prevent infidelity and/or pregnancy

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY T H E O R I E S 241

resulting from infidelity. In order for spousal assault to evolve by natural selection, there must be some way that such action at least occasionally benefits the assailant reproductively. There are at least two possibilities in this regard. First, victims could be so frightened and intimidated by threats of being beaten that they avoid the sort of activities that provoke it. In this connection, several researchers have identified what has been called trauma-induced bonding and dependency (or traumatic bonding) as an emotional response to extreme fear (reviewed by Ellis, 1989b:48). This concept has been invoked to help explain why battered wives often do not leave their husbands, even after repeated assaults (Dutton, 1995:189; Painter and Dutton, 1985).

Spousal assault could also serve the reproductive interests of the offender by causing the victim to suffer such severe emotional stress as to disrupt reproductive functioning (reviewed by Ellis, 1995). This disruption appears to include suppression of ovulation (Dunbar, 1984:67) and even the prevention of implantation of fertilized eggs onto the uterine wall (Huck et al., 1988). Perhaps spousal assault by men is sometimes part of an insidious evolved strategy that helps them avoid being cuckolded when mates have been unfaithful. (Keep in mind that evolutionary strategies are rarely conscious strategies.)

Hypothesis 6: Women who become pregnant as a result of sexual infidel- ity may be subjected to such severe badgering by the men with whom they live that their pregnancy may be aborted. Assaults on women by their spouses or lovers occur at alarming frequencies during pregnancy—esti- mates range from 4% to 20% (Helton et al., 1987; Norton et al., 1995; Parker et al, 1994). In several nonhuman species, stress during pregnancy is a significant cause of miscarriage (Huck et al., 1988; MacNiven and de Catanzaro, 1990; Miller and Riegle, 1985). Studies have shown that in some species the mere presence of males not responsible for a given preg- nancy sometimes induces a miscarriage (Huck et al., 1988; Sackett, 1981:269; Wimer and Wimer, 1985:194). At the extreme, 80% of pregnancies among a herd of wild horses were found to have ended in miscarriage after a male new to the herd took over leadership and began harassing and sexually assaulting the mares (Berger, 1983).

Severe emotional sfress also appears to induce miscarriages in humans (Scarpellini et al, 1994). The biochemical mechanisms by which this hap- pens seem to involve high levels of stress hormones temporarily blocking the production of various sex hormones (such as progesterone) that are required to maintain pregnancy (MacNiven and de Catanzaro, 1990; lUpper et al., 1957).

Perhaps male tendencies to physically assault their spouses or lovers during pregnancy may have evolutionary functions similar to what has been documented for other animals. This hypothesis could be tested by

242 ELLIS A N D WALSH

determining if unfaithful women experience higher rates of spousal assault during pregnancy than faithful women. To our knowledge, this hypothesis has never been tested among humans, although it would be consistent with evidence that domestic assaults during pregnancy are higher for unmarried teenage women than for women in general (Parker et al., 1994).

Overall, several hypotheses can be reasonably derived from the evolu- tionary theory of spousal (and romantic triangle) assault. Of the hypothe- ses tested thus far, they have been fairly well supported. Although we cannot exclude hypotheses derived from cultural theories for spousal assault, evolutionary theories, by documenting analogous behavior in other species, take the issue beyond cultural learning to suggest that such behavior is part of a general evolved strategy that humans share with other mammals.

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

Child abuse and neglect (including infanticide) is another type of crime that has received a great deal of attention from evolutionists in recent years (Belsky, 1993:424; Burgess and Draper, 1988; Daly and Wilson, 1985, 1987, 1994; Gelles and Lancaster, 1987). At first glance, neglecting or intentionally injuring one's own offspring appears totally incongruent with evolutionary logic. However, there are a few conditions under which abu- sive actions toward one's offspring could be favored by natural selection (Buss, 1995:18; Daly and Wilson, 1980:284; Ellis, 1990c:65). These condi- tions are specified by the following four hypotheses.

Hypothesis 1: Parents who have more children than they have resources needed to rear them should abuse and even abandon their children more than parents who have sufficient resources. Thus, when a family is large, poor, and/or has children who are closely spaced, child abuse and neglect should be particularly high. Studies of various animal species have found parents occasionally abusing, and sometimes even killing, their offspring. Consistent with the evolutionary perspective, the probability of parental abuse, neglect, and infanticide appears to increase when litter size is unusually large (Aguilera, 1990; Brooks, 1984), food is in short supply (Elwood and Ostermeyer, 1984; Hoogland, 1985), or nutritional conditions are poor (Porter and Wiemeyer, 1970).

Child abuse among humans has been shown to be significantly greater in large families than in small families (Daly and Wilson, 1985; Straus et al., 1980; Wolfner and Gelles, 1993; Zuravin, 1991). Also, child abuse and neglect has been found to be inversely correlated with family income (Walsh and Beyer, 1987; Whipple and Webster-Stratton, 1991; Wolfner and Gelles, 1993).

Hypothesis 2: A parent who lacks the assistance of the other parent in caring for offspring should be more prone toward child abuse, neglect, and

Hannah
Highlight

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 243

abandonment than a parent who has the other parent cooperating in provid- ing child care. If one parent finds the other parent failing to assist either directly or indirectly in caring for their offspring, that parent may be favored for doing likewise. This would be especially true of parents who are young and have a reasonably high probability of attracting a new mate who will be more cooperative. In a recent piece on "parental effort," Sozou and Houston (1994:251) wrote, "When two or more parents are co- operating to raise young, the optimal level of effort by one parent will, in general, depend on the effort of the other." Coinciding with this reason- ing, a study of egrets found that when one mate died, the surviving parent sometimes abandoned its offspring to the elements and re-mated to rear new broods successfully (Fujioka, 1986).

Among humans, studies have shown that child abuse (including infanti- cide) by parents is unusually common among couples who have never married or are separated or divorced (Daly et al., 1982; Walsh, 1991) and in families marked by excessive marital discord (Green, 1976; Reid et al., 1981). Long-term cooperation by both parents in providing child care would almost certainly be less for unwedded parents than for their wedded counterparts because their likelihood of remaining together is lower (Ben- nett et al., 1988; Bumpass and Sweet, 1989). We therefore expect a posi- tive correlation between child abuse rates and rates of out-of-wedlock births, an expectation that has been supported by at least three studies (Simons et al., 1993; Walsh, 1990; Zuravin, 1988).

Hypothesis 3: Children who are less viable from a reproductive stand- point are likely to experience more abuse and neglect from parents than other children. Evolutionary theory leads to the hypothesis that parental investments will not always be equally distributed to all offspring. Theo- retically, parents should behave toward each child in ways that roughly correspond to the child's chances of eventually reproducing. If the chances are low, the parents should invest less in a particular offspring than if the chances are high.

Consistent with this deduction, human parents appear to discriminate in favor of offspring who are the most promising from the standpoint of their reproductive potential (Borgerhoff Mulder, 1987:30). For example, chil- dren with serious physical and mental handicaps typically receive less care and/or more abuse than their nonhandicapped siblings (Frodi, 1981; Light- cap et al., 1982).

Hypothesis 4: Children will be subjected to more abuse and neglect when no close genetic relationship exists between the child and the parent/guard- ian. Evolutionary theory posits that parental care has eyolved because it contributes to the survival of the caregiver's genes. Hence, there is less genetic advantage in rearing someone else's offspring than in rearing one's own (Daly and Wilson, 1994). Thus, one can expect that child abuse and

244 ELLIS AND WALSH

neglect will be experienced more by adopted children and stepchildren than by children raised by their biological parents. This expectation has been consistently borne out by research (Daly and Wilson, 1985,1988:89, 1994; Lightcap et al., 1982). While the research on adopted children is much more limited than that for stepchildren, it too coincides with evolu- tionary expectations (Kempe, 1971; Wilson et al., 1980).

Strictly environmental theories are devoid of explanations for why step- parents and adoptive parents are more prone to engage in child abuse than biological parents. Currently, the only theory that predicts this observa- tion is the evolutionary theory (Buss, 1995:18).

GENERAL GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES OF CRIMINAL AND ANTISOCIAL

BEHAVIOR In addition to being applied to the study of specific offenses, gene-based

evolutionary theories have been applied quite broadly in criminology (Ellis, 1987, 1990c; Harpending and Draper, 1988:313; McGuire et al., 1994:313; Raine, 1993:27). The possibility that evolutionary forces are behind general tendencies to victimize others does not mean that the most victimizing individuals will reproduce at unusually high rates under all conditions. There may be constraints upon which genes for such behavior can infiltrate a population's gene pool, and these constraints might vary from one set of environmental conditions to another.

Consider what might happen if a mutant gene arose in a small foraging society that inclined one of its members to be unusually aggressive toward other group members and/or to be disrespectful of other people's property rights. In a small society, this individual would probably be ousted unless he or she quickly learned to restrain his or her impulses. In a large society, however, this same individual might be able to act upon his or her antiso- cial impulses repeatedly without detection or ill consequences. Not only would he or she be able to find many more unwary victims in a large soci- ety, but the chances of being identified and punished would be less. This sort of reasoning has led to two distinguishable gene-based evolutionary theories of criminal and antisocial behavior: the cheater and r/K selection theories. Each is described below.

THE CHEATER (OR CAD vs. DAD) THEORY OF CRIMINAL AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR

In regard to sexual assault, we noted above that the sex that is not directly involved in gestating offspring can potentially have many more offspring than the sex that is. The time and energy males do not spend gestating offspring can be utilized in other reproductively significant ways.

Hannah
Highlight

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY T H E O R I E S 245

such as competing in various ways with other males for access to females. In response to this strategy, females often seem to evolve tendencies to choose mates who appear willing and able to help them care for the off- spring. Males respond by competing with other males to furnish evidence of their ability and inclination to provide parental care. Parental invest- ment by males can be quite general and indiscriminate, such as providing protection to the group in which the mother and her offspring reside, or may be specific, such as provisioning food and shelter for his mate and her offspring.

Unfortunately for females, appearances can be deceiving, and it is often to the male's reproductive advantage to orchestrate this deception. In many species of animals, males have evolved what are broadly called alter- native reproductive strategies (Bass, 1996; West-Bberhard, 1986); that is, within a species males have evolved the ability to reproduce in two or more distinctive ways. The most frequent alternative reproductive strat- egy yet documented involves males who minimize their parental invest- ment in any specific offspring. Depending on the species involved, these extremely "low investing" males are called cheaters, floaters, sneakers, and satellites (Bass, 1996; Grahn et al, 1993; Katano, 1990). In some species, these males are also referred to as cads, thereby allowing the term dads to be used to describe males who assist females in caring for offspring and with whom females preferentially mate (Buss, 1994:23; Cashdan, 1993; Draper and Harpending, 1982).

According to the cheater (or cad) theory of criminal and antisocial behavior, a subpopulation of men has evolved with genes that incline them toward an extremely low parental investment reproductive strategy (Bel- sky et al., 1991; Burgess, 1991; Kofoed, 1988; Mealey, 1995; Raine, 1993:33). Since women will be favored for avoiding mating with these men, their cad strategy requires considerable deception or stealth. Much of this stealth takes the form of mimicking high investing (noncheater) males up to the point of the impregnation. Additional stealthy tactics include devious techniques for acquiring resources quickly and for gaining sexual access through almost any means that works (Raine, 1993:40).

According to the cheater theory, criminal and antisocial behavior is the human version of a low parental investment reproductive strategy. If this theory is true, criminals should be deceptive, irresponsible, and opportu- nistic in almost everything they do, and if genes are a major cause of this behavior, it would likely begin to manifest itself early in life. Theoreti- cally, cad males will use just about any tactic that works to coax, trick and/ or force numerous females to copulate, including thievery to acquire resources quickly, and will then shirk all long-term investments in offspring.

In a recent review of evidence pertaining to the cheater theory, Mealey

Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight

246 ELLIS AND WALSH

(1995) argued that males may come to a cheater strategy in one of two ways: Either they have genes that more or less compel them to adopt the strategy, or they may learn the strategy. She called those who are geneti- cally inclined toward a life of cheating and crime primary sociopaths, and those who largely learned the strategy because of their rearing and circum- stances secondary sociopaths. Lykken (1995) made the same distinction, but called the first category psychopaths and the second category sociopaths.

Whatever the source, Mealey contended that the cheater strategy will fiourish in a population as long as the number of cheaters does not over- whelm the number of noncheaters in the population. This idea is similar to the fact that the number of predators in an ecosystem is always con- strained by the availability of prey. Among the specific hypotheses that may be derived from the cheater theory are the following.

Hypothesis 1: Criminality and psychopathy should be more prevalent among men than among women. If criminality and psychopathy are mani- festations of an evolved cheater strategy, they must be more prevalent among males than among females. Given the long gestation period in the human species, females simply must make a greater average investment in their offspring than males if they are to leave descendants in subsequent generations.

Consistent with this hypothesis, in all societies yet studied, men are more prone toward criminal and antisocial behavior than women, and the more serious and persistent the antisocial tendencies, the stronger the dis- parity is (reviewed by Ellis, 1988:535). A number of strictly environmental theories also have been offered to explain why males are more criminal and antisocial than females (reviewed by Ellis, 1989/90:19). However, these explanations all imply that environmental conditions could exist in which female crime rates will equal or exceed male rates. The fact that no such societies have yet been identified offers some support for the cheater theory.

Hypothesis 2: Criminals and psychopaths should be unusually promiscu- ous. According to the cheater theory, persistent criminals and psycho- paths should be unusually prone to seek to have multiple sex partners (Belsky et al., 1991; Burgess, 1991:20; Kofoed, 1988). Consistent with this prediction, several studies have linked criminality and psychopathy with early onset of promiscuous sexual behavior (e.g., Elliott and Morse, 1987; Weiher et al., 1991) and unstable marriages (Robins, 1966:103).

Hypothesis 3: Criminals and psychopaths should be more inclined to commit sexual assaults than males in general. The cheater theory would predict that cheater males would experiment with any method that seems

Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 247

to work for the purpose of copulating frequently with numerous sex part- ners. Accordingly, cads should resort more often than dads to more des- perate and forceful copulatory tactics. The evidence to date is generally supportive of this hypothesis in the sense that rapists do not appear to be a special type of criminal. Rather, they generally exhibit all of the other major criminal and antisocial behavioral traits (Hall and Proctor, 1987; Knight et al., 1983; Rice et al., 1990).

Hypothesis 4: The cad strategy should be more pronounced among males in the prime of their reproductive careers than in later life. Evolutionary theorists have referred to the tendency for animals to adjust their repro- ductive strategies according to their age as an ontogenetic shift (Wilson, 1993). The assumption is that genetically regulated neurohormonal fac- tors operate to affect the learning of these shifts.

The cheater theory does not assert that males will be either a cad or a dad across the entire lifespan. In some species in which the cad and the dad strategies are exhibited by different males, one finds many young cads gradually switching to a dad strategy as they age.

As cad males move beyond their reproductive prime, more and more cads shift toward territorial, paternal-oriented strategies (Boness et al., 1993; Paul, 1993:58; Smith and Arcese, 1989). In various fish species, for example, males enter their reproductive years as "sneakers" but later ontogenically shift toward becoming territorial males and thereby they come to attract voluntary sex partners (Gross, 1984). In other species, whether a male becomes a sneaker or a territorial male depends upon ecological conditions (Gross, 1996).

Fish that are sneakers do not court, defend territories, or build nests to attract females (Bass, 1996:353). Instead, they inseminate eggs laid by females in the nest of a territorial male by quickly darting in between a mating couple and ejaculating over the freshly laid eggs before the territo- rial male is able to chase them off. Additionally, among at least one spe- cies of song sparrows, cad reproductive tactics are exhibited almost entirely by yearling males, particularly in areas where sparrow populations are the densest (Smith and Arcese, 1989:839). In this species, nearly all males eventually come to exhibit a dad strategy as they mature, but during the early reproductive years a substantial proportion are cads.

The cad strategy may offer greater reproductive payoff for young males than for older males in many species, including humans, presumably because young males do not have access to the sort of resources needed to attract stable sex partners. Consequently, they specialize in opportunistic matings and the sort of risky, devious tactics that make such matings suc- cessful. As they accumulate resources in later life, many males would be expected to shift to a more dad-oriented reproductive strategy.

The above reasoning would offer an evolutionary explanation for what

Hannah
Highlight

248 ELLIS AND WALSH

has been called burnout among criminals and psychopaths. Burnout refers to the well-documented tendency for criminals and psychopaths to gradu- ally relinquish their antisocial tendencies as they enter middle age. (see Ellis, 1988:534; Hirschi and Gottfredson, 1983,1987; Mealey, 1995; Wilson and Herrnstein, 1985:126). If the cheater theory is applicable to the study of criminality, burnout should be essentially a universal phenomenon. No strictly environmental theory would make such a broad-ranging prediction.

Hypothesis 5: The cheater strategy should be more prevalent in the lower than in the upper social strata. As already noted, two fairly distinct sub- populations of males have evolved in many species. One subpopulation provides mates and offspring with resources, the other has few resources to offer and resorts to alternative strategies for securing mates (Dixson, 1993:563; Grahn et al., 1993:93; Hews et al., 1994:96; Katano, 1990). In these species, females are most attracted to the males who have resources and who engage in elaborate courtship and form long-term cooperative relationships (Grahn et al., 1993; Katano, 1990; Trivers, 1985:408), males controlling fewer resources are more inclined to mate opportunistically (sometimes forcefully) and to avoid parental investment (Hews et al., 1994:96; Jones, 1959).

Some evolutionary theorists have argued that significant proportions of human males, particularly those of low social status, will be genetically inclined to readily learn a cad strategy (Harpending and Draper, 1988; Harpending and Sobus, 1987; Raine, 1993:40). As one proponent recently stated, males "who are the least likely to out compete other males in a status hierarchy . . . are the ones most likely to adopt a cheating strategy" (Mealey, 1995:527). It is important to empliasize that evolutionary theory is not positing that social status is itself necessarily genetically determined. It simply asserts that males who find themselves lacking in resources, for whatever reason, will be more likely than high-status males to adopt a cheater strategy to obtain copulation opportunities.

The cheater theory, of course, is not the only theory to hypothesize that criminal behavior would be inversely correlated with social status. This prediction is also central to several strictly environmental theories, such as strain theory and conflict theory, and peripheral to others, such as Gottf- redson and Hirschi's (1990) self-control theory.

In the late 1970s, a major reanalysis of studies pertaining to criminal behavior and social status called the relationship into question (Tittle et al., 1978), although in a more recent review the relationship was upheld except in the case of self-reported offenses (Ellis, 1988). In the latter review, nearly 200 publications were identified that had addressed the crime-status relationship. Of the 143 of these studies that were based on

Hannah
Highlight

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 249

self-reports or limited to minor offenses, 35 found no signiflcant relation- ship between crime/delinquency and social status; the remainder found a signiflcant inverse relationship. In the case of the 46 studies that focused on offlcially recorded serious offenses, all found signiflcant inverse correla- tions. This latter review suggested that only studies based on self-reports and/or largely conflned to trivial offending have failed to consistently flnd an inverse correlation between criminality and social status (also see Elliott, 1994). Thus, hypothesis 5 seems to be supported.

Hypothesis 6: Physical features may distinguish cads from dads. Because the cheater strategy is usually associated with more rapid devel- opment to reproductive maturity, in many species, cheater males tend to be smaller as adults than honest males (Gross, 1996:92; Wikelski, et al., 1996:581), although there are exceptions (Hews and Moore, 1996).

Oranguntans appear to be extreme in this regard. About half of all male orangatans grow to a size that is more than twice that of the average adult female, while the other half of males stop growing when they are only slightly larger than adult females. Females exhibit a strong mating preference for the larger males. Presumably to compensate, sexual assaults (also called forced copulations or coercive sex) are common among orangatans, with nearly all of the perpetrators being the smaller males (Wrangham and Peterson, 1996:136) — one of whom even sexually assaulted a human female (Wrangham and Peterson, 1996:137).

If the cheater theory of criminal and antisocial behavior is true, it would not be surprising to find some physical features distinguishing criminal/ psychopathic males from other maies. Among the possibilities worthy of research attention would be differences in stature and musculature. Already, considerable research suggests that criminals on average exceed the average male in mesomorphy, a body type linked to muscular develop- ment (Hartl et al., 1982).

THE r/K THEORY OF CRIMINAL AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR

The concept of an r/K continuum has been widely used in evolutionary biology for the past 20 years to describe a theoretical continuum along which all organisms are postulated to exist (e.g., Daly and Wilson, 1983:199; MacArthur and Wilson, 1967; Pianka, 1970). Organisms near the r end of the continuum reproduce rapidly and proliflcally whenever environmental opportunities allow, but they do so without investing much time or energy in their offspring. Organisms near the K end reproduce slowly and cautiously even when environmental opportunities would allow them to be considerably more proliflc, and they invest great amounts of time and energy in each of the few offspring they have. Theoretically, r

250 ELLIS AND WALSH

strategists will usually begin reproducing at an earlier stage of develop- ment, will have numerous offspring per pregnancy as well as over the life course, and will spend less time gestating, protecting, feeding, and training each offspring relative to K strategists (Chisholm, 1988:81; Relethford, 1990:498). Several r/K theorists assume that there is both intra- and inter- species variability along the r/K continuum (Bereczkei, 1993; Ellis, 1987; Gadgil and Solbrig, 1972; Jolly, 1985:42; Menge, 1974:84; Rushton, 1995).

Basically, r/K theory is similar to proposals that both quantitative (r) and qualitative (K) approaches to reproduction can be successful and that trade-offs are inherent in both strategies (Kaplan, 1994; Smith and Fretwell, 1974). Another way of making the same distinction is to stipu- late that reproductive potential can be realized by emphasizing either mat- ing (/•) or parenting (K) (Lalumiere and Quinsey, 1996:33; Rowe, 1996:270). Theoretically, the trade-offs between mating effort versus parenting effort will manifest themselves in various ways, both behavior- ally and physiologically. Organisms reproducing in large numbers, for example, cannot spend as much time caring for their offspring as orga- nisms reproducing in small numbers. Traits useful in the pursuit of a K strategy would include kin-directed altruism and long-term nurturing of young; traits useful to the r strategy would include aggressive competitive- ness and a strong sex drive.

Those who have applied the r/K concept to the study of criminal and antisocial behavior have contended that antisocial behavior is favored most among r strategists. This is partly because deceptive/victimizing approaches to reproduction would frustrate the cooperation among par- ents required for intense, long-term parental investments. Stated another way, because K strategists must invest extensive time and energy in each offspring, they are favored for evolving long-term cooperative, altruistic relationships between parents. Ultimately, parental cooperation leads to the evolution of cooperation among extended relatives and within commu- nities of even more distantly related group members as a result of general inclusive fitness forces. Criminal and antisocial behavior would be con- trary to such long-term cooperation arrangements.

Proponents of r/K theory have repeatedly noted that males should be more prone toward the r approach to reproduction than females (Ellis, 1989/90; Gould, 1982:459; Gross, 1992:246; Masters, 1983). This deduction follows from noting that males have a higher reproductive potential with- out the necessity of making as much parental investment as females must make.

The r/K theory is unique in terms of the sheer number of hypotheses that it generates. We have consolidated a number of these hypotheses for brevity.

Hypothesis 1: Criminality and psychopathy should be more prevalent

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 251

among men than among women. As with the cheater theory, the r/K the- ory is very explicit in hypothesizing that men will be more criminal and antisocial than women. If just one society could be found where more females than males commit serious victimful offenses, both evolutionary theories would be cast into serious doubt. In this sense, the cheater theory and the r/K theory are more vulnerable to disproof than are the strictly environmental theories of criminality, since the latter would be able to explain any exceptions by asserting that the gender roles in some societies may compel females toward greater criminality than males.

Hypothesis 2: Persons with the greatest tendencies toward criminal and antisocial behavior should exhibit at least most of the physiological traits associated with an r strategy, such as low birth weights, high rates of prema- ture birthing, births in fairly rapid succession, and frequent twinning. While the evidence is still sketchy, it generally supports this hypothesis. Specifi- cally, compared to persons in general, criminals are more likely to have been born prematurely and of low birth weight (reviewed by Ellis, 1987:156). No evidence specifically pertaining to twinning or short birth spacing in relationship to criminality was located. This set of hypotheses is important not only because it lies at the heart of r/K theory, but also because to our knowledge, no environmental theory has ever predicted that these sorts of variables would be associated with criminality.

Hypothesis 3: Parents of criminals and psychopaths should begin having children earlier in life and should have larger numbers of children than par- ents in general. Studies have consistently found a positive correlation between criminality in offspring and the size of the family in which they were reared (Ellis, 1988:520; West, 1969:73). While this is consistent with r/K theory, it is also readily explainable in terms of some strictly environ- mental theories, such as self-control theory (Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1995:36).

The r/K theory specifically predicts that after controlling for periods of imprisonment and other artificial restrictions on reproduction, a positive relationship should exist between histories of serious criminality and the number of children people have in their lifetime and the children's birth weights. No evidence was located specifically bearing on this hypothesis.

Regarding some aspects of this hypothesis, the evidence is not support- ive. For example, certain religious groups that traditionally have large families (e.g., the Amish and the Mormons in the United States) are reputed to have unusually low crime rates. In the absence of extenuating circumstances, the r/K theory would predict that their crime rates would be unusually high. There is evidence that religiosity per se is associated with lower involvement in crime (Ellis and Peterson, 1996). If so, perhaps religious involvement is sometimes able to override the links between fer- tility and criminality predicted by r/K theory.

252 ELLIS A N D WALSH

Hypothesis 4: Biological parents of criminals and psychopaths should themselves be criminal and psychopathic. Since the r/K theory assumes that genetic factors underlie tendencies to learn deceptive/victimizing behavior, the biological parent of persons who exhibit high rates of crimi- nal and antisocial behavior should themselves exhibit such behavior. The evidence supporting this deduction is substantial (Nagin and Farrington, 1992; Raine, 1993:245; Robins et al., 1975; Rutter and Giller, 1984:182; West and Farrington, 1973:125).

While there are certainly environmental explanations for why criminal- ity runs in families (e.g., bad example, poor supervision), environmental theories would not predict that the tendency would be any different for genetically intact compared to adoptive families. The r/K theory would predict that intergenerational links in criminal tendencies would be sub- stantially reduced in the case of adoptive families. One study was located that seemed to bear directly on this hypothesis; it found a lower intergenerational correlation for criminality in adoptive families than in genetically intact families (Hutchings and Mednick, 1977:130).

Hypothesis 5: To the extent that racial/ethnic differences exist regarding the r/K continuum, r/K differences should parallel race/ethnic differences in criminality and psychopathy. That is, if one racial/ethnic group exhibits r traits more than another, it should also exhibit criminal and antisocial behavior to a greater degree. The most controversial aspect of the r/K the- ory has been its implication that there may be an evolutionary foundation for racial/ethnic differences in criminal and antisocial behavior. Several evolutionary theorists have suggested that among the three most widely recognized racial/ethnic groups, blacks exhibit r-strategy traits the most, Asians the least, and whites to an intermediate degree (Ellis, 1987, 1989a:92, 1993:166; Miller, 1994; Rushton and Bogaert, 1988; Walsh, 1995a:147). In other words, compared to whites, blacks have higher birth rates, higher rates of prematurity, lower birth weights, higher twinning rates, larger family sizes, earlier onset of sexual activity, and higher rates of child abuse and neglect (Ellis, 1987; Rushton, 1988).

While recognizing that measuring both criminality and race is very imprecise, evidence still suggests that wherever two or more different racial groups exist in significant numbers, blacks exhibit higher average rates of crime than do whites, and whites in turn have higher rates than Asians (Ellis, 1988:532; Walsh, 1995a;188). The racial differences are espe- cially distinct in the case of serious and persistent aggressive criminality. Currently, little evidence exists regarding racial or ethnic differences in psychopathy.

If one attributes these obviously sensitive empirical findings to various forms of racism on the part of whites (who predominate in most of the countries in which the research on race and crime has been conducted).

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 253

one would be obliged to explain why Asian groups would be less criminal than whites in white-dominated societies.

The r/K theory is currently the only criminological theory that offers a specific explanation for why white crime rates would be intermediate to those of blacks and Asians and that at the same time predicts the ordering of these three racial groups in terms of such reproductive traits as birth weights, birth rates, twinning rates, and age of onset of sexual activity, both within and between races and ethnic groups (see Ellis, 1987). To test the theory further as it pertains to race and criminality, there is a need to extend comparisons beyond the three main racial groups to include other racial categories and numerous ethnic subcategories.

Hypothesis 6: Whichever social class (or stratum) exhibits the most r- strategist traits should also exhibit the greatest degree of criminal and antiso- cial behavior. The cheater theory and many social environmental theories specifically predict an inverse correlation between social status and crimi- nality. In contrast, the r/K theory, especially as formulated by Ellis (1993:164), predicts that it is mainly the lower social stratum in which criminality will be unusually high and that there will be little difference between the middle and upper strata. To the degree middle- and upper- strata differences do exist, the Ellis version of the r/K theory actually predicts that crime rates will be slightly higher for the upper stratum than for the middle. While the evidence linking low social status with high criminality is fairly well established (Elliott, 1994; Ellis, 1988; for a con- trary view see Tittle et al., 1978), no evidence was located specifically bear- ing on the hypothesis that crime rates will be slightly higher in the upper than in the middle strata.

Hypothesis 7: Populations with low sex ratios (more women than men) should gradually shift toward an r strategy and have higher crime rates than populations with high or balanced sex ratios. The r/K theory has recently led to a hypothesis about how sex ratios within human populations might be linked to crime rates (Walsh, 1995a:193; also see Lykken, 1995:219). To explain the reasoning underlying this hypothesis, we note that Guttentag and Secord (1983) published an informative review of evidence linking declining sex ratios with increases in out-of-wedlock births (also see Pedersen, 1991; South and Trent, 1988). They explain this association with a "gender (or dyadic) power" theory, which essentially asserts that which- ever sex is in short supply will be able to dictate the nature of the mating environment. And, because males prefer more promiscuous mating pat- terns than do females, lowering a population's sex ratio will drive the pop- ulation away from long-term marital relationships.

Guttentag and Secord's theory has a major shortcoming: It does not explain why males are more inclined than females to mate promiscuously; it simply assumes that this gender difference exists as a well-entrenched

254 ELLIS AND WALSH

cultural tradition. The r/K theory has no difficulty explaining gender dif- ferences in promiscuous preferences, since it is couched in modem evolu- tionary theory. As already noted, the tendency for males to prefer promiscuous mating more than females is theoretically due to the fact that they can reproduce more successfully this way than females can.

There are other differences between the r/K theory and the Guttentag- Secord theory regarding sex ratios and promiscuous mating. For example, the r/K theory suggests that low sex ratios will not only be associated with promiscuous mating patterns and out-of-wedlock births, but also with overall high birth rates, low birth weights, and high twinning rates, hypoth- eses to which the Guttentag-Secord theory is silent.

Further, r/K theory is not limited to the human species. In this regard, Krebs and Davies (1993:226) have shown that in various nonhuman spe- cies, low sex ratios are linked to promiscuous (nonpair bonding) mating patterns (also see Kvarnemo et al., 1995). As noted earlier in discussing child abuse and neglect, evolutionary theory would also lead one to expect to find a positive correlation between child abuse and neglect and rates of unstable bonding patterns.

Timing to how sex ratios should be linked to a broad range of criminal and antisocial behavior, a basic assumption of the r/K theory is that antiso- cial behavior is an evolved complement to an r reproductive strategy. If so, and if low proportions of males in a population drive a population toward r forms of reproduction, the theory predicts that criminal and anti- social behavior will increase in populations as the sex ratio drops and will gradually decrease whenever the sex ratio approximates equality or even becomes male biased (Walsh, 1995a:193). Without linking their analysis in any way to evolutionary theory, Messner and Sampson (1991) provided evidence that is fairly consistent with these predictions. On the other hand, an ethnographic comparison of homicide rates in six preliterate soci- eties brought Hewlett (1991:26) to conclude that "those societies with high homicide rates also have male-biased juvenile sex ratios." This is directly contrary to the r/K theory. Hypothesis 7 is also contrary to reasoning by Rowe (1996:300). Working from an evolutionary proposal as well, Rowe concluded that a relative abundance of males will drive males toward greater competition for sex partners, and thereby higher crime rates.

Overall, the r/K theory leads to numerous specific hypotheses about how reproductive traits should be correlated with criminal behavior. How well most of these hypotheses hold up under empirical scrutiny remains to be determined.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Evolutionary theories have experienced a renaissance in criminology in

the past two decades. Besides the theories described in this article, other

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 255

evolutionary theories of criminality have also been proposed, ones that do not explicitly stipulate genetic variability in human propensities to learn criminal behavior (e.g., Cohen and Machalek, 1988; Vila, 1994).

All of the modern evolutionary theories share only a faint resemblance to the first evolutionary theory in criminology proposed over a century ago by Lombroso. The dissimilarities are understandable in part because Lombroso knew nothing of the concept of genetics, nor did he have the benefit of the vast store of research on evolutionary principles developed over the past century or a modern understanding of how brain functioning controls behavior, including learned behavior. As a result, nothing resem- bling the concept of atavism is found in modem evolutionary theories of criminal behavior. In fact, rather than considering criminals throw backs to some primitive human form, most modern evolutionary theories of criminality imply the opposite: that criminal behavior may mark a special adaptation to life in large impersonal societies. If so, criminal and antiso- cial behavior may have only been adaptive over roughly the past 10,000 years at most, and only then primarily in urbanized environments.

THE FIVE EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES OF CRIMINALITY

We will summarize each of the five identified gene-based criminological theories that have been presented before discussing them collectively. They all share the assumptions that genetic factors predispose people to varying degrees toward victimizing criminal behavior and that natural selection has operated on human populations and subpopulations to favor varying tendencies toward criminal and antisocial behavior.

RAPE

The evolutionary theory of rape (or sexual assault) asserts that men who are at least pushy with respect to seeking to copulate with multiple part- ners will typically have a reproductive edge over men who are not. Thereby, any genes promoting pushiness in males should spread through- out most populations, at least until significant countervailing forces are instituted. Because of their involvement in the gestation process, women have been favored by natural selection for being more cautious in mating and for attempting to confine their mating to men who appear willing and able to make long-term parental investments. These gender differences in optimal approaches to reproduction create tension between the sexes. According to the evolutionary theory of rape, one result of this tension is that a substantial proportion of males in most populations readily employ forceful copulatory tactics, especially when the prospects of being pun- ished for doing so are low.

Hannah
Highlight

256 ELLIS AND WALSH

SPOUSAL ASSAULT

The evolutionary theory of spousal (and dating) assault contends that most instances of these crimes will in one way or another be associated with maintaining exclusive copulatory access. In other words, when either sex senses that a sexual relationship is in jeopardy, one of the fairly des- perate response options will be to direct piiysical violence toward the spouse and/or the rival. From an evolutionary perspective, men should be more prone to employ such desperate tactics because they run the risk of cuckoldry, that is, inadvertently directing their parental investment toward someone else's offspring. Theoretically, spousal assaults should be most common in populations in which infidelity is most common.

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

The evolutionary theory developed to explain child abuse and neglect focuses on conditions that might sometimes give a reproductive edge to abusive parents. According to this theory, child abuse and neglect will be most probable among parents under the following four conditions: (1) Abusive and neglectful parents should tend to have more offspring than they can rear; thus, abuse and neglect should be associated with poverty and/or with large family size. (2) Victims of abuse and neglect should be children who are minimally viable from a reproductive standpoint; thus, physical and mental disabilities in children should be associated with abu- sive and neglectful behavior by parents. (3) When one parent shirks his or her parental responsibilities, the other should be inclined to do likewise; thus, child abuse and neglect should be associated with parental divorce and child abandonment. (4) If the genetic relationship between parent and child is low (or in doubt), child abuse and neglect should be relatively high; thus, abuse and neglect should be associated with adoption, step- parenthood, and infidelity by either of the parents.

We examined two general evolutionary theories of criminal and antiso- cial behavior: the cheater (or cad) theory and the r/K theory. While both focus on the reproductive consequences of a criminal and antisocial life- style, they emphasize different aspects of those reproductive conse- quences. Whereas the cheater theory emphasizes how a significant pro- portion of mainly males should develop deceptive and victimizing behavior, and thereby bring about complex social measures to curtail such behavior, the r/K theory concentrates on how criminality may have evolved to complement certain aspects of reproductive physiology and behavior.

T H E CHEATER THEORY

According to the cheater theory, males have been naturally selected to

Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 257

make lower parental investment than women. This is partly because males can be more easily cuckolded into caring for unrelated offspring, and partly because they can sire far more offspring than females can possibly bear. At the same time, women have been naturally selected for choosing mates who will make high parental investments. According to cheater the- ory, one result of these competing natural selection forces has been to split males into two subpopulations. One subpopulation more or less complies with female preferences for males who make high parental investments (although still not as high as most women might prefer). The other (the cheaters or cads) merely mimic high-investing males and use devious tac- tics to opportunistically secure numerous sex partners. According to the cheater theory, these devious tactics often include the use of violence, chronic deception, and get-rich-quick tactics that can be extremely hurtful to others. The result is males who assault and thieve at unusually high rates.

THE r/K THEORY

The r/K theory of criminal and antisocial behavior asserts that criminals and psychopaths are at one end of an evolutionary continuum in terms of how they approach reproduction. At the K end are persons who prolifer- ate their genes by investing inordinate time and energy in caring for a small number of offspring, and at the r end are persons who reproduce prolifically and provide minimal care for offspring.

As far as humans are concerned, criminals and psychopaths are hypoth- esized to exhibit traits associated with an r strategy. If this is so, several physiological/reproductive traits should help to distinguish criminals and noncriminals, on average. In particular, criminals should have somewhat lower birth weights, shorter gestation periods, and be more often the prod- uct of multiple births (e.g., twinning). Theoretically, they should also begin sexual activity relatively early (as should their parents), should come from large families, and should have more than an average number of chil- dren themselves.

The r/K theory is the only evolutionary theory of criminality that has ventured into the controversial realm of racial differences in criminal and antisocial behavior. As with social status, the theory does not predict which race or social status will have the highest rates of crime and psy- chopathy. Rather, it simply asserts that whichever racial/ethnic groups or social strata exhibit r-related traits to the greatest degree will also exhibit high rates of crime and psychopathy.

As this review has shown, numerous hypotheses may be derived from each of the five evolutionary theories of criminal behavior discussed. While several of these hypotheses are identical (or almost so) to ones

Hannah
Highlight

258 ELLIS A N D WALSH

derived from strictly environmental criminological theories, several others are quite unique to the evolutionary perspective. Since most of these hypotheses have not been fully tested, the evidence is currently inade- quate for passing judgment on the overall merit of these relatively new theories.

POSSIBLE PROXIMATE MECHANISMS

Before bringing this review to a close, it is worth noting that evolution- ary theorists often distinguish two categories of causal variables: ultimate causes and proximate causes (Browne, 1995:1003; Thornhill and Thornhill, 1983:137). Ultimate causes refer to the natural selection forces that have favored genes for various combinations of traits, both physical and behav- ioral. Proximate causes (or proximate mechanisms) pertain to the detailed physiological events that mediate any genetic effects, especially on behav- ior. Even though the focus of this article has been on possible ultimate causes, it is important to think of these two categories of variables as com- plementary, not contradictory. Accordingly, we briefiy identify some of the possible proximate mechanisms that may affect the probability of criminal behavior.

As noted above, it is naive to believe that there are actual genes directly coding for criminality. Nevertheless, there could still be numerous genes that infiuence how the brain works in ways that increase (or decrease) the probability of criminal behavior under various environmental conditions. One promising lead in this respect involves the sex hormone testosterone and its effects on brain functioning. Studies of various animal species have shown that the combination of high perinatal testosterone and high postpubertal testosterone increases the probability of aggression (espe- cially dominance-related aggression) (reviewed by Ellis and Coontz, 1990). This high testosterone regimen is typical of male mammals, as opposed to female mammals (Ellis and Coontz, 1990). Thereby, genes functioning on the Y chromosome as well as on the autosomes early in fetal development may eventually help to explain sex differences in criminal behavior (espe- cially violent criminal behavior) (Sluyter et al., 1996; Walsh, 1995b). Con- sistent with this reasoning are studies indicating modest correlations among males between circulating testosterone and persistent involvement in criminality (Christiansen and Knussmann, 1987; Dabbs and Morris, 1990; Mazur, 1995; Thiessen, 1990; Windle and Windle, 1995) and other forms of socially disruptive activities (Dabbs et al., 1996; Scerbo and Kolko, 1994).

Another promising lead for elucidating the genetic foundation for crimi- nality involves an enzyme that is active in the brain, monoamine oxidase (MAO). This enzyme, which comes in two forms (MAO-A and MAO-B), helps regulate the chemical breakdown of various neurotransmitters, most

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 259

notably serotonin and dopamine (Zuckerman, 1994:295) and its activity is almost entirely under genetic control (Ellis, 1991a:230; Zuckerman, 1994:297). Again, among the genes that are involved in regulating MAO activity are those on the Y chromosome that help control the formation of testes and thereby the production of testosterone during fetal develop- ment (and consequently later in life).

When testosterone levels are high, MAO enzyme activity is depressed (Ellis, 1991b:231), which is the basic reason males have lower MAO activ- ity than females, especially following the onset of puberty. Within each sex (but especially among males), studies have found MAO activity to be low for individuals with histories of serious antisocial behavior and with problems of alcoholism and drug abuse (reviewed by Ellis, 1991a:235; Zuckerman, 1994:299).

Research still needs to determine why low MAO enzyme activity con- tributes to antisocial (and related) behavior, but it is not unreasonable to suspect that various neurotransmitters (especially serotonin) are involved. Supporting this view is evidence that low serotonin brain activity has been associated with impulsive, and sometimes violent combative, behavior— both in humans (Virkkunen et al., 1989) and in other animals (Kostowski et al., 1984; Vergnes et al., 1988).

Something that is particularly interesting about the link between seroto- nin and aggression is that this neurotransmitter has also been found to be affected by the positions animals assume in social hierarchies—serotonin levels generally are positively linked to high rank (Brammer et al., 1994; Yeh et al., 1996). Criminologists should explore the possibility that seroto- nin may be one of the proximate mechanisms whereby genes influence the relationship between criminality and social status.

Yet another way genes could be affecting criminality is through their effects on alcoholism. This would coincide with evidence that genes are responsible for much of the variation in susceptibility to alcohol abuse (reviewed by Koopmans and Boomsma, 1996) and that alcohol abuse is a major behavioral correlate of criminality and antisocial behavior (Green- field and Weisner, 1995).

The main point being made with this brief coverage of some proximate physiological mechanisms (see Fishbein, 1990, for a more extensive review) is that evolutionary theories are in no way in opposition to the idea that other variables, both biological and social, contribute to criminal behavior. In the final analysis, the explanations for criminal behavior are likely to involve complex interplays among learning and genetic, hormo- nal, and neurochemical factors, all operating within a complex evolved social system.

260 ELLIS A N D WALSH

IN CLOSING

In bringing this review to a close, we wish to emphasize that there is no fundamental difference between gene-based evolutionary theories and strictly environmental theories of criminal behavior on whether learning is responsible for variations in criminal behavior. For both theories, learning is important. The main difference is that gene-based evolutionary theories assume that learning is ultimately a neurological process highly influenced by genes, an assumption environmental theories do not make. If evolu- tionary (and other biosocial) theorists are correct on this point, criminolo- gists in the future must not only know how the environment impacts the learning of criminal tendencies, but also how genes, the brain, and other biological factors interact with the environment to affect such learning. This article suggests that these interactions get played out in a time-worn evolutionary theater that may have had, and may continue to have, repro- ductive consequences.

Many believe that evolutionary theorizing in criminology is a thing of the past, all but abandoned in the early part of this century. This article shows that evolutionary theories of criminal and antisocial behavior have in fact reemerged during the past two decades in forms that the 19th Cen- tury theorists would scarcely recognize. These new theories show promise in offering new explanations for established observations as well as for generating new hypotheses. Decades of careful empirical testing will be required to assess the merit of many of these hypotheses.

REFERENCES

Abel, Gene G., Mary S. Mittelman, and J. Becker 1989 Sexual offenders: Results of assessment and recommendations for

treatment. In Mark H. Ben-Aron, Stephen J. Hucker, and Christopher D. Webster (eds.), Clinical Criminology: The Assessment and Tl-eatments of Criminal Behavior. Toronto: Butterworths.

Aguilera, Eduardo 1990 Sexual differences in nest attendance and chick-feeding rhythms of white

spoonbills. Auk 107:416-420.

Andrews, Gavin, Gavin Stewart, Rae Allen, and A.S. Henderson 1990 The genetics of six neurotic disorders: A twin study. Journal of Affective

Disorders 19:23-29.

Arias, Ileana, Mary Samois, and K. Daniel O'Leary 1987 Prevalence and correlates of physical aggression during courtship. Journal

of Interpersonal Violence 2:82-90.

Badcock, Christopher R. 1986 The Problem of Altruism. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Bass, Andrew H. 1996 Shaping brain sexuality. American Scientist 84:352-363.

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 261

Beahrs, John O. 1991 Volition, deception, and the evolution of justice. Bulletin of the

American Academy of Psychiatry and Law 19:81-93.

Beckstrom, John H. 1989 Evolutionary Jurisprudence: Prospects and Limitations on the Use of

Modern Darwinism Throughout the Legal Process. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

Belsky, Jay 1993 Etiology of child maltreatment: A developmental-ecological analysis.

Psychological Bulletin 114:413-434.

Belsky, Jay, L. Steinberg, and Patricia Draper 1991 Childhood experience, interpersonal development, and reproductive strat-

egy: An evolutionary theory of socialization. Child Development 62:647-670.

Bennett, Neil G., Ann K. Blanc, and David E. Bloom 1988 Commitment and the modem union: Assessing the link between

premarital cohabitation and subsequent marital stability. American Sociological Review 53:127-138.

Bereczkei, Tamas 1993 r-Selected reproductive strategies among Hungarian gypsies: A prelimi-

nary analysis. Ethology and Sociobiology 14:71-88.

Berger, Joel 1983 Induced abortion and social factors in wild horses. Nature 303:59-61.

Birkhead, Tim and Anders Moller 1992 Faithless female seeks better genes. New Scientist (July 4) :34-38.

Blackburn, Daniel G. and Craig W. Schneider 1994 Old wine in a new bottle: Evolution by another name. Joumal of

Theoretical Biology 171:233-237.

Bock, Gregory R. and Jamie A. Goode (eds.) 1996 Genetics of criminal and antisocial behavior. New York: John Wiley &

Sons.

Bond, Charles F., Jr., and Michael Robinson 1988 The evolution of deception. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 12:295-307.

Boness, D.J., William D. Bowen, and Joseph M. Francis 1993 Implications of DNA fingerprinting for mating systems and reproductive

strategies of pinnipeds. Symposium of the Zoological Society of London 66:61-93.

Borgerhoff Mulder, Monique 1987 Adaptation and evolutionary approaches to anthropology. Man 22:25-41.

Boyd, Robert and Peter J. Richerson 1992 Punishment allows the evolution of cooperation (or anything else) in

sizable groups. Ethology and Sociobiology 113:171-195.

Brammer, Gary L., Michael J. Raleigh, and Michael T. McGuire 1994 Neurotransmitters and social status. In Lee Ellis (ed.). Social Stratifica-

tion and Socioeconomic Inequality. Vol. 2. Westport, Conn.: Praeger.

262 ELLIS AND WALSH

Brock, David J.H. and Anthony E. Shrimpton 1991 Nonpaternity and prenatal genetic screening. Lancet 338:1151-1153.

Brooks, Randall J. 1984 Causes and consequences of infanticide in populations of rodents. In

Glen Hausfater and Sara B. Hrdy (eds.). Infanticide: Comparative and Evolutionary Perspectives. New York: Aldine.

Browne, Angela and Kirk R. Williams 1989 Exploring the effect of resource availability and the likelihood of female-

perpetrated homicides. Law & Society Review 23:75-94.

Browne, Kingsley R. 1995 Sex and temperament in modern society: A Darwinian view of the glass

ceiling and the gender gap. Arizona Law Review 37:971-1106.

Brownmiller, Susan 1975 Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape. New York: Simon &

Schuster.

Bumpass, Larry L. and James A. Sweet 1989 National estimates of cohabitation. Demography 26:615-625.

Burgess, Robert L. 1991 Social and ecological issues in violence toward children. In Robert T.

Ammerman and Michael Hersen (eds.). Case Studies in Family Violence. New York: Plenum.

Burgess, Robert L. and Patricia Draper 1988 A biosocial theory of family violence: The role of natural selection,

ecological instability, and coercive interpersonal contingencies. In Lloyd Ohlin and Michael H. Tonry (eds.). Crime and Justice: An Annual Review of Research. Vol. 11. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Buss, David M. 1994 The Evolution of Desire. New York: Basic Books. 1995 Evolutionary psychology: A new paradigm for psychological science.

Psychological Inquiry 6:1-30.

Buss, David M. and David P. Schmitt 1993 Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating.

Psychological Review 100:204-232.

Byers, Sandra E. 1988 Effects of sexual arousal on men's and women's behavior in sexual

disagreement situations. Journal of Sex Research 25:235-255.

Cadoret, Remi J. and Mark A. Stewart 1991 An adoption study of attention deficit/hyperactive/aggression and their

relationship to adult antisocial personality. Comparative Psychiatry 32:73-82.

Cadoret, Remi J., William R. Yates, Ed Troughton, George Woodworth, and Mark A. Stewart 1995 Genetic-environmental interaction in the genesis of aggressivity and

conduct disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry 52:619-624.

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 263

Carey, Gregory 1992 Twin imitation for antisocial behavior: Implications for genetic and family

environment research. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 101:18-25,

Cashdan, Elizabeth 1993 Attracting mates: Effects of paternal investment on mate attraction

strategies. Ethology and Sociobiology 14:1-24.

Chisholm, James S. 1988 Toward a developmental evolutionary ecology of humans. In Kevin B.

MacDonald (ed.), Sociobiological Perspectives on Human Development. New York: Springer-Verlag,

Christiansen, Kerrin and Rainer Knussmann 1987 Androgen levels and components of aggressive behavior in men. Hor-

mones and Behavior 21:17&-180.

Cloninger, C. Robert and I. Irving Gottesman 1987 Genetic and environmental factors in antisocial behavior disorders. In

Sarnoff A. Mednick, Terrie E. Moffitt, and Susan A. Stack (eds.). The Causes of Crime. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Clutton-Brock, Timothy H. and George A, Parker 1995 Punishment in animal societies. Nature 373:209-216,

Cohen, Larry E, and Robert Machalek 1988 A general theory of expropriative crime: An evolutionary ecological

approach. American Journal of Sociology 94:465-501.

Cohn, Ellen G, 1993 The prediction of police calls for service: The influence of weather and

temporal variables on rape and domestic violence. Journal of Environ- mental Psychology 13:71-83,

Cosmides, Leda and John Tooby 1992 Cognitive adaptations for social exchange. In Jerome H, Barkow, Leda

Cosmides, and John Tooby (eds.). The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture, New York: Oxford Univer- sity Press.

Crawford, M. and R, Gartner 1992 Women Killing: Intimate Femicide in Ontario, 1974-1990. Toronto:

Women's Directorate, Ministry of Social Services.

Dabbs, James M., Jr., and Robin Morris 1990 Testosterone, social class, and antisocial behavior in a sample of 4,462

men. Psychological Science 1:209-211.

Dabbs, James M., Jr., Marian F. Hargrove, and Colleen Heusel 1996 Testosterone differences among college fraternities: Well-behaved vs.

rambunctious. Journal of Personal Individual Differences 20:157-161.

Daly, Martin and Margo Wilson 1980 Discriminative parental solicitude: A biological perspective. Journal of

Marriage and the Family 42:277-288. 1983 Sex, Evolution, and Behavior. 2d ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. 1985 Child abuse and other risks of not living with both parents. Ethology and

Sociobiology 6:197-210,

264 ELLIS AND WALSH

1987 Evolutionary psychology and family violence. In Charles Crawford, Martin Smith, and Dennis Krebs (eds.), Sociobiology and Psychology. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Eribaum.

1988 Homicide. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. 1994 Some differential attributes of lethal assaults on small children by

stepfathers versus genetic fathers. Ethology and Sociobiology 15:207-217.

Daly, Martin, Margo Wilson, and S.J. Weghorst 1982 Male sexual jealousy. Ethology and Sociobiology 3:11-27.

Dawkins, Richard 1976 The Selfish Gene. New York: Orford University Press.

Degler, Carl N. 1991 In Search of Human Nature: The Decline and Revival of Darwinism in

American Social Thought. New York: Oxford University Press.

Dittus, Wolfgang 1977 The social regulation of population density and age-sex distribution in the

toque monkey. Behaviour 63:281-322.

Dixson, Alan F., T. Bossi, and E.J. Wickings 1993 Male dominance and genetically determined reproductive success in the

mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx). Primates 34:525-532.

Draper, Patricia and Henry Harpending 1982 Father absence and reproductive strategy: An evolutionary perspective.

Journal of Anthropological Research 38:255-273.

Dugatkin, Lee Alan 1992 The evolution of the con artist. Ethology and Sociobiology 13:3-18.

Dunbar, Robin Ian MacDonald 1984 Reproductive Decisions. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Dutton, Donald G. 1995 The Domestic Assault of Women. Vancouver: University of British

Columbia Press.

Elliott, Delbert S. 1994 Serious violent offenders: Onset, developmental course, and termina-

tion—^The American Society of Criminology 1993 Presidental Address. Criminology 32:1-21.

Elliott, Delbert S. and Barbara J. Morse 1987 Drug abuse and adolescent sexual activity, pregnancy, and parenthood.

In C. Jones and Elizabeth McAnarney (eds.). Drug use, delinquency, and sexual activity. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Ellis, Lee 1987 Criminal behavior and r/K selection: An extension of gene-based

evolutionary theory. Deviant Behavior 8:149-176. 1988 The victimful-victimless crime distinction, and seven universal demo-

graphic correlates of victimful criminal behavior. Personality and Individ- ual Differences 9:525-548.

1989a Sex hormones, r/K selection, and victimful criminality. Mankind Quar- terly 29:32^340.

1989b Theories of Rape: Inquiries into the Causes of Sexual Aggression. New York: Hemisphere.

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 265

1990a Conceptualizing criminal and related behavior from a biosocial perspec- tive. In Lee Ellis and Harry Hoffman (eds.). Crime in Biological, Social, and Moral Contexts. New York: Praeger.

1990b The evolution of collective counterstrategies to crime: From the primate control role to the criminal justice system. In Lee Ellis and Harry Hoffman (eds.). Crime in Biological, Social, and Moral Contexts. New York: Praeger.

1990c The evolution of violent criminal behavior and its nonlegal equivalent. In Lee Ellis and Harry Hoffman (eds.). Crime in Biological, Social, and Moral Contexts. New York: Praeger.

1990d Introduction: The nature of the biosocial perspective. In Lee Ellis and Harry Hoffman (eds.). Crime in Biological, Social, and Moral Contexts. New York: Praeger.

1991a Monoamine oxidase and criminality: Identifying an apparent biological marker for antisocial behavior. Journal of Research on Crime and Delinquency 28:227-251.

1991b A synthesized (biosocial) theory of rape. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 59:631-642.

1993 A biosocial theory of social stratification: An alternative to functional theory and conflict theory. In Lee Ellis (ed.). Social Stratification and Socioeconomic Inequality. Vol. 1: A Comparative Biosocial Analysis. Westport, Conn.: Praeger.

1995 Dominance and reproductive success among nonhuman animals: A cross- species comparison. Ethology and Sociobiology 16:257-333.

in press Why some sexual assaults are not committed by men: A biosocial hypothesis. In Peter B. Anderson and Cindy Struckman-Johnson (eds.). When Women Want Sex: Perspectives on Female Sexual Initiation and Aggression. New York: Guilford.

Ellis, Lee and Phyllis D. Coontz 1990 Androgens, brain functioning, and criminality: The neurohormonal

foundations of antisociality. In Lee Ellis and Harry Hoffman (eds.). Crime in Biological, Social, and Moral Contexts. New York: Praeger.

Ellis, Lee and Harry Hoffman 1990 Views of contemporary criminologists on causes and theories of crime. In

Lee Ellis and Harry Hoffman (eds.). Crime in Biological, Social, and Moral Contexts. New York: Praeger.

Ellis, Lee and James Peterson 1996 Crime and religion: An international comparison among thirteen indus-

trial nations. Personality and Individual Differences 20:761-768.

Elwood, Robert W. and Malcolm C. Ostermeyer 1984 The effects of food deprivation, aggression, and isolation on infanticide in

the male Mongolian gerbil. Aggressive Behavior 10:293-301.

Eysenck, Hans J. and Gisli H. Gudjonsson 1989 The Causes and Cures of Criminality. New York: Plenum.

Fishbein, Diana

1990 Biological perspectives in criminology. Criminology 28:27-75.

Frodi, Ann 1981 Contributions of infant characteristics to child abuse. American Journal of

Mental Deficiency 85:341-349.

266 ELLIS AND WALSH

Frodi, Ann 1981 Contributions of infant characteristics to child abuse. American Journal of

Mental Deficiency 85:341-349.

Fujioka, Masahero 1986 Infanticide by a male parent and by a new female in colonial egrets. Auk

101:619-621.

Gadgil, M. and Otto T. Solbrig 1972 The concept of r- and K-selection: Evidence from wild flowers and some

theoretical considerations. American Naturalist 196:14-31.

Geiles, Richard J. and Jane B. Lancaster 1987 Child Abuse and Neglect: Biosocial Dimensions. Hawthorne, N.Y.:

Aldine de Gruyter.

Gottfredson, Michael R. and Travis Hirschi 1990 A General Theory of Crime. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. 1995 National crime control policies. Society 32:30-36.

Gould, James L. 1982 Ethology: The Mechanisms and Evolution of Behavior. New York:

Norton.

Gould, James L. and Peter Marler 1987 Learning by instinct. Scientific American 256:74-85.

Grahn, Mats, Gorgen Goransson, and Torbjom von Schantz 1993 Spacing behaviour of male pheasants, Phasianus colchicus, in relation to

dominance and mate acquisition. Animal Behaviour 45:93-103.

Green, A. 1976 A psychodynamic approach to the study and treatment of child abusing

parents. Journal of Child Psychiatry 15:414—429.

Greenfield, Thomas K. and Constance Weisner 1995 Drinking problems and self-reported criminal behavior, arrests and

convictions: 1990 US alcohol and 1989 county surveys. Addiction 90:361-373.

Grene, Margorie 1982 Introduction. In Margorie Grene (ed.), Dimensions of Darwinism.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gross, Daniel R. 1992 Discovering Anthropology. Mountain View, Calif.: Mayfield.

Gross, Mart R. 1984 Sunfish, salmon, and the evolution of alternative reproductive strategies

and tactics in fishes. In Robin G. Wooton and G.W. Potts (Eds.), Fish Reproduction: Strategies and Tactics. London: Academic Press.

1996 Alternative reproductive strategies and tactics: Diversity within sexes. Trends in Reproduction and Evolutionary Ecology, 11:92-98.

Grove, William M., Elke D. Eckert, Leonard Heston, Thomas J. Bouchard, Nancy Segal, and David T. Lykken 1990 Heritability of substance abuse and antisocial behavior: A study of

monozygotic twins reared apart. Biological Psychiatry 27:1293-1304.

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 267

Guttentag, Marcia and Paul Secord 1983 Too Many Women: The Sex Ratio Question. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage.

Hall, Gorden C N . and William C. Proctor 1987 Criminoiogical predictors of recidivism in a sexual offender population.

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 55:111-112.

Harding, Cheryl F. 1985 Sociobioiogical hypotheses about rape: A critical look at the data behind

the hypotheses. In Suzanne R. Sunday and Ethel Tobach (eds.). Violence Against Women: A Critique of the Sociobiology of Rape. New York: Gordian Press.

Harpending, Henry C. and Patricia Draper 1988 Antisocial behavior and the other side of cultural evolution. In Terrie E.

Moffitt and Sarnoff A. Mednick (eds.). Biological Contributions to Crime Causation. Dordrecht: Martinus Nyhoff.

Harpending, Henry C. and Jay Sobus

1987 Sociopathy as an adaptation. Ethology and Sociobiology 8:63S-72S.

Hartl, Emil M., Edward P. Monnelly, and Roland D. Elderkin

1982 Physique and Delinquent Behavior. New York: Academic Press.

Helton, Ann Stewart, Judith McFarlane, and Elizabeth T. Anderson 1987 Battered and pregnant: A prevalence study. American Journal of Public

Health 77:1337-1339. Hewlett, Barry S.

1991 Demography and childcare in preindustrial societies. Journal of Anthro- pological Research, 47:1-37.

Hews, Diana K. and Michael C. Moore 1996 A critical period for the organization of alternative male phenotypes of

tree lizard by exogenous testosterone. Physiology and Behavior 60:425-429.

Hews, Diana K., Rosemary Knapp, and Michael C. Moore 1994 Early exposure to androgens affects adult expression of alternative male

types in tree lizards. Hormones and Behavior 28:96-115.

Hirsch, Jerry, Terry R. McGuire, and A. Vetta 1980 Concepts of behavior genetics and misapplications to humans. In Joan S.

Lockard (ed.). The Evolution of Human Social Behavior. New York: Elsevier.

Hirschi, Ti-avis and Michael Gottfredson 1983 Age and the explanation of crime. American Journal of Sociology

89:552-584. 1987 Causes of white collar crime. Criminology 25:949-974.

Hoogland, John L. 1985 Infanticide in prairie dogs: Lactating females kill offspring of close kin

Science 230:1037-1040.

Huck, U. William, Robert D. Lisk, Kimberley S. Miller, and Amiel Bethel 1988 Progesterone levels and socially-induced implantation failure and fetal

resorption in golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). Physiology and Behavior 44:321-326.

268 ELLIS AND WALSH

Hutchings, Barry and Sarnoff A. Mednick 1977 Criminality in adoptees and their adoptive and biological parents; A pilot

study. In Sarnoff A. Mednick and Karl O. Christiansen (eds.), Biosocial Basis of Criminal Behavior. New York: Gardner.

Jolly, Alison 1985 The Evolution of Primate Behavior. 2d ed. New York: MacmiUan.

Jones, John W. 1959 The Salmon. New York: Harper & Brothers.

Jones, Marshall B., David R. Offord, and Nola Abrams 1980 Brothers, sisters, and antisocial behavior. British Journal of Psychiatry

136:139-145.

Kaplan, Hillard S. . . , ^ 1994 Evolutionary and wealth flows theories of fertility: Empirical tests and

new models. Population and Development Review 20:753-791.

Katano, Osamu 1990 Dynamic relationships between the dominance of male dark chub, zacco

temmincki, and their acquisition of females. Animal Behaviour 40:1018-1034.

Kempe, C. Henry 1971 Pediatric implications of the battered baby syndrome. Archiyes ot

Disease in Childhood 46:28-37. Kenrick, Douglas T.

1987 Gender, genes, and the social enyironment. In Phillip Shaver and Clyde Hendrick (eds.). Sex and Gender. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage.

Knight, Raymond, Robert Prentky, Beth Schneider, and Ruth Rosenberg 1983 Linear causal modeling of adaptation and criminal history in sexual

offenders. In Katherine Teilmann Van Dusen and Sarnoff A. Mednick (eds.). Prospective Studies of Crime and Delinquency. Boston: Kluwer-Nijhoff.

Kofoed, Lial 1988 Selective dimensions of personality: Psychiatry and sociobiology in

collision. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 31:228-242.

Koopmans, Judith R. and Dorret L. Boomsma 1996 Familial resemblances in alcohol use: Genetic or cultural transmission?

Journal of Studies on Alcohol 57:19-28. Koss, Mary P., Kenneth E. Leonard, Dana A. Beezley, and Cheryl J. Oros

1985 Non-stranger aggression: A discriminate analysis classification. Sex Roles 1:981-992.

Kostowski, Wojciech, Malgorzata Plewako, and Andrzej Bidzinski 1984 Brain serotonergic neurons: Their role in a form of dominance-

subordination behavior in rats. Physiology and Behavior 33:365-371.

Krebs, John and Nicholas Davies 1993 An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology. London: Blackwell.

Krueger, Mary M. 1988 Pregnancy as a result of rape. Journal of Sex Education and Therapy

14:23-27.

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 269

Kvamemo, Charlotta, Elisabet Forsgren, and Carin Magnhagen 1995 Effects of sex ratio on intra- and inter-sexual behaviour in sand gobies.

Animal Behaviour 50:1455-1461.

Lalumiere, Martin L. and Vernon L. Quinsey 1996 Sexual deviance, antisociality, mating effort, and the use of sexually

coercive behaviors. Personality and Individual Differences 21:33-48.

Laner, Mary Riege 1990 Violence or its precipitators: Which is more likely to be identified as a

dating problem? Deviant Behavior 11:319-329.

Lepowsky, Maria 1994 Women, men, and aggression in an egalitarian society. Sex Roles

30:199-211.

Lewin, Roger 1982 Biology is not postage stamp collecting. Science 216:718-720.

Lightcap, Joyl L., Jeffrey A. Kurland, and Robert L. Burgess 1982 Child abuse: A test of some predictions from evolutionary theory.

Ethology and Sociobiology 3:61-67.

Lindburg, Donald G. 1983 Mating behavior and estrus in the Indian rhesus monkey. In P.K. Seth

(ed.). Perspectives in Primate Biology. New Delhi: Today and Tomorrow.

Lombroso, Cesare 1896 L'uomo Delinquente. Torino, Italy: Bocca.

Lopreato, Joseph 1984 Human Nature and Biocultural Evolution. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Lovejoy, C. Owen 1981 The origin of man. Science 211:341-350.

Lykken, David T. 1995 The Antisocial Personalities. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Eribaum.

MacArthur, Robert H. and Edward O. Wilson 1967 The Theory of Island Biogeography. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univer-

sity Press.

MacNiven, Elaine and Denys de Catanzaro 1990 Reversal of stress-induced pregnancy blocks in mice by progesterone and

metyrapone. Physiology & Behavior 47:443-448.

Malamuth, Neil M. 1986 Predictors of naturalistic sexual aggression. Journal of Personality and

Social Psychology 50:953-962.

Masters, Roger D. 1983 Explaining "male chauvinism" and "feminism": Cultural differences in

male and female reproductive strategies. In Meredith Watts (ed.), Biopolitics and Gender. New York: Haworth Press.

Mazur, Allan 1995 Biosocial models of deviant behavior among male army veterans.

Biological Psychology 41:271-293.

270 ELLIS AND WALSH

McGuire, Michael T., Fawzy I. Fawzy, James E. Spar, Ronald M. Weigel, and Alfonso Troisi 1994 Altruism and mental disorders. Ethology and Sociobiology 15:299-321.

McKinney, F., S.R. Derrickson, and P. Mineau 1983 Forced copulation in waterfowl. Behaviour 86:250-294.

Mealey, Linda 1995 The sociobiology of sociopathy: An integrated evolutionary model.

Behavioral and Brain Sciences 18:523-599.

Menge, B.A. 1974 Effect of wave action and competition on brooding and reproductive

effort in the seastar, Leptasterias Hexactis. Ecology 55:84-93.

Messner, Steven and Robert Sampson 1991 The sex ratio, family disruption, and rates of violent crime: The paradox

of demographic structure. Social Forces 69:693-713.

Miller, Anna E. and Gail D. Riegle 1985 Progesterone and luteinizing hormone secretion following stress-induced

interruption of constant estrus in aged rats. Journal of Gerontology 40:129-132.

Miller, Edward M. 1994 Paternal provisioning versus mate seeking in human populations. Person-

ality and Individual Differences 17:227-255.

Moffitt, Terrie 1993 Adolescent-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A devel-

opmental taxonomy. Psychological Review 100:674-701.

Nagin, Daniel S. and David P. Farrington 1992 The stability of criminal potential from childhood to adulthood. Criminol-

ogy 30:235-256.

Norton, Lynn B., Jeffrey F. Peipert, Sally Zierler, Bethany Lima, and Lucy Hume 1995 Battering in pregnancy: An assessment of two screening methods.

Obstetrics & Gynecology 85:321-325.

Oakes, Ann and Elizabeth Almquist 1993 Women in national legislatures: A cross-national test of macrostructural

gender theories. Population Research and Policy Review 12:71-81.

Painter, Susan L. and Don Dutton 1985 Patterns of emotional bonding in battered women: Traumatic bonding.

International Journal of Women's Studies 8:363-375.

Palmer, Craig T. 1989 Rape in nonhuman animal species: Definitions, evidence, and implica-

tions. Journal of Sex Research 26:355-374.

Parker, Barbara, Judith McFarlane, and Karen Soeken 1994 Abuse during pregnancy: Effects on maternal complications and birth

weight in adult and teenage women. Obstetrics & Gynecology 84:323-328.

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 271

Paul, P. Jay 1993 Childhood cross-gender behavior and adult homosexuality: The resur-

gence of biological models of sexuality. Journal of Homosexuality 25:41-71.

Pedersen, Frank 1991 Secular trends in human sex ratios: Their influence on individual and

family behavior. Human Nature 2:271-291.

Pianka, Eric R. 1970 On r- and K-selection. American Naturalist 104:592-597.

Porter, R.D. and S.N. Wiemeyer 1970 Propagation of captive American kestrell. Journal of Wilderness Manage-

ment 34:594-604.

Raine, Adrian 1993 The Psychopathology of Crime: Criminal Behavior As a Clinical

Disorder. San Diego: Academic Press.

Raine, Adrian and Jennifer J. Dunkin 1990 The genetic and psychophysiological basis of antisocial behavior: Implica-

tions for counseling and therapy. Journal of Counseling and Develop- ment 68:637-644.

Reid, J.B., P.S. Taplin, and Rolf Loeber 1981 A social interactional approach to the treatment of abusive families. In

Richard Stuart (ed.). Violent Behavior: Social Learning Approaches to Prediction, Management, and Treatment. New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Relethford, John 1990 The Human Species: An Introduction to Biological Anthropology.

Mountain View, Calif.: Mayfield.

Rice, Marnie E., Grant T. Harris, and Vernon L. Ouinsey 1990 A follow-up of rapists assessed in a maximum-security psychiatric facility.

Journal of Interpersonal Violence 5:435-448.

Roberts, Gwenneth. Brian I. O'Toole, Joan M. Lawrence, and Beverly Raphael 1993 Domestic violence victims in a hospital emergency department. Medical

Journal of Australia 159:307-310.

Robins, Lee N. 1966 Deviant Children Grown Up. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.

Robins, Lee N., P.A. West, and B.L. Herjanic 1975 Arrests and delinquency in two generations: A study of black urban

families and their children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 16:125-140.

Rowe, David C. 1990 Inherited dispositions toward learning delinquent and criminal behavior:

New evidence. In Lee Ellis and Harry Hoffman (eds.). Crime in Biological, Social, and Moral Contexts. New York: Praeger.

1996 An adaptive strategy theory of crime and delinquency. In J. David Hawkins (ed.). Delinquency and Crime: Current theories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

272 ELLIS AND WALSH

Rushton, J. Philippe 1988 Race differences in behavior: A review and evolutionary analysis.

Journal of Personality and Individual Differences 9:1009-1024. 1995 Race, Evolution, and Behavior: A Life History Perspective. New

Brunswick, N.J.: IVansaction Publishers.

Rushton, J. Philippe and Anthony F. Bogaert 1988 Race versus social class differences in sexual behavior: A follow-up test

of the r/K dimension. Journal of Research in Personality 22:259-272.

Rushton, J. Philippe, David Fulker, Michael Neale, David Nias, and Hans J. Eysenck 1986 Altruism and aggression: The heritability of individual differences.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 50:1192-1198.

Rutter, Michael and Henri Giller 1984 Juvenile Delinquency: TVends and Perspectives. New York: Guilford.

Sackett, Gene P. 1981 Receiving severe aggression correlates with fetal gender in pregnant

pigtailed monkeys. Developmental Psychobiology 14:267-272.

Sasse, Georg, Hansjakob Muller, Ranajit Chakaborty, and Jurg Ott 1994 Estimadng the frequency of nonpaternity in Switzerland. Human Hered-

ity 44:337-343.

Scarpellini, F., M. Sbracia, and L. Scarpellini 1994 Psychological stress and lipoperoxidation in miscarriage. Annals of the

New York Academy of Sciences 709:210-213.

Scerbo, Angela S. and David J. Kolko 1994 Salivary testosterone and cortisol in disruptive children: Relationship to

aggressive, hyperactive, and internalizing behaviors. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 33, 1174-1184.

Schuiz, Patricia 1994 Obstacles to equality between the sexes. In James Curtis, Lome

Tepperman and Alan Wain (eds.). Haves and Have-nots: An Interna- tional Reader on Social Inequality. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

Shields, William M. and Lea M. Shields 1983 Forcible rape: An evolutionary perspective. Ethology and Sociobiology

4:115-136.

Simons, Ronald, Jay Beaman, Rand Conger, and Wei Chao 1993 Stress, support, and antisocial behavior traits as determinants of emo-

tional well-being and parenting practices among single mothers. Journal of Marriage and the Family 55:385-389.

Sluyter, Frans, Geert A. van Oortmerssen, and Jaap M. Koolhaas 1996 Genetic influences on coping behaviour in house mouse lines selected for

aggression: Effects of the Y chromosome. Behaviour 133:117-128.

Smith, Christopher C. and Stephen D. Fretwell 1974 The optimal balance between size and number of offspring. American

Naturalist 108:499-506.

Smith, James N.M. and Peter Arcese 1989 How fit are floaters? Consequences of alternative territorial behaviours

in a nonmigratory sparrow. American Naturalist 133:830-845.

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 273

Smuts, Barbara B. 1992 Male aggression against women: An evolutionary perspective. Human

Nature 3:1-44. 1993 Male aggression and sexual coercion of females in nonhuman primates

and other mammals: Evidence and theoretical implications. Advances in the Study of Behavior 22:1-63.

Smuts, Barbara B. and Robert W. Smuts 1993 Male aggression against female primates: Evidence and theoretical

implications. In P.J.B. Slater, J.S. Rosenblatt, M. Milinski, and C.T. Snowden (eds.). Advances in the Study of Behavior. New York: Academic Press.

South, Scott and Katherine TVent 1988 Sex ratios and women's roles: A cross-national analysis. American

Journal of Sociology 93:1096-1115.

Sozou, Peter D. and Alasdair I. Houston 1994 Parental effort in a mating system involving two males and two females.

Journal of Theoretical Biology 171:251-266.

Straus, Murray A., Richard J. Geiles, and Suzanne K. Steinmetz 1980 Behind Closed Doors: Violence in the American Family. Beverly Hills,

Calif.: Sage.

Thiessen, Delbert D. 1986 The unseen roots of rape: The theoretical untouchable. Revue Europe-

anne des Sciences Sociaies 24:9-40. 1990 Hormonal correlates of sexual aggression. In Lee Ellis and Harry

Hoffman (eds.). Crime in Biological, Social, and Moral Contexts. New York: Praeger.

Thompson, Philip R. 1980 And who is my neighbour? An answer from evolutionary genetics.

Social Science Information 19:341-384.

Thornhill, Randy 1979 Adaptive female-mimicking behavior in a scorpionfly. Science

205:412-414.

Thornhill, Randy and Nancy Thornhill 1983 Human rape: An evolutionary analysis. Ethology and Sociobiology

4:137-173. 1987 Human rape: The strengths of the evolutionary perspective. In Charles

Crawford, Martin Smith, and Dennis Krebs (eds.), Sociobiology and Psychology: Ideas, Issues, and Applications. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Eribaum.

1992 The evolutionary psychology of men's coercive sexuality. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 15:363-375.

Tittle, Charles R., Wayne J. Villemez and Douglas A. Smith 1978 The myth of social class and criminality: An empirical assessment of the

empirical evidence. American Sociological Review 43:643-656.

Tooke, William and Lori Camire 1991 Patterns of deception in intersexual and intrasexual mating stratigies.

Ethology and Sociobiology 12:345-364.

274 ELLIS AND WALSH

Townsend, John M. 1995 Sex without emotional involvement: An evolutionary interpretation of

sex differences. Archives of Sexual Behavior 24:173-206.

Trivers, Robert T. 1985 Social Evolution. Menlo Park, Calif.: Benjamin/Cummings 1991 Deceit and self-deception: The relationship between communication and

consciousness. In Michael H. Robinson and Lionel Tiger (eds.), Man and Beast Revisited. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.

'I\ipper, C , F. Moya, L.C. Stewart, R.J. Welf, and J.D.Gray 1957 The problem of spontaneous abortion, I: A combined approach.

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 73:313-321.

van der Dennen, Johan M.G. 1992 The sociobiology of behavioural sex differences I: The evolutionary

rationale behind the battle of the sexes. In Johan M.G. van der Dennen • (ed.). The Nature of the Sexes. The Netherlands: Origin Press.

Vergnes, Marguertte, Antain Depaulis, Annie Boehrer, and Elaine Kempf 1988 Selective increase of offensive behavior in the rat following intrahypothal-

amic 5, 7-DHT-induced serotonin depletion. Behavioral Brain Research 29:85-91.

Vila, Bryan 1994 A general paradigm for understanding criminal behavior: Extending

evolutionary ecological theory. Criminology 32:311-359.

Virkkunen, Matti, Judith DeJong, John Bartko, and Markku Linnoila 1989 Psychobiological concomitants of history of suicide attempts among

violent offenders and impulsive flre setters. Archives of General Psychiatry 46:604-606.

Walsh, Anthony 1990 Illegitimacy, child abuse and neglect, and cognitive development. Journal

of Genetic Psychology 151:279-285. 1991 Intellectual Imbalance, Love Deprivation and Violent Delinquency: A

Biosocial Perspective. Springfield, 111.: Charles C Thomas. 1995a Biosociology: An Emerging Paradigm. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. 1995b Genetic and cytogenetic intersex anomalies: Can they help us to

understand gender differences in deviant behavior? International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 39:151-166.

Walsh, Anthony and Jerold Beyer 1987 Violent crime, sociopathy, and love deprivation among adolescent

delinquents. Adolescence 22:705-717.

Walters, Glenn D. 1992 A meta-analysis of the gene-crime relationship. Criminology 30:595-613.

Weiher, Anne W., David Huizinga, Alan J. Lizotte, and Welmoet B. van Kammen 1991 The relationship between sexual activity, pregnancy, delinquency, and

drug abuse. In David Huizinga, Rolf Loeber, and Terence Thomberry (eds.). Urban Delinquency and Substance Abuse: A Technical Report. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

GENE-BASED EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES 275

Weir, Susan 1992 Crimes passionnels: Gender differences in perceived justification for

murder in the face of marital infidelity. Irish Journal of Psychology 13:350-360.

West, Donald J. 1969 Present Conduct and Future Delinquency. London: Heinemann. 1973 Who Becomes Delinquent? London: Heinemann.

West, Donald J. and David P. Farrington 1973 Who Becomes Delinquent? Second Report of the Cambridge Study in

Delinquent Development. London: Heinemann Educational Books.

West-Eberhard, Mary J. 1986 Alternative adaptations, speciation, and phylogeny (a review). Proceed-

ings of the National Academy of Sciences 83:1388-1392.

Whipple, Ellen E. and Carolyn Webster-Stratton 1991 The role of parental stress in physically abusive families. Child Abuse &

Neglect 15:279-291.

White, Elliott 1993 Genes, Brains, and Politics. Westport, Conn.: Praeger.

Whitten, Patricia L. and Euclid O. Smith 1984 Patterns of wounding in stumptaii macaques, Macaca arctoides. Primates

25:326-336.

Wikelski, Martin, Chris Carbone, and Fritz Trillmich 1996 Lekking in marine iguanas: Female grouping and male reproductive

strategies. Animal Behavior, 52, 581-596.

Willerman, Lee, John C. Loehlin, and Joseph M. Horn 1992 An adoption and a cross-fostering study of the Minnesota Multiphasic

Personality Inventory (MMPI) psychopathic deviate scale. Behavior Genetics 22:515-529.

Wilson, David 1993 Adaptive genetic variation and human evolutionary psychology. Ethology

and Sociobiology 15:219-235.

Wilson, James Q. and Richard J. Herrnstein 1985 Crime and Human Nature. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Wilson, Martin I., Margo Daly, and S.J. Weghorst 1980 Household composition and the risk of child abuse and neglect. Journal

of Biosocial Science 12:333-340.

Wimer, Richard E. and Cynthia C. Wimer 1985 Animal behavior genetics: A search for the biological foundations of

behavior. Annual Review of Psychology 36:171-218.

Windle, Rebecca C. and Michael Windle 1995 Longitudinal patterns of physical aggression: Associations with adult

social, psychiatric, and personality functioning and testosterone levels. Development and Psychopathology 7:563-585.

Winston, R. 1987 Infertility: A sympathetic approach. Journal of Reproductive and Infant

Psychology 7:80-86.

276 ELLIS AND WALSH

Wolfner, Glenn D. and Richard J. Gelles 1993 A profile of violence toward children: A national study. Child Abuse &

Neglect 17:197-212.

Wrangham, Richard W. and Dale Peterson 1996 Demonic males: Apes and the origin of human violence. Boston:

Houghton Mifflin.

Wright, Robert 1995 The Biology of Violence. New York: Vintage.

Yegidis, Bonnie L. 1986 Date rape and other forced sexual encounters among college students.

Journal of Sex Education and Therapy 12:51-54.

Yeh, Shih-Rung, Russell A. Fricke, and Donald H. Edwards 1996 The effect of social experience on serotonergic modulation of the escape

circuit of crayfish. Science 271:366-369.

Zawitz, Marianne, Patsy Klaus, Ronet Bachman, Lisa Bastian, Marshall Debarry, Michael Rand, and Bruce Taylor 1993 Highlights from 20 Years of Surveying Crime Victims: The National

Crime Victimization Survey, 1973-1992. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Zuckerman, Marvin 1994 Behavioral expressions and biosocial bases of sensation seeking. Cam-

bridge: Cambridge University Press.

Zuravin, Susan J. 1988 Child maltreatment and teenage first births: A relationship mediated by

chronic sociodemographic stress. Journal of Orthopsychiatry 58:91-103. 1991 Unplanned childbearing and family size: Their relationship to child

neglect and abuse. Family Planning Perspectives 23:155-161.

Lee Ellis is Professor of Sociology at Minot State University, Minot, North Dakota. His research interests cover a wide range of criminological and sociological topics. He recently edited and contributed six chapters to a two volume book series entitled Social Stratification and Socioeconomic Inequality (Praeger, 1993 and 1994).

Anthony Walsh is currently Professor of Criminal Justice at Boise State University, Idaho. His primary interest is the biosocial bases of behavior, particularly criminal behavior. His latest book is Biosociology: An Emerging Pradigm (Praeger, 1995). He is currently involved in writing a criminology textbook with Dr. Ellis to be published by Allyn & Bacon.

J

Genes, environment and responsibility for violent behavior.pdf

Genes, environment and responsibility for violent behavior: “Whatever genes one has it is preferable that you are prevented from going around stabbing people”†

Mairi Levitt∗

Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religious Studies, Lancaster University, UK

For the legal system to function effectively people are generally viewed as autonomous actors able to exercise choice and responsible for their actions. It is conceivable that genetic traits associated with violent and antisocial behavior could call into question an affected individual’s responsibility for acts of criminal violence. Evidence concerning genes associated with violent and antisocial behavior has been introduced in criminal courts in the USA and Italy, either alone or with associated environmental factors. One example of a “genetic defense” is based on low levels of monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) activity, with a prevalence of around 30% in Caucasian males. In countries with trial by jury it is particularly relevant to consider the views of publics on criminal liability and the significance they assign to evidence citing genetic influences on behavior. This article draws on largely qualitative research looking at participants’ explanations of, and assigning of responsibility for, violent and antisocial behavior where environmental or genetic influences are claimed. Genetic factors were not viewed deterministically by participants but were considered by most to be irrelevant to personal responsibility. Notions of human agency, free will and choice were crucial to explanations of problem behaviors and ensured that offenders could be held responsible despite evidence on environmental and genetic factors.

Keywords: behavioral genetics; genetics and crime; responsibility

Introduction

It is conceivable that genetic traits associated with violent and antisocial behavior could call into question an affected individual’s responsibility for acts of criminal violence. This article focuses on one example of a “genetic defense” based on low levels of monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) activity that has been employed in crim- inal trials in the USA and Europe, either alone or combined with environmental factors. The MAOA enzyme is involved in regulating the metabolism of serotonin

New Genetics and Society, 2013 Vol. 32, No. 1, 4 – 17, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14636778.2012.699352

∗Email: [email protected] †Quotation from interview one with a ‘senior learner’, March 2010.

New Genetics and Society, 2013 Vol. 32, No. 1, 4 – 17, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14636778.2012.699352

# 2013 Taylor & Francis

and so influencing brain function. Lower levels of the MAOA enzyme result in higher levels of serotonin remaining in the blood and the low level gene variant has a prevalence of around 30% in Caucasian males (Caspi et al. 2002a, p. 53, note 30). Various neurological conditions have been associated with both high and low levels of MAOA. The article considers recent studies of MAOA function and behavior and some expert discussions on the implications of the research for criminal responsibility before focusing on a study of public attitudes. In countries with trial by jury the views of publics on criminal liability are particularly relevant, including the significance they assign to environmental and genetic influences on behavior and whether such influences affect individual responsibility. A largely qualitative study was undertaken, with different age groups, to look at their explanations of, and the assigning of responsibility for, violent and antisocial behavior. The data included responses to cases where either environmental or genetic influences were claimed by the defending legal team. Respondents’ uses of notions of human agency, free will and determinism, choice and control are discussed in relation to claims of genetic and environmental influences on criminal behavior.

MAOA function and behavior

The first case where defense lawyers attempted to use evidence on MAOA function was that of the convicted murderer, Stephen Mobley. Mobley’s defense team sought advice from researchers involved in a study of a Dutch family in which males in successive generations had low – normal IQ and abnormal violent behavior (Brunner et al. 1993). Five affected males had been tested and found to have no MAOA function. Mobley had an above average IQ but a family history of four generations of males who either exhibited violent and antisocial behavior or were successful businessmen, like Mobley’s father. The defense lawyers asked for a gene test for MAOA function in an attempt to commute the death penalty to a life sentence (United States Court of Appeal 2001). This was refused on the grounds that the genetic research referred to did not meet the required standards for permissible scientific evidence. Mobley was eventually executed in 2005 (Department of Law, State of Georgia 2005).

A complete lack of MAOA function is thought to be extremely rare but the Dutch family study led to more interest in correlations between MAOA function and behavior. An influential study by Caspi et al. looked at low levels of MAOA function combined with childhood maltreatment, a known environmental risk factor for aggressive and violent behavior. Based on longitudinal data collected in Dunedin the research found that 12% of the males in the study had the low activity MAOA genotype and had experienced severe maltreatment in childhood. This group accounted for 44% of the recorded convictions for violence and 85% of them had displayed some form of antisocial behavior (Caspi et al. 2002a). A review article published in 2005 discussed replications of the original research

New Genetics and Society 5

(Kim-Cohen et al. 2005). In other studies the low MAOA variant has been linked to various forms of risky behavior and gang membership (Lea and Chambers 2007, Beaver et al. 2009). Widom and Brzustowicz found that the same relationship did not hold among non-Caucasians in their study and might even be reversed (2006, p. 688). They suggested reasons for this finding, including differences in childhood or other environmental factors and the possibility that the polymorphism used as a proxy for the overall level of MAOA expression may not give accurate results in different ethnic groups (ibid.).

A case in Italy appears to be the first time a European court has allowed a genetic defense to reduce a sentence for a convicted criminal (Ahuja 2009, Calloway 2009, Feresin 2009, Tsouderos 2010). Abdelmalek Bayout, an Algerian citizen living in Italy, confessed to killing Walter Perez, a Columbian. Bayout had already had his sentence reduced by three years due to a history of mental illness. On appeal his sentence was cut by a further year as a test had revealed that he had low levels of the MAOA enzyme. No evidence was presented on his childhood so the genetic defense was based solely on his having a genetic variant that is present in 30% of Caucasian men. The prevalence in Bayout’s ethnic subgroup is unknown.

Implications of the research

The research that has been replicated depends on the presence of genetic and environmental factors that together are correlated with violent and antisocial behav- ior, although, as seen in the Bayout case, this does not preclude evidence based on the genetic trait alone being used in a criminal court. Determining whether someone has been maltreated in childhood typically relies on a combination of indicators and, like definitions of antisocial and violent behavior, is related to societal norms. In the Caspi et al. study evidence for incidents of maltreatment between the age of 3 and 11 years old was collected through direct behavioral observation, parental reports and adult study members’ retrospective reports (Caspi et al. 2002b, pp. 2 – 3).

Environmental influences, from ill treatment in childhood to religious faith, may be offered in mitigation pleas and affect the sentence. The question is whether genetic factors are to be accommodated in the same way or whether they are, or should be, seen as fundamentally different. Farahany and Coleman reviewed cases that have gone through US courts and found that genetic predispositions, including MAOA and predisposition to drug and alcohol addiction had been used to claim involuntariness, insanity defense and in mitigation pleas (Farahany and Coleman 2006). Such evidence could instead be used against individuals on the grounds that if they know their genetic risk but fail to act on the information they are responsible and blameworthy (Levitt and Pieri 2009). This development would parallel public health messages which assign responsibility to the individual to act to reduce known risks to health, like obesity or lack of exercise. An appeal based on a “genetic predisposition to violence” was rejected in one USA case as “not very helpful” to the offender since he “not only failed to show remorse or

6 M. Levitt

offer mitigating evidence, but . . . flaunted his menacing behaviour” (Denno 2009, p. 341). This judgment also indicated what might be considered helpful behavior for those claiming a “genetic defense.” Bernet et al., in an article discussing the use of MAOA genotyping in murder trials, concluded that “the future of behavioral genetics and the role of this new science in criminal trials seems wide-open” (Bernet et al. 2007, p. 1370).

Responsibility in law

No individual’s actions or decisions could be said to be completely autonomous, in the sense of being free from outside influences. Other people, organizations and structures will impinge on the decision-making processes of all actors. However, this does not, except in extreme cases, preclude a degree of self-government and the ability to make choices. Thus most adults, and children over the age of criminal responsibility, are considered liable to be punished for illegal acts. Except in cases of strict liability, criminal liability requires that the individual committed the wrongful act or omission voluntarily (actus reus) and knew what s/he was doing, had a wrongful state of mind (mens rea). “Voluntarily” implies not that the person necessarily wanted to do it but that the act was done under the person’s control. Farahany and Coleman in a discussion of genetics and criminal responsibility from a USA perspective state that in criminal law people are viewed as autonomous actors:

not because of a preference for arguments in support of theoretical free will, compa- tibilism, or determinism, or because it is empirically verifiable. Instead, the criminal law recognizes the autonomy of human choice as fundamental to the operation of a modern system of laws. (Farahany and Coleman 2006, p. 135f)

Legal responsibility is a status assigned to an individual, not a description of a state of being (Barnes 2003, p. 297). Therefore, Barnes concludes, accounts of behavior- al causation in genetics and everyday accounts of responsibility and choice are par- allel rather than in conflict. Whatever genetics might uncover about human behavior does not conflict with the view of people as “responsible agents” (ibid., p. 300).

A similar line of argument is taken by some philosophers contributing to the dis- cussion who see dangers for society if people were to accept determinist accounts of their actions and no longer think of humans as morally responsible (Roskies and Nichols 2008, p. 376f). For Ripstein people are held to be legally responsible for actions in order to uphold the framework of freedom and security for all. One person’s freedom would be compromised if others could be excused from liability. “Fairness requires that the costs be imposed on those who create them, insofar as this is possible” (Ripstein 1994, p. 16, footnote 27). Matravers makes a similar point specifically in relation to the Caspi et al. research. Given the need to protect society and other people the legal system treats people who commit violent acts the same, whether or not they have the genetic trait and suffered

New Genetics and Society 7

abuse (Matravers 2007, p. 138). Matravers argues that responsibility is tied to the conception of people as agents and “to think of ourselves as agents is central to our self-understanding” (ibid., p. 4).

The focus on the practical need to treat (most) people in law as responsible agents sidesteps the question of whether genetic research does in fact affect individual responsibility for violent behavior. Current research does not support a genetically determinist account of violent behavior but bioethicists are divided on whether genetic influences on behavior challenge the current legal system. The Nuffield Council of Bioethics considered the scientific evidence before concluding that:

research in behavioural genetics does not pose a fundamental challenge to our notions of responsibility as they are applied in the legal context . . . [genetic variants] cannot be said to absolve individuals from responsibility for their actions. (Nuffield Council on Bioethics 2002, p. xxxi)

Baron and van Inwagen have both argued that since those with a genetic predispo- sition are not necessarily violent, but only find it harder to refrain from violence, such genetic factors should not be seen as affecting responsibility (Baron 2001, p. 202, van Inwagen 2001, p. 240). In contrast Garcia argues that even when genetic factors strongly influence, but do not determine, behavior the onus is on others to show that blame and punishment would still be just (2001, p. 289).

If a more deterministic model of the effect of genes and environment on behavior is taken this would not necessarily unify agreement on the impossibility of attribut- ing responsibility for behavior to the individual. Philosophers have been divided over whether people are generally compatibilists or incompatiblists; that is, whether they see individual responsibility as compatible or incompatible with a determined universe. A body of empirical research using student samples, but excluding philosophy students, has come up with different findings depending on the wording and examples used (Nichols and Knobe 2007, p. 669f). Roskies and Nichols argue that the difference is to do with whether people were asked to imagine a determinist version of their own universe or another deterministic uni- verse. When asked to assume that their own universe is deterministic, people are inclined to judge that people are still morally responsible, a compatibilist response. But they are inclined to judge people in another deterministic universe as not fully morally responsible, an incompatibilist response (Roskies and Nichols 2008, p. 374). Since we do hold people responsible in our universe, the student respon- dents may be reducing cognitive dissonance by continuing to hold people respon- sible even if our own universe has become deterministic (ibid., p. 379).

Common genetic traits associated with violent and antisocial behavior suggest only an increased propensity to such behavior (Baker et al. 2009). Although media headlines may present a more determinist view of behavioral genetics, a review of public understanding suggests that “the public often resist genetically determined discourse through active interpretative patterns” whether this discourse is on the causes of diseases or behavior (Condit 2011, p. 626). Before “genetic

8 M. Levitt

defenses” are used in a court in the UK it is pertinent to explore public understand- ing of the causes of behavior and the roles of nature and nurture or genes and environment.

Research methods

The aim of this research was to explore people’s explanations of behavior, especially violent behavior in young people, through direct questions and responses to cases where genetic or environmental defenses were made. Participants were to be from a wide age range in order to see whether those who had grown up with the increased attention paid to genetics in all aspects of life, from religious belief to happiness, might be more receptive to genetic explanations of behavior. The results discussed in this article focus on the respondents’ views on the following issues:

. Why people behave the way they do

. How blame and responsibility for behavior should be attributed

. How the justice system should treat evidence on genetic and environmental factors when introduced into criminal courts

First, interviews were conducted with participants in the senior learners’ program at Lancaster University. There were no educational or age requirements for taking part in the program, although all those interviewed were retired from paid work and were up to 80+ years old. The rationale for focusing on this group was that they had shown an interest in current issues in a range of fields and would be people engaged in the local community. A questionnaire was devised with the same open-ended questions for relatives of senior learners, in order to investigate any gen- erational differences in attitudes. Demographic data collected was age, highest edu- cational qualification and current or last occupation. All respondents were given the same case studies (see Figure 1) and the questions were in the same order in both the

Figure 1. Case studies.

New Genetics and Society 9

interviews and questionnaires. The project was approved by the Lancaster Univer- sity Research Ethics Committee. All the empirical research and analysis was carried out by the author. Responses were coded and entered on SPSS and the data was also analyzed thematically using Atlas-ti.

The target number for interviews was 12 senior learners with the aim of reaching around 36 younger relatives. The first 13 senior learners to respond were inter- viewed. Only 15 questionnaires were received from relatives,1 most of whom were over the age of 45, so research ethics approval was obtained to distribute the questionnaire during a first year university criminology course lecture in order to include younger respondents who were likely to go on to careers in similar areas to the senior learners (e.g. social work, management, teaching). Students may take courses from various disciplines in their first year but most were enrolled on social science degrees and almost all were age 18 to 20 years (the oldest was 24). Fifty completed questionnaires were returned from around 90 distributed at a lecture. While the senior learners and relatives were relatively balanced in terms of sex, criminology students were predominantly female, making it difficult to comment on any gender differences in responses. Student responses tended to be shorter than those from relatives and from the interviews. The main difference was in response to a question, not discussed here, about influences in their own lives. The question, “who/what made you who you are today?” elicited more detailed accounts of people’s lives in the interview setting. No claims can be made about the generalizability of the findings in this exploratory study.

The article focuses on responses to two case studies, adapted from newspaper reports, where either environmental or genetic factors were brought up in court by the defense (Figure 1). The same open-ended questions were asked for both cases, starting with a general question on how they thought such evidence should be dealt with in criminal cases. They were then asked whether the factor should affect the degree of blame, then whether the factor should be taken into account by the court in order to be fair, and, finally, whether it should affect the offenders’ responsibility for the crime. Earlier questions related to the case studies are also dis- cussed. In these questions respondents were asked how they would explain different kinds of behavior if they came across a child who is kind and considerate; a young person who displays antisocial and aggressive behavior; and an adult with criminal convictions for violence. This was to tap into differences in explanations of good and bad behavior in young people and adults. However, in retrospect it would have been better to word the questions as “young person” for both kind and antisocial behavior in order to avoid conflating age and conduct. A quotation about child killers in the Bulger2 case being “unreformable” was used to ascertain opinions on their reform- ability and whether in general children or adults are more likely to be reformable.

Behavior and responsibility

When asked how they might explain kind and considerate behavior in a child almost all referred to the child’s parenting, family life and the example of behavior

10 M. Levitt

that they gave the child (85%). For violent behavior in an older child fewer cited parenting and family life (41%), although it was still the most popular reason, and more referred to the child’s social environment (23%) and to factors specific to the individual (13%). However, when explaining criminal violence in adults, individual factors, not including biology/genes or health, were mentioned by 50% of the sample. Senior learners in particular made a clear distinction between young people and adults in terms of individual responsibility:

The adult probably has more responsibility individually and personally for their own action but people do carry baggage and background experience is difficult to shed . . . Family background is influential but not as influential as it is for a young person. (4SL)3

Responses to case studies

Most respondents of all ages, 85% overall, thought that evidence of a “toxic child- hood” should be taken into account by the courts with other factors, “to give the whole picture” and most also agreed that it was fair to do so. Half thought that evi- dence of the “genetic trait” in the Bayout case should also be taken into account and just under half thought it fair to do so. However, fewer thought that responsibility was affected in either case. Only a quarter thought evidence of a “toxic childhood” affected responsibility and only 15% thought genes affected responsibility. The reasons given confirmed that those respondents only saw responsibility as “affected,” not removed.

As shown in Figure 2 students consistently argued that neither a toxic childhood nor MAOA level affected responsibility. The senior learners had similar views on the genetic factor but over half thought that evidence of a “toxic childhood” affected responsibility, because it should be shared with relevant adults. This was consistent with the senior learners’ more sympathetic view of child criminals and their reformability. The percentage of relatives who thought children were more reformable rose gradually with age.4

Figure 2. Responses to “toxic childhood” and “MAOA” defenses compared (N ¼ 63).

New Genetics and Society 11

Whether or not respondents argued that responsibility was affected they tended to see knowledge of background and genetic factors as relevant to help explain be- havior and decide on treatment. While not referring specifically to the one year reduction in sentence, three respondents thought that the genetic information might be used in mitigation and so potentially could reduce Bayout’s sentence. More commonly it was felt that the sentence should be lengthened because he was “pathologically dangerous” and there was a need to protect others. Some respondents saw the possibility that genetic evidence might be more relevant in future if it was proven to be a definite cause of the behavior. There is of course no explicit causal link between a genetic and environmental predisposition and the precise act committed (Farahany and Coleman 2006, p. 121).

Most treated genetic evidence in a similar way to nurture: possibly or probably influential but not determining. Only one senior learner used the term epigentics but other respondents stated that influences do not simply flow from genes to environment, that genes can be affected by environment and switched on and off.

While rejecting genetic determinism themselves some felt that courts or people in general might be swayed by genetic evidence, as in these two responses:

Courts are not good at handling scientific evidence . . . The Court should hear this [evidence about genes] but the evidence must be open to expert question. . . . I doubt that there is often any critical analysis of such evidence and that judges, and particularly jurors, are able to make a good assessment. (16R)

. . . I’m sure that we’re suckers for simplistic “the genes made me do it” explanations. So we should be cautious. (26R)

Children and responsibility

Despite the fall in custodial sentences for children since 2008, more children are in custody in the UK than in any other Western European country and there are growing numbers of children serving longer sentences (Prison Reform Trust 2008, p. iii, UK Children’s Commissioners 2008, para 185, p. 33). McDiarmid argues that the 10-year-olds who murdered James Bulger in 1993 seemed to be por- trayed as more blameworthy and “served to concretize an inchoate feeling of alarm about the capabilities of the ‘modern’ child” (McDiarmid 2007, p. 29). Given this more punitive treatment of children when the students were growing up it might be expected that they would be less sympathetic to child offenders in general and this was borne out by their responses.

Students tended to make little or no distinction between children, age 10 plus as in the examples given, and adults.5 Only students stated that children should be treated exactly the same as adults and 21% of students, but no others, considered children to be less reformable than adults. The question is whether students might change their views when they have their own families and, perhaps, relevant work experience, or whether these are generational differences.

12 M. Levitt

Senior learners were more likely to argue that responsibility is developmental and to consider the responsibility of relevant adults and agencies as well as that of the child.

However, this did not absolve children of all responsibility. While maltreated children have more excuse than adults because they will have had fewer experi- ences outside their unsatisfactory home life they must still assume at least some responsibility and so learn to change their behavior. They have committed the act and however hard it was for them to behave otherwise it was still possible.

Unacceptable behaviour is unacceptable whatever the circumstances. (10SL)

Whatever factors affect behavior the crime has been committed, the victims have been injured or killed and it is important that the offender acknowledges that, as well as it being important for society that the behavior is discouraged.

View of human agency

Respondents held on to the idea of human agency but their understanding was of humans acting in the world and so affected by social and environmental factors and, to a lesser extent, genetic factors. People are neither robots nor free agents. Rather than making decisions insulated from others and being fully autonomous, people are embedded in society but always have choices. To say that those who find it more diffi- cult than others to control their behavior do not have free will does not make sense when everyone lives in an environment with a complex network of influences. Some turned the argument around and pointed out that good genes could not be a defense:

. . . it is saying that in that situation my genes took over. You could turn this on its head and say if the gene was not present then the person without the gene must have been provoked more to be violent against their nature! (16R)

If someone who is genetically good has committed a double murder their genes do not cancel out the crime. (19R)

Respondents saw a variety of factors affecting children at home: their experiences of ill treatment, poverty and deprivation and their position in the family. However, while a few argued that a young child “would know no different” if they were treated badly at home, more commonly it was stated that there would be other influ- ences and other adults interacting with the child. So while recognizing the influence of the immediate environment on the boys in the “toxic childhood” case there were still choices to be made:

. . . ultimately it is down to the individual to make the right choice for themselves and not to be influenced by one thing or another. (63S)

Genetic factors do not remove choice either:

Just because someone has the genes doesn’t mean they have to act. Genes don’t control a person, the person does . . . the person needs to take responsibility, they

New Genetics and Society 13

killed a person therefore they need to accept the blame and not blame it on genes. (71S)

Genes do not automatically turn their owners into killers wiping away notions of personal responsibility. (66S)

The findings of this small-scale study cannot be generalized but the explanations given for behavior and the role of genetic factors echo those found by Condit in her overview of empirical research with publics. “Most people . . . [entertain] mul- tiple causal inputs, especially a generalized sense of environment and a strong sense of personal will or choice” (Condit 2011, p. 619).

Free will

When giving reasons for their answers on whether the genetic evidence in the Bayout case affected responsibility, over 70% of students and 42% of senior lear- ners argued that the offender had a choice and/or had free will. This was an open question and neither the word “choice” nor the phrase “free will” had been used in the interview or questionnaire schedule. Both groups were more likely to assert choice or free will in relation to genes than to environment. Free will was not an abstract and pure free will but shown by the fact that people could always do other- wise; that they had a choice. Those who argued that people have free will/choices did not argue that people were equally able to exercise free will or make choices, because everyone had their own genes and experiences. This echoes the legal understanding that equal free will has to be assumed for the legal system to func- tion. Some, who did not claim that people actually possess free will, wrote that free will must still be assumed, as in the legal arguments presented earlier (Farahany and Coleman 2006).

Courts have to assume we have free will in equal measure whether or not we actually do. (16R)

Conclusion

In this relatively well educated group of people, genetic factors are not seen as more relevant or determining than environmental factors when explaining behavior. Choice and free will are not removed by genes or environment and individuals must generally be held legally responsible for their actions.

He could have walked away, he had full control and responsibility. People with genes associated with violence can control themselves – it might be harder but they do it. Bayout deserves full punishment and no sympathy (47S)

The findings of this study could be taken to suggest that if the respondents were jury members in a trial where behavioral genetic factors were introduced most would treat these as irrelevant to decisions on legal responsibility. However, there are other influences that would impact on the views of jury members

14 M. Levitt

including the evidence of expert witnesses, any direction on the matter given by the judge and, in the future, publicity given to similar cases or new research findings. Evidence for a more deterministic view of genes would not necessarily make a difference to the attribution of legal responsibility by publics, as in the thought experiment findings referred to earlier. One student respondent put the compatibi- list position clearly: “. . . a person’s genetics determines how they behave . . . it doesn’t affect their responsibility for committing the action” (33S).

Acknowledgements

The support of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is gratefully acknowledged. This work is part of the Research Programme of the ESRC Genomics Network at Cesagen (ESRC Centre for Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics).

Notes

1. Some senior learners reported that they had no close younger relatives and others were reluctant to ask their busy adult children, many living in other parts of the UK or abroad, to take part. Relatives may also have been asked by the senior learner to take part and declined.

2. James Bulger, age two, was abducted from a shopping center near Liverpool, tortured and murdered by two 10-year-old boys.

3. Quotations from research participants are followed by the participant’s number (1 – 78) and either SL (senior learner), R (relative) or S (student).

4. The relatives’ responses to the case studies also varied by age but numbers in each age group were small.

5. The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10 years old. It was raised from 8 to 12 years in Scotland in 2011.

References

Ahuja, A., 2009. The get out of jail free gene. The sentence of one killer in Italy has been reduced as he possesses a “violent gene.” Can DNA be used as a defence? Times, 17 November.

Baker, L.A., Bezdjian, S., and Raine, A., 2009. Behavioral genetics: the science of antisocial behavior. In: N.A. Farahany, ed. The impact of behavioral sciences on criminal law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2–44.

Barnes, B., 2003. Genes, agents and the institution of responsible action. New Genetics and Society, 21 (3), 291–302.

Baron, M., 2001. Crime, genes and environment. In: D. Wasserman and R. Wachbroit, eds. Genetics and criminal behaviour. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 201–223.

Beaver, K.M., et al., 2009. Monamine oxidase A genotype is associated with gang membership and weapon use. Comprehensive Psychology, 51 (2), 130–134.

Bernet, W., et al., 2007. Bad nature, bad nurture, and testimony regarding MAOA and SLC6A4 gen- otyping at murder trials. Journal of Forensic Science, 52 (6), 1362–1371.

Brunner, H.G., et al., 1993. Abnormal behavior associated with a point mutation in the structural gene for monoamine oxidase A. Science, 262, 578–580.

Calloway, E., 2009. Murderer with “aggression genes” gets sentence cut. New Scientist [online], 22:27 3 November. Available from: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18098-murderer-with- aggression-genes-gets-sentence-cut.html [Accessed 27 June 2012].

New Genetics and Society 15

Caspi, A., et al., 2002a. Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children. Science, 297, 851–854.

Caspi, A., et al., 2002b. Description of methods and measurements used in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study (Supplementary material) [online]. Available from: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/suppl/2002/08/01/297.5582.851.DC1/CaspiSuppl.pdf [Accessed 27 June 2012].

Condit, C.M., 2011. When do people deploy genetic determinism? A review pointing to the need for multi-factorial theories of public utilization of scientific discourses. Sociology Compass, 5 (7), 618–635.

Denno, D.W., 2009. Behavioral genetics evidence in criminal cases: 1994 – 2007. In: N.A. Farahany, ed. The impact of behavioral sciences on criminal law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 317–354.

Department of Law State of Georgia, 2005. Attorney General Baker announces execution date for Stephen Anthony Mobley [online]. Official Portal for the State of Georgia. Available from: http://law.ga.gov/00/press/detail/0,2668,87670814_88914664_88917698,00.html [Accessed 24 January 2012].

Farahany, N.A. and Coleman, J.E. Jr., 2006. Genetics and responsibility: to know the criminal from the crime. Law and Contemporary Problems, 69, 115–162.

Feresin, E., 2009. Lighter sentence for murderer with “bad genes”. Nature News[online], 30 October. Available from: http://www.nature.com/news/2009/091030/full/news.2009.1050.html [Accessed 27 June 2012].

Garcia, J.L.A., 2001. Strong genetic influence and the new “optimism”. In: D. Wasserman and R. Wachbroit, eds. Genetics and criminal behaviour. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 273–302.

van Inwagen, P., 2001. Genes, statistics, and desert. In: D. Wasserman and R. Wachbroit, eds. Genetics and criminal behaviour. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 225 – 242.

Kim-Cohen, J., et al., 2005. MAOA, maltreatment, and gene – environment interaction predicting children’s mental health: new evidence and a meta-analysis. Molecular Psychiatry, 11, 903–913.

Lea, R. and Chambers, G., 2007. Monamine oxidase, addiction and the “warrior” gene hypothesis. New Zealand Medical Journal [online], 120 (1250). Available from: http://journal.nzma.org. nz/journal/120-1250/2441/ [Accessed 27 June 2012].

Levitt, M. and Pieri, E., 2009. It could just be an additional test couldn’t it? Genetic testing for sus- ceptibility to aggression and violence. New Genetics and Society, 28 (2), 189–200.

Matravers, M., 2007. Responsibility and justice. Cambridge: Polity Press. McDiarmid, C., 2007. Childhood and crime. Dundee: Dundee University Press. Nichols, S. and Knobe, J., 2007. Moral responsibility and determinism: the cognitive science of folk

intuitions. Noûs, 41 (4), 663–685. Nuffield Council on Bioethics, 2002. Genetics and human behaviour: the ethical context [online].

London: Nuffield Council on Bioethics. Available from: http://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/ sites/default/files/Genetics%20and%20human%20behaviour.pdf [Accessed 27 June 2012].

Prison Reform Trust, 2010. Punishing disadvantage a profile of children in custody [online]. London: Prison Reform Trust. Available from: http://www.outoftrouble.org.uk/sites/default/files/Punishing_ Disadvantage.pdf [Accessed 27 June 2012].

Ripstein, A., 1994. Equality, luck, and responsibility. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 23 (1), 3–23. Roskies, A.L. and Nichols, S., 2008. Bringing moral responsibility down to earth. Journal of Philos-

ophy, 105 (7), 371–388. Tsouderos, T., 2010. Exploring links between genes, violence, environment. As science looks at poss-

ible links and treatments, critics warn of overzealous intervention. Chicago Tribune [online], 25 February. Available from: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-02-25/news/ct-met-genetics- of-violence-20100225_1_genes-scientists-violence [Accessed 27 June 2012].

16 M. Levitt

UK Children’s Commissioners, 2008. Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child [online]. Available from: http://www.niccy.org/uploaded_docs/UNCRC_REPORT_FINAL.pdf [Accessed 27 June 2012].

United States Court of Appeal, 2001 [online]. Mobley v. Head, 11th Circuit, 4 October 2001 [online]. Available from: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-11th-circuit/1332528.html [Accessed 4 April 2012].

Widom, C.S. and Brzustowicz, L.M., 2006. MAOA and the “cycle of violence”: childhood abuse and neglect, MAOA genotype, and risk for violent and antisocial behavior. Biological Psychiatry, 60, 684–689.

New Genetics and Society 17

Copyright of New Genetics & Society is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed

to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However,

users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

Genetic-Environmental Interactions and Antisocial Behaviour.pdf

The warrior gen epigenetic considerations.pdf

The warrior gene: epigenetic considerations

Grant Gilletta∗ and Armon J. Tamateab

aOtago Bioethics Centre, University of Otago Medical School, New Zealand; bPsychological Research, Department of Corrections, New Zealand

The discovery of a gene variant linked to aggression and impulsivity in young males led to the term “warrior gene” being coined. A New Zealand researcher linked the slightly higher incidence of this variant in Māori people to the traits that led to criminality and tendencies identified in violent offenders. The net result was to medicalize or individualize the higher incidence of criminal activity in indigenous groups and shift the focus away from the gene – environment interaction that underlies all genetically based psychological traits. The result was to further marginalize groups in society already subject to disadvantage and to undermine attempts to relate the expression of genetic tendencies to the epigenetic influences that govern gene expression. In the warrior gene case the neurological correlates of violent and criminal behavior only added fuel to the fire distracting attention from the real basis of antisocial behavior and resulting ethnic injustice.

Keywords: epigenetics; criminality; socialization

We were a bunch of guys who shared the same experiences . . . We rejected a system that abused and rejected us . . . I used to get into fights . . . I loved fighting . . . I’ve been stabbed, cut, had bones broken, I’ve broken heads, I’ve punched out eyes . . . I love it! (A “retired” New Zealand gang member)1

The controversy

The warrior gene controversy involves the alleged predisposition towards violence and crime arising from a variant of the normal MAOA gene and thought to be more prevalent in some ethnic groups, and particularly NZ Māori and Pacific Islanders. The “finding” became the basis of a view that criminality and violence in those groups expressed intrinsic genetic and neurological factors in their young male members.

The genetics emerged from an investigation into the observation that whereas childhood abuse and maltreatment are very strongly associated with antisocial

New Genetics and Society Vol. 31, No. 1, March 2012, 41 – 53

∗Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

ISSN 1463-6778 print/ISSN 1469-9915 online

# 2012 Taylor & Francis

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14636778.2011.597982

http://www.tandfonline.com

behavior not all children who experience “erratic, coercive and punitive parenting . . . are at risk of developing conduct disorder, antisocial personality symptoms and of becoming violent offenders” (Caspi et al. 2002, p. 851). A genetic variation was also found in the gene coding for MonoAmine Oxidase A (MAOA), found on the X chromosome. Higher MAOA levels lead to lower levels of dopamine and ser- otonin in the brain predisposing the individual to violent behavior, aggression, and risk taking in animals and humans, a combination referred to as a “warrior” type of mentality (Gibbons 2004). Note that this medicalized concept of “warrior” is at variance with more traditional notions in that the original concept suggests:

(1) discipline (rather than impulsive and reckless conduct with little consider- ation for consequences); and

(2) behavior guided by broader, goal-directed (rather than entitlement and self- interest) motives.

Caspi et al. (2002, p. 852) drew several conclusions from their study:

. Circumstantial evidence suggests the hypothesis that childhood maltreatment predisposes most strongly to adult violence among children whose MAOA is insufficient to constrain maltreatment-induced changes to neurotransmitter systems.

. Deficient MAOA activity may dispose the organism toward neural hyper- reactivity to threat. These findings provide initial evidence that a functional polymorphism in the MAOA gene moderates the impact of early childhood maltreatment on the development of antisocial behavior in males.

The announcement of an association between a variant of the MAOA gene related to low MonoAmine Oxidase (and therefore higher dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain) provoked a great deal of interest in forensic psychiatry. Studies of pat- terns in the incidence of the genetic variant soon followed.

One such study looked at ethnic variations in the gene variant and disclosed a significantly higher rate in Chinese, African, and Polynesian samples. The authors came to a cautious but nevertheless controversial conclusion about “warrior” tendencies. The suggestion was soon taken up by interested parties to explain the disproportionate crime rate in young Polynesian men, a move echoed elsewhere in the world where similar ethnic differences are observed even though the scientists involved have warned against such incautious interpretations (Lea and Chambers 2007). The findings in Māori men and the simple “scientific story” of a differential racial distribution of a genetic predisposition to violence and crime was soon attacked from a scientific perspective.

There is no direct evidence to support the claim that the MAOA gene confers “warrior” qualities on Māori males, either modern or ancestral. Furthermore, the assumption that a genetic association in Caucasians applies in Māori; the use of the “warrior gene” label in the context of human MAOA aggression studies;

42 G. Gillett and A.J. Tamatea

generalizing from a sample of 17 individuals not representative of the general Māori population; and the lack of scientific investigative journalism have combined to do science and Māori a disservice (Merriman and Cameron 2007).

A further critique stressed the need for balanced reporting of scientific findings:

when the researchers ventured to explain the impact of the monoamine oxidase gene on antisocial behaviours without reference to other contributing social, cultural and environmental influences, they failed to provide “socially robust” knowledge. (Wensley and King 2008, p. 508)

That critique needs to be deepened and extended if we are adequately to address a widespread phenomenon in contemporary research in behavioral genetics and its use in forensic psychology and psychiatry. The critique is especially needed in post-colonial societies and it begins with the metaphysics of genotypes and phenotypes.

The metaphysics of phenotype

Consider, for a moment, the fact that in any one of us the genetic information in retinal cells is exactly the same as that found in the cells of our big toes. The tissue in the eye is, however, profoundly different from that in the big toe, provok- ing questions that require a deep understanding of the ways in which inheritance and genetic information contribute to the formation of traits in a living human being.

Metaphysics, at least in contemporary philosophy, encompasses a developed view of how something is formed and functions as a part of the natural world. On that reading, our approach to genetics and metaphysics shifts from an obsession with the “molecules of life” to something akin to what a Māori thinker would call whakapapa – a complex structure of knowledge about the thing and its place in the world (Roberts et al. 2004). DNA sequences have a place in this body of knowl- edge but so do factors attributable to contextual expression and repression. The more complex story begins with intracellular transcription and gene expression, processes that are under a diverse set of epigenetic influences, only some of which we understand, and it carries on in the same vein (Copland and Gillett 2003). What a gene codes for in a given individual at a given time seems to have a great deal to do with the place of the gene in the complex totality that is the living human body and its adaptation to a particular context. The integrated whole organism and the place of any cell within it influence how a gene is expressed. We could use the philosophical term “formal causation” – the way in which an organ or part is shaped by mechanisms that fit it for its role in an entity with a certain form (e.g. that of a living human being). The formally shaped place in the working body is most often understood to dictate why the heart or any other organ has developed through phylogeny and ontogeny so that it functions as it does and can be seen as analogous to the way that the human body and human psychology are shaped by the need for an individual to adapt

New Genetics and Society 43

to a particular environmental or ecological niche formed by its context of life. In fact we could say that any biological feature of a human being has a story of genetic inheritance and a story of (ontogenetic) development and there are certain transgenerational features attributable, in part at least, to genetic tendencies and in part to context or cultural and familial factors. A radical conclusion follows: the gene is an abstraction from this complex interactive reality. That conclusion is highly relevant to the science, ethics and politics of the “warrior gene” and anti- social or criminal behavior.

The neuropsychology and biopsychology of the warrior

Antisocial and violent behavior may or may not be associated with psychological measures that indicate an underlying personality disorder. Those who seem to have the latter are more likely to show a persistent pattern of violence towards others and an emotional impairment in their personal relationships whereas most young people who fall foul of the criminal justice system do not have these features and do not go on to have criminal careers (Hemphill et al. 1998). The work of Moffitt and others indicated that those children whose neurological problems inter- acted within criminogenic environments over time (and developmental stages) developed significant personality pathology (so-called “life-course-persistent” anti- social behavior), whereas another identified group with fewer neurological impair- ments and more flexible capacity for social adjustment may experience relatively brief periods of antisocial behavior as part of normal development. Those periods of traumatic change reflect – among other things – susceptibility to peer role-modeling during adolescence so that the phenomenon has been called “adoles- cent-limited” antisocial behavior (Moffitt 1993, Moffitt et al. 2001). However, youth offenders in New Zealand have the highest rate of recidivism (compared with adult offenders) with nearly 25% being re-imprisoned within six months of release, and approximately 72% being re-imprisoned within five years, with 70% (of a sample of 69) having received sentences for serious violence/sexual offend- ing (Wilson and Rolleston 2004). It is tempting to combine this statistic with the ethnic mix in prison populations to confirm the “warrior gene” story but a deeper inquiry reveals something else going on.

Current research suggests that the personality disorder most often associated with criminal violence is produced by a malignant confluence of biological (includ- ing genetic) and socialization factors “that interactively predispose to antisocial be- haviour” (Raine 2002, p. 311). Current clinical and psychiatric exemplars of the complex relationship between biological and environmental contributions to resul- tant criminal behavior are referred to as antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) pat- terns (Millon and Davis 1996, Millon and Grossman 2007). For instance, individuals who present with traits consistent with ASPD may engage in seemingly impulsive acts that reflect an irresponsible (and even deviant) interactive and cog- nitive style, and the effects of corrupt or degraded social relationships that justify

44 G. Gillett and A.J. Tamatea

externalized behavior with minimal remorse or consideration for the (violated) rights of others. But such expectations should immediately ring alarm bells about socialization and learning history. Such presentations can be further compli- cated with paranoid or even sadistic impulses (which entail their own complex pat- terns of production).

The interaction of hereditability (or nature) and upbringing (nurture) seems to be crucial in producing the full-blown disorder so that socio-political contexts in which upbringing is conducive to the learning of socially appropriate habits of action and relationship have a marked protective effect on individuals who other- wise evince the biological risk factors for violence, aggression, and antisocial ten- dencies. It seems that the natural human propensity for empathy and sensitivity to the suffering or negative emotions of others (indicated by psycho-physiological tests and biological measures of brain structure and function) is defective in some people – especially males – but does not seriously affect those who may have the behavioral dispositions blunted by a benign upbringing (Raine 2002). Lykken’s (1995, 2006) typology of antisocial personality types recognizes that a definable sub-population of antisocial individuals can be distinguished from the “common garden variety criminal” by (1) marked persistence in their antisociality, and (2) a different level of susceptibility to behavior modification. The differences lead him to distinguish sociopaths, identified by primarily significant environ- mental precursors (e.g. childhood abuse and neglect) and relatively greater amen- ability to therapeutic rehabilitation, from psychopaths, identified by a (probable) genetic predisposition to engage in antisocial acts regardless of the apparent quality of their social developmental background. The latter are, despite the absence of clear-cut scientific evidence, often considered “untreatable” (Salekin 2002, Harris and Rice 2006). The interactive effects of gene and environment may imply, however, that the malignant confluence produces enduring behavioral problems during a critical period of childhood development.

The factors statistically associated with a tendency to crime and violence in some young men have been investigated by neuroscientific studies (both physiological and fMRI) that show some characteristic findings:

(1) criminal psychopaths have defective responses to fear-based or aversive conditioning (Lykken 1957), particularly in the “limbic prefrontal circuit (amygdala, orbito-frontal cortex, insula, and anterior cingulate)” areas of the brain (Birbaumer et al. 2005, p. 803);

(2) criminals with severe social deprivation or abuse in their developmental history have relatively intact brain function whereas those with no such history showed significant defects in the areas involved in executive and emotional intelligence (Raine 2002);

(3) men with psychopathic personality disorder are relatively impaired by “a disturbance that sets in at the level of secondary emotions, such as embar- rassment and guilt” (Damasio 2000, p. 129);

New Genetics and Society 45

(4) amygdala dysfunction, associated with psychopathy, is found in responses of criminal psychopaths in an emotional memory task involving words of “negative valence” (Kiehl et al. 2000; see also Blair 2006)

(5) “empathy . . . our ability to share the feelings (emotions and sensations) of others . . . relies on sensorimotor cortices as well as limbic and para-limbic structures” concerned with emotive factors to do with interpersonal exchanges (Singer 2006, p. 855; see also Deeley et al. 2006) and

(6) psychopaths have a much less developed response to facial expressions associated with distress or negative emotions than other people have (Marsh and Blair 2008).

These findings support the view that our natural tendencies to adjust to others and learn from them how to treat each other are vulnerable to contextual factors in our socialization (as illustrated by the quotation at the beginning of this article). They can be misinterpreted as confirming biological essentialist claims but in fact show that the natural tendencies to react to harm or obtain what we want by being aggressive are transformed by transactions with powerful forces in our social environment (i.e. “socialization”). We learn to moderate our natural tendencies by instruction and correction, both of which are heavily dependent on registering the reactions of others (particularly their approval and disapproval). It seems that the varieties of “pain” that normally signal that an action is undesirable or inappropriate cause a responsive shame in oneself (thereby configuring one’s “habits of the heart” so that they reflect the realities of the human life-world and “what in personal and social life counts as something” (Williams 1985, p. 201). This pain, it seems, is not felt by a person predisposed to psychopathy in the same way as it is felt by others. But this is an impairment not “total blindness” and, what is more, it might be expected to impede the development of other-con- sidering virtues or an appreciation of the moral incentive to be considerate towards others but it can hardly be said to derail completely the ability to register, or to take account of, the effects of one’s actions on others. More is required to get us to criminal violence and aggression.

More is found in Aristotle’s account of moral training where he argues that we learn through pain to avoid what is immoral or vicious and cultivate in ourselves habits of virtuous action and reaction (1925, esp. Bk II). However the relevant pain may not come from “the rod” so much as from a nurtured sensitivity to the distress of others – a personality characteristic that many who commit violent crimes or show antisocial tendencies in childhood conspicuously lack. Indeed emotional competence, the result of a certain kind of parental engagement with the child, is considered to be a significant lack in the developmental histories of individuals with noted callous and unemotional traits in childhood and adolescence (Frick et al. 2000, Frick 2007).

The relevant training (or “induction” of a prosocial conscience) produces a suite of behaviors adapted to living among others without being engaged in constant

46 G. Gillett and A.J. Tamatea

hostility, suspicion, self-protection and counter-aggression. The habits of the heart and action conducive to trusting and peaceable living among others are, of course, not easily accessible in a context where deprivation, resentment, injustice and mar- ginalization are prevalent because there the relatively powerful (parents and adult role-models) are themselves in hostile defensive mode and so those who are less powerful experience the backlash. Impulsivity, a problem that is exaggerated in the adolescent male developing brain, combines with this malignant context to create a climate of violence and a lack of emotionally nurturing and life-enhancing engagement with others. This is the cycle of violence and abuse to which the “warrior gene” or genetic variant makes its bearer less than resilient.

Being sensitive to others (or rightly affected by the lives of others) is not fostered in a context where one must be on guard against hostility and exploitation but that is the socio-political niche in which many ethnic minority and marginalized children live their lives. The lessons of survival in such an environment do not encourage interpersonal good will and warranted trust in others; such attitudes are likely to lead to repeated disappointment and betrayal, both intentional and unintentional, often fueled by the effects of substance abuse and the deceptions of addiction.

Beyond interpersonal sensitivity is the step of building regard for others into one’s motivational set. If a young person somehow does learn to understand and respond to the vulnerabilities and emotional nuances of the lives of others, then it is a further attainment to allow those to become part of a motivational framework primarily oriented towards one’s own satisfactions. Only when that development occurs, as it naturally does in those who appreciate the fragility of others and our mutual engagement with them, do we find human beings who evince a natural sense of responsibility and consideration of the type fundamental to a caring and sustaining human life-world. For some of our at-risk young people, whatever their genetic predispositions, that is a dream world. For those inclined to be impulsive and less than fully moved by the distress of others (Blair 1999) these contextual factors would predictably result in callous and self-serving social strategies. Anger and desperation might then add cruelty and enjoyment of violence into the mix.

The genesis of violence

If antisocial personality and behavior result from a malignant confluence of biologi- cal (including genetic) and socialization factors “that interactively predispose to antisocial behaviour” (Raine 2002, p. 311), then we need to look at the contexts of “socialization” that we have gestured at already to understand the developmental trajectory of violence in young offenders. As soon as we do so, we find a sorry picture that details the injustice of certain disadvantageous and, particularly post- colonial, socio-political contexts.

The socio-politico-cultural contexts where a child is likely to experience poverty, crowded homes, poorly developed educational and cultural resources, demoralized

New Genetics and Society 47

adults, suspicion and resentment, and anger and violence are those in which we find the marginalized, the oppressed, and the alienated. These are particularly prevalent in post-colonial contexts where indigenous people fare worse, on almost all socio- economic indicators, than the colonizers. It is easy to generalize the attribution error of the warrior gene and conclude that this is because indigenous or displaced ethnic groups are constitutionally less capable of adapting to “a level playing field” of modern opportunity. But this is a fiction perpetrated by those who occupy privi- leged strata in such mixed contexts. It is not a message that retains any credibility for those who live in ghettos where attitudes of injustice are fostered because they track the political reality. Indeed, the causes of antisociality are complex and, as has been emphasized already, are likely to be best explained by interactive approaches that recognize the interplay of developmental, biological, social, and situational variables.

Genotypes and phenotypes

The conclusion of the discussion so far is that a phenotype is a contextually elabo- rated lived human identity that manifests in certain ways the genotype it is based on but is not fully determined by that genotype. Other aspects that might be particu- larly important in the psychological characteristics that form an important part of a person’s identity are the social, cultural (or subcultural) and political forces that a person is surrounded by. These constitute what Foucault (1984) refers to as a set of technologies that have exerted power over the body. He goes so far as to say that the human psyche/soul is “the present correlative of a certain technology of power over the body” (Foucault 1984, p. 176) leaving it open to further inquiry what the relevant and complex “technology of power” might be.

We might include within the technology of power a number of elements: (1) technologies of culture and (2) technologies of colonization. The former are evident to commentators on ghetto and youth culture in urban and disadvantaged settings. They are discordant songs of experience (often expressed as rap music) where the relevant experience is often resentful at inequities and injustices, politi- cally dissenting, anti-establishment, and violent. The technologies of colonization are pervasive and difficult to quantify but very real throughout the new world (or worlds). They are evident when statistics about education, socio-economic status, forensic profiles, health indicators, and real political effectiveness are exam- ined. Colonized people fare badly on all of these counts and the children of the colonized notice the inequities. When we consider the oft cited epigenetic factors in gene expression, we often narrow our gaze to cellular or tissue environments or their immediate correlates such as nutritional data, and epidemiological factors biomedically associated with adverse health outcomes but the wider epige- netic context is the target of our remarks and, in the area of forensic variations, that context is far more likely to be important than the other factors mentioned (although many of them have knock-on effects on mental health and general fitness for

48 G. Gillett and A.J. Tamatea

functioning in wider society). The relevant epigenetic knowledge shifts the expla- nation from a focus on variables likely to be included in a health based model to those which are inextricable from arguments about social justice and the mitigation of political harms, often completely neglected in biomedical discussions. When we broaden the focus in that way we find ourselves confronted with the many complex and interwoven layers of discourse that reveal important facets of the influences and formative events in the lives of those who run headlong up against the forensic and criminal justice systems.

Understanding a phenomenon

Any event investigated as part of the scientific enterprise can be seen to have many layers of meaning; think, for instance of my action of rapidly contracting the extensors of my elbow and the pronators of my forearm and flexors of my fingers so that my clenched hand travels to a point 75 cm in front of my face, a point at which your face is located. This could be described in other terms, for instance, as an aggressive or violent action – punching you, it could be described as an act done in anger or the heat of the moment or as an act with the calculated effect of warning you off doing any- thing to harm a friend of mine. All these descriptions may be true but they cast the act in very different lights and are likely to be relevant when different questions are asked.

Foucault, deeply interested in complex historico-socio-politico-cultural phenom- ena (such as my punching somebody), notes that our enquiries aim, “to distinguish among events, to differentiate the networks and levels to which they belong, and to reconstitute the lines along which they are connected and engender one another” (Foucault 1984, p. 56).

The necessary multiplicity of such an inquiry has moved Bas van Fraassen, a contemporary philosopher of science, to coin the term “constructive empiricism” (also known as “empiricist structuralism”) in an attempt to capture the idea that we assemble evidence, including scientific evidence, according to different net- works of explanation which bring out different facets of the events and objects we are trying to understand (van Fraassen 2008). In Foucault’s terms, a multi- faceted understanding engages different “regimes of truth” each with its own preferred methods and ways of demonstrating the nature of the phenomenon inves- tigated. Some of these ways of characterizing the object of interest link to certain types of thinking and others lead to quite other modes of understanding. We could think of the different images of the world and what is going on in it as reflections in a mirror highlighting particular aspects of the complex reality we are caught up in. But the mirror can also produce distortions making certain things stand out very clearly and others diminish in their apparent importance.

The post-colonial context foregrounds what we might call a Pākehā mirror of the world where ways of knowing are focused on the scientific ethos of the enlighten- ment and its image of human beings. In this epistemology there is a hidden agenda of forensic and economic individualism whereby each human being is a

New Genetics and Society 49

self-contained and self-directing individual able, in principle, to be isolated from others and from their context and to carry the merit or blame for whatever s/he does. When a human being creates problems in society so as to come into contact with the criminal justice system, this mode of understanding focuses on the individual, implicitly normalizing or backgrounding the context or conditions of his or her life, and leaves us only two ways of proceeding: either (1) there is an inner dysfunction or (2) there is a moral failing. The former leads to attributions of mental disorder (and medicalization) and the latter to the machinery of criminal justice and social stigmatization. In both responses, personal agency is effectively diminished (either through diagnosis and treatment or through coercion) despite being theoretically foregrounded (by the whole criminal justice system) and the scope for an individual to “negotiate” their identity is negated so that s/he becomes vulnerable to an “imposed” (and more acceptable) identity.

It is into this (western individualist) regime of truth that the forensic saga of attri- buting antisocial behavior to the individual strikes a concordant note. What is obscured from view is the fragment of the human life-world that the person (who was, like all of us, a child before an adult) has entered. That missing (contextual) truth and the patterns of behavior resulting from adaptation to a context of the crim- inogenic kind must however be confronted if we take the science seriously. The real science behind “the warrior gene” tells us that some children have weakened resili- ence when they are placed in a context that causes hostility, aggression, self-loathing, exaggerated tendencies to see the world as a threatening place, and heightened reac- tions to threat and perceived threat. But that is the life-world of the marginalized, stig- matized, and disadvantaged of the world who are neglected, abused, and exploited. It is very understandable that a world of that kind should result in a type of relational embodiment or being-with-others that is antisocial or criminally violent.

A neuroethical diagnosis and deconstruction

The idea of “the warrior gene” crystallizes a western individualist way of looking at human behavior, social structure, and crime. It is based on the idea of defective indi- viduals who carry within them the seeds of badness (moral or constitutional or dys- functional or some combination of all three). This political “regime of truth” is often aided and abetted by reductive biomedical science and popular genetics. There are very sound reasons to worry about the resulting view of crime and human nature whenever it occurs. It results in an attribution error that perpetuates injustice and dis- crimination and that intensifies social unrest, so as to make everybody worse off especially when we formulate reactive (and often punitively focused) public policies such as “boot camps,” “three-strikes” laws, and “sensible sentencing” (a spin on the vengeful cry for increased non-parole prison sentences). A deepened analysis of the problem illustrated by the warrior gene controversy reveals that the real science should cause misgivings about such reactions and the further problems they engen- der. In fact. these misgivings have a wider relevance to genetics and society than just

50 G. Gillett and A.J. Tamatea

the issues discussed in post-colonial settings even if those settings cast the debate in terms which demand attention by scientists, social commentators, legislators, and policymakers because the inherent assumptions and uncritical thinking are intoler- able in an enlightened and caring community.

The role of the mirror world of the Pākehā, and the politics of “the free world” with its focus on individuals, their tendencies (including pathological tendencies) and their personal responsibility within a system of documentation and individual accountability, is important in the creation of the warrior gene myth and its effect in our thinking. The warrior gene myth is a symptom of our modern malaise and the failure of our quest for a sustainable moral framework within which to discuss iden- tity, psychology, socio-cultural issues, and political conflict. We can, in fact, describe a “warrior gene effect” as being an artifact of a social system that deals with human beings on the basis of the myth of liberal individuality. Perhaps by extension, it may be further asked: does acceptance of a “warrior gene” encourage observers to be less critical of the underlying causal factors of an individual’s destructive behavior and of the causal effects of the subsequent penalty so that we become trapped in a cycle of criminality that our society is helping to create?

Perhaps a way forward is to go back to “first principles” and unpack what the “warrior gene” means in real world contexts. Although there is little argument with the claim that interpersonal (and moral) conduct is influenced by genetic factors, to allocate a categorical descriptor, particularly one as dramatic as “warrior gene,” effectively reifies an otherwise complicated set of interacting variables. Furthermore, such “branding” serves only to distort reality and create misleading findings reflecting scientific and political convenience and a media- friendly package of poorly understood concepts conducive to moral panic. The pre- dictable consequence is that such a view impedes “new thinking” about what is, in reality, a manifestation of a complex constellation of psychological and behavioral attributes mediated by novel and ongoing environmental interactions and social experiences. The solution lies not in less scholarship and science but in more; it requires that our scholarship be as sophisticated in its ethics and its insights into humanity as it is in its technology and scientific ingenuity. In that way we can move towards truths about ourselves concerning matters of the psyche or soul that the tools of bio-medical science could never hope adequately to investigate.

Note

1. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Corrections (New Zealand).

References

Aristotle, 1925. Nichomachean ethics. Translated by D. Ross. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Birbaumer, N., et al., 2005. Deficient fear conditioning in psychopathy: a functional magnetic reson-

ance imaging study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 799–805.

New Genetics and Society 51

Blair, R.J.R., 1999. Responsiveness to distress cues in the child with psychopathic tendencies. Personality and Individual Differences, 27, 135–145.

Blair, R.J.R., 2006. Subcortical brain systems in psychopathy: the amygdala and associated structures. In: C.J. Patrick, ed. Handbook of psychopathy. London: Guilford, 296–312.

Caspi, A., et al., 2002. Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children. Science, 297, 851–854.

Copland, P. and Gillett, G., 2003. The bioethical structure of a human being. Journal of Applied Phil- osophy, 20, 123–132.

Damasio, A., 2000. A neural basis for sociopathy. Archives of General Psychiatry, 57, 128–129. Deeley, Q., et al., 2006. Facial emotion processing in criminal psychopathy. British Journal of Psy-

chiatry, 18, 533–539. Foucault, M., 1984. The Foucault reader. Edited by P. Rabinow. London: Penguin. Frick, P.J., 2007. Using the construct of psychopathy to understand antisocial and violent youth. H.

Hervé and J.C. Yuille, eds. The psychopath: theory, research, and practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 343–367.

Frick, P.J., Barry, C.T., and Bodin, S.D., 2000. Applying the concept of psychopathy to children: implications for the assessment of antisocial youth. In: C.B. Gacono, ed. The clinical and foren- sic assessment of psychopathy: a practitioner’s guide. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associ- ates, 3–24.

Gibbons, A., 2004. Tracking the evolutionary history of a “warrior” gene. Science, 304, 818. Harris, G.T. and Rice, M.E., 2006. Treatment of psychopathy: a review of empirical findings. In: C.J.

Patrick, ed. Handbook of psychopathy. London: Guilford, 555–572. Hemphill, J.F., Hare, R.D., and Wong, S., 1998. Psychopathy and recidivism: a review. Legal and

Criminological Psychology, 3, 737–745. Kiehl, K.A., et al., 2000. Limbic abnormalities in affective processing by criminal psychopaths as

revealed by fMRI. Neuroimage, 11, S223. Lea, R. and Chambers, G., 2007. Monoamine oxidase, addiction, and the “warrior” gene hypothesis.

New Zealand Medical Journal, 120, 1250. Lykken, D.T., 1957. A study of anxiety in the sociopathic personality. Journal of Abnormal and

Social Psychology, 55, 6–10. Lykken, D.T., 1995. The antisocial personalities. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Lykken, D.T., 2006. Psychopathic personality: the scope of the problem. In: C.J. Patrick, ed. Hand-

book of psychopathy. London: Guilford, 3–13. Marsh, A.A. and Blair, R.J.R., 2008. Deficits in facial affect recognition among antisocial popu-

lations: a meta-analysis. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 32, 454–465. Merriman, T. and Cameron, V., 2007. Risk-taking: behind the warrior gene story. New Zealand

Medical Journal, 120, 1250. Millon, T. and Davis, R.D., 1996. Disorders of personality: DSM-IV and beyond. New York: Wiley. Millon, T. and Grossman, S., 2007. Overcoming resistant personality disorders: a personalized psy-

chotherapy approach. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Moffitt, T.E., 1993. Adolescent-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behaviour: a developmen-

tal taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674–701. Moffitt, T.E., et al., 2001. Sex differences in antisocial behaviour: conduct disorder, delinquency, and

violence in the Dunedin Longitudinal Study. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Raine, A., 2002. Biosocial studies of antisocial and violent behavior in children and adults: a review.

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 311–326. Roberts, M., et al., 2004. Whakapapa as a Māori mental construct: some implications for the debate

over genetic modification of organisms. The Contemporary Pacific, 16, 1–28. Salekin, R., 2002. Psychopathy and therapeutic pessimism: clinical lore or clinical reality? Clinical

Psychology Review, 22, 79–112.

52 G. Gillett and A.J. Tamatea

Singer, T., 2006. The neuronal basis and ontogeny of empathy and mind reading: review of literature and implications for future research. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 30, 855–863.

Van Fraassen, B., 2008. Scientific representation: paradoxes of perspective. New York: Oxford Uni- versity Press.

Wensley, D. and King, M., 2008. Scientific responsibility for the dissemination and interpretation of genetic research: lessons from the warrior gene controversy. Journal of Medical Ethics, 34, 507–509.

Williams, B., 1985. Ethics and the limits of philosophy. London: Collins. Wilson, N.J. and Rolleston, R., 2004. A risk-need profile using four measures for youth offenders

incarcerated in young offender units. Wellington: Department of Corrections.

New Genetics and Society 53

Copyright of New Genetics & Society is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed

to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However,

users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

Unraveling the Genetic Etiology of Adult Antisocial1.pdf

Unraveling the Genetic Etiology of Adult Antisocial Behavior: A Genome-Wide Association Study Jorim J. Tielbeek1*, Sarah E. Medland1, Beben Benyamin1, Enda M. Byrne1, Andrew C. Heath2,

Pamela A. F. Madden2, Nicholas G. Martin1, Naomi R. Wray1, Karin J. H. Verweij1,3

1 Genetic Epidemiology, Molecular Epidemiology, and Queensland Statistical Genetics Laboratories, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Queensland,

Australia, 2 Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America, 3 School of Psychology, University of

Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Abstract

Crime poses a major burden for society. The heterogeneous nature of criminal behavior makes it difficult to unravel its causes. Relatively little research has been conducted on the genetic influences of criminal behavior. The few twin and adoption studies that have been undertaken suggest that about half of the variance in antisocial behavior can be explained by genetic factors. In order to identify the specific common genetic variants underlying this behavior, we conduct the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) on adult antisocial behavior. Our sample comprised a community sample of 4816 individuals who had completed a self-report questionnaire. No genetic polymorphisms reached genome-wide significance for association with adult antisocial behavior. In addition, none of the traditional candidate genes can be confirmed in our study. While not genome-wide significant, the gene with the strongest association (p-value = 8.761025) was DYRK1A, a gene previously related to abnormal brain development and mental retardation. Future studies should use larger, more homogeneous samples to disentangle the etiology of antisocial behavior. Biosocial criminological research allows a more empirically grounded understanding of criminal behavior, which could ultimately inform and improve current treatment strategies.

Citation: Tielbeek JJ, Medland SE, Benyamin B, Byrne EM, Heath AC, et al. (2012) Unraveling the Genetic Etiology of Adult Antisocial Behavior: A Genome-Wide Association Study. PLoS ONE 7(10): e45086. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045086

Editor: James Bennett Potash, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, United States of America

Received March 5, 2012; Accepted August 17, 2012; Published October 15, 2012

Copyright: � 2012 Tielbeek et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: This study was supported in part by grants AA013326, AA014041, AA13320, AA013321, and DA12854 from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. KJHV is supported by The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) Trustees PhD scholarship in Medical Research. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

* E-mail: [email protected]

Introduction

Historically, the explanation of crime has shifted from a devil-

based interpretation in medieval times into a more scientific

interpretation, that is theory driven and multidisciplinary. In spite

of the multidisciplinary approach of criminology, the last few

decades have seen an almost purely environmental approach [1].

Despite the tremendous progress in molecular and behavioral

genetics, modern biological approaches have been neglected by

most criminological scholars to date. Nonetheless, biological

insights seem indispensable in unraveling the etiology of criminal

behavior and their incorporation into the explanation of crime

should increase the explanatory power of criminology [2]. By

elucidating genetic influences on antisocial behavior, a more

sophisticated understanding of how the genetic liability of an

individual ultimately leads to antisocial behavior can be achieved.

Moreover, biological research may reveal the key elements that

play a role in the interaction between certain environmental

factors and genetic predisposition which would force criminology

to expand its theories concerning the underlying biological

underpinnings of criminal behavior [1].

It is known that crime related constructs such as conduct

disorder [3], aggressive behavior [4,5], rule-breaking behavior [6]

and antisocial behavior [7] are substantially familial and likely

heritable. However, few studies have tried to identify the specific

genetic variants underlying this heritability. The present study

therefore aims to contribute to biosocial criminology by conduct-

ing a genome wide association study on antisocial behavior.

Previously, Dick et al. (2011) performed a genome-wide associa-

tion study on conduct disorder, an antisocial syndrome that occurs

in childhood and adolescence [8]. We performed the first GWAS

on adult antisocial behavior.

Adult antisocial behavior (AAB) In the present study, we performed a genome-wide association

test on a combined dataset, composed of phenotypic data from

two cohorts. Adult antisocial behavior was measured by a

diagnostic antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and a non-

diagnostic adult antisocial behavior questionnaire. Antisocial

personality disorder (ASPD) is a mental health condition defined

by the American Psychological Association (APA) as a disorder

characterized by ‘‘…a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and

violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early

adolescence and continues into adulthood’’ [9]. This definition

emphatically includes an early start of maladaptive behavior and

demands that the behavior is persistent. Evidence of conduct

disorder with onset before the age of 15, is therefore stated as an

essential condition for the diagnoses of ASPD. The prevalence of

PLOS ONE | www.plosone.org 1 October 2012 | Volume 7 | Issue 10 | e45086

Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight

ASPD is higher in males (3%) than in females (1%) and shows a

high co-morbidity with other psychiatric syndromes [10].

Research has shown that individual differences in antisocial

behavior are due to both genetic and environmental influences

[11,12]. Ferguson et al. (2010) showed in a meta-analytic review of

behavioral genetic studies, that genetic factors explain 56% of the

variance in antisocial personality and behavior, while the remainder

of the variance could be explained by unique environmental factors

[13]. Moreover, a recent study by Tuvblad et al. (2011) suggested

that the development of persistent antisocial behavior was primarily

influenced by genetic factors, explaining 67% of the total variance

[14]. These studies have highlighted the genetic propensity for

displaying antisocial behavior. Candidate gene studies, looking at

the association between specific genetic variants and a trait, have

identified a number of genetic polymorphisms, such as dopaminer-

gic (DAT1, DRD2, DRD4), serotonergic (5-HTTLPR) and

enzymatic degradation (COMT, MAOA) genes related to a number

of antisocial phenotypes [1]. Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), for

example, an enzyme that breaks down several monoamine

neurotransmitters, has been associated with multiple antisocial

phenotypes such as serious physical violence and gang membership

[15]. Likewise, low serotonin concentrations (due to the short allele

of 5-HTTLPR) have been linked to antisocial and violent behavior

[16,17]. However, candidate studies focusing on the genetic etiology

of antisocial phenotypes have generally failed to replicate these

genes, a phenomenon observed in genetic studies of other complex

traits. For example, Verweij et al (2011), Bosker et al (2010), and

Chabris et al (2011) were unable to replicate most of the candidate

gene associations for cannabis use, depression, and intelligence [18–

20]. Publication bias of candidate gene studies is one likely

explanation [21].

Here, we use a hypothesis-free approach by scanning the entire

genome to identify novel loci, rather than focusing on small

candidate areas only. A previous study using a similar approach

focused on the genetic variants underlying conduct disorder (CD),

a childhood disorder that often precedes adult antisocial behavior.

Dick et al. (2005) found four genome-wide significant (p,5*10 28

)

markers, two of which were located in a tumor necrosis factor-

related gene (C1QTNF7) [8]. The authors state that it remains

unclear whether this gene has a biologically relevant role in CD.

To date, no genome-wide association study has been conducted on

ASPD or any other adult antisocial phenotype. Therefore, we

conducted the first GWAS in a large Australian sample of twins

and their families to identify common genetic variants underlying

variation in adult antisocial behavior.

Methods

2.1 participants A large community sample of twin pairs born between 1964 and

1971 were registered with the Australian Twin Registry (ATR) in

1980–1982 in response to media appeals and systematic

approaches through the school system. The present study makes

use of ATR participants, drawn from two studies that examined

the role of genetic and social factors in drinking habits and co-

morbid psychopathology, including antisocial behavior.

Data for the first study were collected between 1996 and 2000,

by a telephone psychiatric interview containing lifetime assess-

ments of several psychiatric disorders including adult antisocial

behavior. This study cohort includes 1649 (43% male) partici-

pants, age range 24–41 (M = 31.2, SD = 3.5) and makes use of a

non-diagnostic construct to measure adult antisocial behavior.

Subjects in the second cohort were drawn from a series of studies

as part of a Tobacco and Alcohol project, of which data were

collected between 1981 and 2000. Study cohort 2 includes 3167

(41% male) individuals, who were aged between 18 and 81

(M = 47.6 years, SD = 9.5), and utilizes a diagnostic measure of

antisocial personality disorder as its construct. Phenotypic and

genotypic data collection was approved by the Queensland

Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) Ethics Committee and

informed consent was obtained from all participants. Phenotypic

data on antisocial behavior were collected retrospectively using a

semi-structured interview, administered by telephone. The total

sample comprised of all the individuals for whom we had both

genotypic and phenotypic data. Yielding a final study sample

comprised of 4816 individuals from 2227 independent families.

2.2 Measurement Adult antisocial behavior was determined from either a

diagnostic assessment of ASPD (study 2) or a non-diagnostic

measure of antisocial behavior (study 1). Participants in study 2

completed the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of

Alcoholism [22], which includes a diagnostic assessment of

antisocial personality disorder based on the criteria in the Diagnostic

and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM–IV]; [23].

The Tobacco and Alcohol project questionnaire yields scores on

seven empirically derived syndrome scales, composed of 32 items

that assessed antisocial behavior after the participant’s 15 th

birthday. Items include ‘Since age 15, have you been in physical

fights?’ and ‘Have you often driven when you were high or drowsy

on alcohol or drugs?’. Items were scored on a dichotomous scale

(0 = no, 1 = yes). Responses were summed and clustered into the

seven syndrome scales stated in the DSM–IV (such as deceitfulness,

irresponsibility and aggressiveness). Case status was defined by the

endorsement of three or more of the seven DSM–IV ASPD

criteria as displayed under Criterion A in the statistical manual.

Although we refer to this phenotype as ASPD case status

throughout this article, full diagnostic criteria were not applied

since Criterion D was not considered (the occurrence of antisocial

behavior is not exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or a

manic episode) in defining cases. Controls were specified as those

who endorsed fewer than three symptoms for DSM-IV ASPD. In

total, 122 subjects met these criteria for ASPD case status, while

the control group consisted of 3045 individuals.

The non-diagnostic construct obtained from study 1, utilizes

seven items related to antisocial behavior that also specifically

address unlawful behavior, such as ‘Have you ever been arrested

for anything?’ and ‘Have you ever spent time in jail?’. In this

study, only those individuals who endorsed at least one of the

DSM–IV criteria for conduct disorder were inquired about

antisocial behavior. Case status was defined by the endorsement

of three or more items, while controls were specified as those who

endorsed fewer than three symptoms on antisocial behavior. In

this study cohort, 176 subjects met criteria for case status, while the

control group consisted of 1473 individuals.

For individuals who were present in both samples (n = 60) we

retained the diagnostic criteria from Study 2. Missing items were

replaced by the item sample mean and individuals with missing

values on more than 25% of the items were removed from the

dataset. The combined sample from the two studies comprised 298

cases and 4518 controls; the mean age of the cases was 33.3 years

(SD = 8.9; range 18–74 years), while the mean age of the controls

was 34.6 years (SD = 9.1; range 18–77 years).

2.3 Genotyping, quality control and imputation procedures

DNA samples were submitted for genotyping under a number

of primary projects using different Illumina SNP platforms

Genetic Etiology of Adult Antisocial Behavior

PLOS ONE | www.plosone.org 2 October 2012 | Volume 7 | Issue 10 | e45086

Hannah
Highlight

(Human610-Quad, HumanCNV370-Quadv3 and Human 317K).

Standard quality control (QC) filters were applied to the

genotyping in the different platforms. QC included checks for

ancestry outliers, Mendelian errors, Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium,

and Minor Allele Frequency (MAF) and was conducted separately

for each of the projects. Thereafter, the combined dataset was

screened for missingness within individuals, pedigree and sex

errors, and Mendelian errors. Full details of the initial QC

procedures for the Illumina and Affymetrix data can be found

elsewhere [24]. Imputation to the European reference dataset

(HapMap 1+2, Release 22 Build 36) was undertaken by means of MACH [25] using a set of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms

(SNPSs) common across all genotyping platforms. SNPs charac-

terized by either a low minor allele frequency (MAF,.01) or a low

imputation quality score (R 2 ,0.3) were removed. Monozygotic

twins that were not genotyped were assigned their co-twin’s

genotype. The final dataset included ,2.4 million imputed autosomal SNPs and 13,783 genotyped X-chromosomal SNPs

available for association analysis.

2.4 Statistical analyses Prior to the GWAS analyses, we tested for sex and age effects in

our sample in a linear regression model with binary adult

antisocial behavior as the dependent variable. We conducted

genome-wide association analyses in three study designs using

imputation dosage genotypes: 1) combined studies, logistic

regression on case-control status with sex, age and study as

covariates 2) combined studies, linear regression on symptom

count, same covariates as 1), 3) repeated analyses 1 and 2 for the

two studies separately with age and sex as covariates. This allowed

us to determine consistency among the associations across the

studies. Given our family based sample, Merlin offline [26] was

used since it accounts for family relationships including MZ twins.

Minx (as implemented in Merlin) was used to perform association

analyses on the X-chromosome. Ancestry principal components

were not significantly associated with the phenotypes and were not

included as covariates.

Gene-based test and pathway analysis. We tested for

association at the level of genes using the versatile gene-based test

for genome-wide association studies (VEGAS) [27]. While

accounting for linkage disequilibrium (LD) and number of SNPs

per gene, VEGAS aims to identify genes that show a higher signal

of association than expected by chance, by considering all the p-

values of all SNPs within genes (including 650 kb from the 59 and

39 UTR). The gene-based association test was undertaken for

17,707 autosomal genes, we considered a p-value below

a = 2.861026 (0.05/17,707) to be significant. Since the MAOA gene is located on the X chromosome and sex chromosomes are

not taken into account in VEGAS, we specifically checked all the

SNPs in the MAOA gene that were covered in our dataset, to test

if we could replicate the previously reported association in this

gene.

A pathway analysis was carried out to determine which

potential biological pathways could play a role in antisocial

behavior. Pathway analysis was performed in the Ingenuity

Pathway analysis program (Ingenuity Systems, release IPA6.0)

using genes with a p-value below 0.01. Based on scientific

literature, the Ingenuity database contains large amounts of up-to-

date information concerning the localization, structure and

biological functions of proteins and their interaction. Results were

corrected for multiple testing using the Benjamini-Hochberg

multiple testing correction as implemented in Ingenuity.

An approximate power calculation [28] indicates that the

combined sample provided 50%, 72% and 87% power to detect a

genetic variant (with a minor allele frequency of 0.25) with a

relative risk of 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6, respectively.

Genome-wide Complex Trait Analysis. Furthermore, we

performed a Genome-wide Complex Trait Analysis (GCTA) to

estimate the proportion of the heritability of liability to adult

antisocial behavior that can be explained by testing the SNPs on

the GWAS chips simultaneously [29,30]. One individual per

family was selected for the analysis. We used only genotyped

SNPs. To reduce the potential for bias, SNPs that had a Hardy-

Weinberg p-value,10 23

, had .5% missingness in all samples, or

showed evidence of differential missingness between cases and

controls (p,0.01), were removed. In this way only good quality

SNPs genotyped across all genotyping platforms were retained. A

total of 278.570 SNPs remained after quality control. A stringent

cut-off of 0.025 was used to remove pairs of individuals that show

evidence of cryptic relatedness. The final sample comprised 160

cases and 2012 controls. Analysis was performed using the GCTA

software and all 22 autosomes were fitted in the model

simultaneously. The prevalence estimate was 0.035% as estimated

in the phenotypic sample.

Results

Table 1 provides the means and standard deviations for

antisocial behavior of both symptom count and case status derived

from the two questionnaires. Consistent with findings in the

literature, males had a significantly higher mean score than

females on antisocial behavior (p,.001). Similarly, an age (of

measurement) effect on the mean score was found. The mean

score on antisocial behavior decreased as a function of age in our

sample (p,.001). In order to overcome potential bias, we therefore

adjusted for age and sex effects by including these variables as

covariates in the association analyses. Moreover, because we used

multiple study designs to operationalize adult antisocial behavior,

study was also used as a covariate in the combined GWAS.

The results of the association analyses on case status are

summarized in Figure 1, and 2, and Table S1 that show the

Manhattan plot, Quantile-Quantile (Q-Q) plots and the SNPs

most associated with ASPD, respectively. The Manhattan plot in

Figure 1 provides a graphical presentation of the association

analyses in the combined study design. The strongest associations

were located on chromosomes 5,14,15 and 21. However, none of

these associations were genome-wide significant (p,5.061028). Likewise, no SNPs reached genome-wide significance in the

association analysis on symptom count of adult antisocial behavior.

The genetic power calculation indicates that individual common

genetic variants with a relative risk of ,1.5 or greater do not contribute to individual differences in adult antisocial behavior.

Figure 2 shows the Q-Q plots for each of the study designs,

allowing inspection of systematic bias and population stratification

by comparing the distribution of observed p-values with their

Table 1. Descriptive statistics for antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and antisocial behavior (ASB).

Males Females

Cohort Cases Controls Cases Controls

Study 1 129 585 47 888

Study 2 103 1189 19 1856

Combined 232 1774 66 2744

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045086.t001

Genetic Etiology of Adult Antisocial Behavior

PLOS ONE | www.plosone.org 3 October 2012 | Volume 7 | Issue 10 | e45086

Hannah
Highlight

expected distribution. The Q-Q plot lambda values are close to 1,

indicating that the residual population stratification effect is

minimal [31].

Table S1 lists the top 50 genetic markers showing the strongest

association with our phenotype. The top SNPs explained less than

1% of the phenotypic variance, suggesting a highly polymorphic

genetic architecture. Using these GWAS results we ran a gene-

based association test aimed at finding evidence for association on

a per gene basis. Table S2 displays the results of VEGAS and lists

the 20 genes that showed the highest signal of association in our

sample.

No genes met the criteria for genome-wide significance

(p,2.8*10 26

), but the most associated gene was Dual specificity

tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A) gene

(located at 21q22.13). Within the DYRK1A gene, 30 SNPs had a

p-value below p,10 25

and there were an additional 96 SNPs that

reached nominal significance (p,.05) in the gene, yielding

converging evidence of association (see Figure S1). To see whether

we could find independent evidence for involvement of this gene,

we checked the associations in both study cohorts separately. The

DYRK1A SNPs in the first study cohort yielded similar p-values as

compared to the combined study design. In the second study

cohort, no SNPs were significant at p,0.05.

We examined whether our top genes were more prevalent in

any known biological or canonical pathway using genes associated

with p-value,0.01. The pathway analyses showed that the top

genes in our sample were not significantly more prevalent in any

known pathway, although the biological pathway ‘Nervous System

Development and Function’ showed the strongest association in

our sample (p = .07, after correction for multiple testing).

We estimated the proportion of the heritability of liability to

adult antisocial behavior explained by testing all the SNPs

simultaneously using GCTA software. The estimated proportion

of the phenotypic variance explained by the SNPs on the GWAS

chips was 0.55 with a standard error of 0.41 and the estimate was

not significantly different from zero (p = 0.07).

Finally, we checked whether the SNPs and genes that are

previously associated with antisocial behavior could be replicated

in our GWAS panel. Although several genetic polymorphisms

related to antisocial phenotypes have been reported in the

literature, follow-up studies attempting to replicate these findings

reveal mixed results [32]. A list of candidate genes for antisocial

phenotypes was gathered from published genetic association

studies and gene expression studies. Table S3 contains an overview

of the candidate genes that have been previously associated with

antisocial phenotypes [33], displayed with their corresponding p-

values as derived from our sample. Results indicate that none of

the candidate genes reached nominal significance in our gene-

based analyses, implicating that in contrast with these previous

studies, we did not find evidence in our sample for involvement of

these polymorphisms in adult antisocial behavior. Likewise, the

genome-wide significant SNPs reported by Dick et al. (2011) did

not reach nominal significance (p,0.05) in our sample. The

MAOA gene is considered one of the most important candidate

genes for antisocial phenotypes [33–39]. Since VEGAS does not

take into account the X chromosome in its analyses, we tested all

the SNPs across the MAOA gene that were covered by our GWAS

panel. None of the seven MAOA SNPs yielded p-values below

a = 0.05, implying no evidence for association of the MAOA gene in our sample (see Table S4).

Discussion

Notwithstanding the enormous potential biology could offer

criminology, there is still a relative paucity of biological research in

the explanation of crime. The present study aims to contribute to

biosocial criminology by performing the first genome-wide

association analysis on adult antisocial behavior. Despite the

substantial power to detect common genetic polymorphisms, no

genome-wide significant SNPs were found. Nevertheless, the most

associated gene DYRK1A (p = 8.70 * 10 25

) reflected associations

at three of our most associated SNPs (rs12106331, rs2835702 and

rs2835771). The DYRK1A gene encodes for dual specificity

tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A, an enzyme that is

thought to play a role in signaling pathway regulating cell

Figure 1. Manhattan plot showing the GWAS results of the combined study design for adult antisocial behavior. X-axis represents the chromosomal location for each SNP, and y-axis the 2log10 p-value of the association signal. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045086.g001

Figure 2. Quantile-Quantile plot showing the association between the observed and expected 2log10 p-values. The grey shade area represents the 95% confidence interval. The plot shows the results of the combined study design. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045086.g002

Genetic Etiology of Adult Antisocial Behavior

PLOS ONE | www.plosone.org 4 October 2012 | Volume 7 | Issue 10 | e45086

Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight

proliferation and has been previously associated with synaptic

plasticity and brain development [40,41]. More specifically,

DYRK1A is considered to be a strong candidate gene for mental

retardation and is localized in the Down syndrome critical region

of chromosome 21. Research has shown that early neuropsycho-

logical deficits might lead to poor cognitive functioning, emotional

reactivity, and hyperactivity/impulsivity, all known as risk factors

for antisocial behavior [42]. Terracciano et al. (2010) reported a

nominal association (p = 3.0 * 10 25

) of a SNP (rs2835731) within

the DYRK1a gene with conscientiousness - a trait related to

antisocial behavior [43]. Nevertheless, the associated SNP was not

significant (p = 0.37) in our sample. We also tested for replication

of the SNPs in the DYRK1a gene with conduct disorder in an

American sample (N = 3963, 872 cases, 3091 controls, see Dick et

al., 2010) [8]. None of the 99 tested SNPs reached significance

after correcting for multiple testing, implying no evidence for

replication.

Although several genetic polymorphisms related to antisocial

phenotypes have been reported in the literature, follow-up studies

attempting to replicate these findings have revealed mixed results

[32,44]. A list of candidate genes for antisocial phenotypes was

gathered from published genetic association studies and gene

expression studies. Results indicate that none of the candidate

genes reached nominal significance in our sample, implicating that

in contrast with these previous studies, we did not find evidence for

involvement of these polymorphisms in adult antisocial behavior.

However, since we did not test for gene environment interaction

effects it is still possible that these genetic variants have relatively

strong effects when linked with certain environmental factors.

Previous studies have underscored the importance of taking into

account the close interplay between genetic and environmental

factors in the etiology of antisocial behavior. Caspi et al. (2002)

showed for example that a functional polymorphism in the

MAOA gene moderates the impact of childhood maltreatment on

the development of antisocial behavior [45].

The discrepancy between the high heritability estimates in twin

and adoption studies on the one hand, and the inability to identify

genes involved in these behaviors on the other hand, has been

often referred to as the problem of the ‘missing’ heritability [46].

While some genome-wide association studies have been successful

in identifying common SNPs, the majority of genetic variants that

contribute to disease susceptibility remain undiscovered [29].

Moreover, these associated genes typically explain only a small

proportion (,1%) of the genetic variance underlying the trait. The

power calculation shows that our sample is unable to detect

common genetic variants of small effect sizes that contribute to the

variance in antisocial behavior. Yang et al. (2010) showed that it is

likely that the heritability is not ‘missing’, at least in part, but that

the SNPs that tag certain genes have a very small effect

individually and might therefore not be detected in the analyses

[30,47]. We estimated that the total proportion of phenotypic

variance explained by genome-wide SNPs when considered

together is 0.55, with a standard error of 0.41. The point estimate

is non-significantly different from zero and larger sample sizes,

enriched for cases, will be required to ensure sufficient power to

accurately estimate the proportion of phenotypic variance in adult

antisocial behavior explained by all the genome-wide SNPs. The

application of this methodology to criminal behavior phenotypes is

particularly relevant, a field in which a genetic contribution to the

etiology remains contentious. Although the classical twin design

for estimation of heritability is designed to separate out the

common family environment effects from genetic effects in the

familial relationship, some contamination with common environ-

mental effects could remain [48]. The methods of Yang et al,

estimate the contribution of genetic effects from such distantly

relatives that contamination with family environmental effects is

less likely.

Research has shown that it is likely that each gene associated

with antisocial behavior affects many brain pathways (pleiotropy),

while at the same time many genes affect each single brain

pathway related to antisocial behavior (polygenicity) [1]. Hence,

the genetic complexity of antisocial behavior makes it difficult to

reveal causative genetic variants involved in this trait. Future

research could therefore focus on functionally integrated brain

networks, consisting of groups of genes, which are selected on the

basis of their biological role. Functional gene group analyses are

different from the pathway analysis conducted here, where we

tested whether associated genetic variants are more prevalent in

any known biological pathway. Instead, functional gene-group

analysis tests whether the associated genes are more prevalent in

any known functional gene-group (genes with a similar cellular

function). As such, this analysis can deliver additional information

to the field of criminology by complementing single SNP analysis

[49]. Subsequently, genetic data combined with new biological

techniques such as neuroimaging, could further explore the

neurobiological underpinnings of criminal behavior by linking

the genetic makeup of an individual to his neuroradiological

features. Testing the hypothesis that there is a relationship

between functional genetic networks, abnormalities in brain

morphology and intra/inter-hemispheric connectivity related to

antisocial phenotypes could be promising. Moreover, the neuro-

imaging data acquired can serve as an intermediate (endo-)

phenotype and thus be used to form homogeneous groups of

specific subtypes of antisocial behavior (such as aggression or

conduct disorder), which improves biological interpretability as

well as phenotypic differentiation under the assumption that

different subtypes also have a different etiology [50].

Given the fact that criminology is in itself a highly multidisci-

plinary study, it is surprisingly that biological knowledge has been

neglected by the majority of the criminological scholars the last

few decades. There may be multiple reasons why criminologists

have been cautious in applying biological theories to crime. The

unpopularity of biosocial criminology is partly due to unfounded

concerns regarding genetic determinism. Current biological

approaches in criminology still suffer from the image of the

Italian school of Cesare Lombroso in the nineteenth century [2].

In his most famous work ‘Criminal Man’ [51], Lombroso

postulated that crime was caused by biological defects in inferior

‘‘atavistic’’ individuals who were ‘‘throwbacks’’ from an earlier

evolutionary stage of human development. Although Lombroso

published widely on the origins of delinquency, he is recognized

and criticized most about his idea of physiognomy: the born

criminal that could be distinguished by physical characteristics,

such as large jaws and high cheekbones [52]. It is this reputation, a

rather unsophisticated methodology used by early founders of

biological theory that still puts biosocial criminology in a bad light.

Nowadays the methodological tools have become one of the

strengths of biology which is, as an exact discipline, characterized

by empirical research and could therefore be of important value

for criminology. Subsequently, the contemporary zeitgeist seems to

be more receptive for further insights and the resistance against

biology may gradually diminish [53].

Given the rise of modern biology in the explanation of crime, it

is important to look ahead for the potential ethical implications

that emanate with the emergence of neurobiological research.

Crime is strongly related to our legal system and thereby impacts

on typical legal concepts such as responsibility and free will, which

explains why the use of biological techniques remains controversial

Genetic Etiology of Adult Antisocial Behavior

PLOS ONE | www.plosone.org 5 October 2012 | Volume 7 | Issue 10 | e45086

Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight

[54]. Biosocial criminology urges a greater philosophical question

whether an individual still has freedom to act if his behavior is

biologically caused. Opponents argue that free will, as the

foundation of our legal system, would be undermined if crime

has genetic origins. It is clear that there are legal and ethical issues

arising from behavioral genetics and neuroscience and these

concerns should be taken into meticulous consideration [55]. In

biosocial criminological circles it is widely acknowledged that there

are ethical drawbacks to a strict biological approach and the large

majority of these authors aim to have a biosocial perspective on

crime rather than genetic determinism [1]. However, sometimes

scientific findings are erroneously used by the uninitiated. Recently

an Italian appeal court reduced the sentence of a murderer by one

year, on the grounds of identifying the MAOA gene linked to

violent behavior. It is exactly this type of events that shapes the

fear of genetic research. Logically, behavioral geneticists from all

over the world have challenged this ruling. Contemporary

knowledge in genetics is surely not capable of predicting behavior

at an individual level (as is clear from heritability estimates that are

substantially less than one), but only in large population statistics

[56].

Nevertheless, integrating biological research into the traditional

sociological theories of crime, could be helpful in unraveling the

complex etiology of criminal behavior. Ultimately, neuroscientific

research could provide clues on which psychological or pharma-

cological interventions are suitable in improving the neurobiolog-

ical pathways disrupted in antisocial individuals. To conclude, the

study of crime has been eminently theoretical and lacks substantial

empirical verification of those theories [57]. For these reasons,

biological research could be of tremendous importance for

criminology by incorporating empirical research into the tradi-

tional explanations of crime.

Supporting Information

Figure S1 Plot showing linkage disequilibrium and association of the SNPs in the DYRK1A region. (PDF)

Table S1 50 strongest SNPs associated with adult antisocial behavior. (DOCX)

Table S2 Top 20 genes showing strongest association with adult antisocial behavior. (DOCX)

Table S3 Association results from the seven candidate genes previously found in antisocial phenotypes. (DOCX)

Table S4 Association results of the SNP p-values within the MAOA* gene in our sample. (DOCX)

Acknowledgments

We greatly thank the twins for their participation. Thanks also to Anna

Vinkhuyzen for statistical assistance, and to Grant Montgomery for

genotypic data collection. We are also very thankful to Danielle Dick and

Fazil Aliev for providing us the list of SNPs that allowed us to check for

signals in the DYRK1A gene in their cohort.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: JJT KJHV. Performed the

experiments: JJT. Analyzed the data: JJT KJHV. Contributed reagents/

materials/analysis tools: JJT SEM BB EB ACH PAFM NGM NRW

KJHV. Wrote the paper: JJT.

References

1. Walsh A, Beaver KM (2009) Biosocial criminology: New Directions in Theory

and Research: Taylor & Francis: New York.

2. Wright JP, Beaver KM, DeLisi M, Vaughn MG, Boisvert D, et al. (2008)

Lombroso’s Legacy: The Miseducation of Criminologists. J Crim Justice 19:

325–338.

3. Gelhorn H, Hartman C, Sakai J, Mikulich-Gilbertson S, Stallings M, et al.

(2009) An Item Response Theory Analysis of DSM-IV Conduct Disorder. J Am

Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 48: 42–50.

4. Hudziak JA, van Beijsterveldt CEM, Bartel M, Derks E, Boomsma DI (2003)

Individual differences in aggression in young children: Cross-sectional analyses

in Dutch twins. Behav Genet 33: 575–590.

5. Miles DR, Carey G (1997) Genetic and environmental architecture of human

aggression. J Pers Soc Psychol 72: 207–217.

6. Bartels M, Boomsma DI, Hudziak JJ, Rietveld MJ, van Beijsterveldt TC, et al.

(2004) Disentangling genetic, environmental, and rater effects on internalizing

and externalizing problem behavior in 10-year-old twins. Twin Res Hum Genet

7: 162–175.

7. Burt SA (2009) Are there meaningful etiological differences within antisocial

behavior? Results of a meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Rev 29: 163–178.

8. Dick DM, Aliev F, Krueger RF, Edwards A, Agrawal A, et al. (2011) Genome-

wide association study of conduct disorder symptomatology. Mol Psychiatry 16:

800–808.

9. American Psychiatric Association. (2000) Diagnostic criteria from DSM-IV-TR.

Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association. xii, 370 p.

10. Cale EM, Lilienfeld SO (2002) Sex differences in psychopathy and antisocial

personality disorder - A review and integration. Clin Psychol Rev 22: 1179–

1207.

11. Moffitt TE (2005) Genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behaviors:

Evidence from behavioral-genetic research. Adv Genet 55: 41–104.

12. Moffitt TE (2005) The new look of behavioral genetics in developmental

psychopathology: Gene-environment interplay in antisocial behaviors. Psychol

Bull 131: 533–554.

13. Ferguson CJ (2010) Genetic contributions to antisocial personality and behavior:

A meta-analytic review from an evolutionary perspective. J Soc Psychol 150: 1–

21.

14. Tuvblad C, Narusyte J, Grann M, Sarnecki J, Lichtenstein P (2011) The Genetic

and Environmental Etiology of Antisocial Behavior from Childhood to

Emerging Adulthood. Behav Genet 41: 629–640.

15. Beaver KM, DeLisi M, Vaughn MG, Barnes JC (2010) Monoamine oxidase A

genotype is associated with gang membership and weapon use. Compr

Psychiatry 51: 130–134.

16. Douglas K, Chan G, Gelernter J, Arias AJ, Anton RF, et al. (2011) 5-HTTLPR

as a potential moderator of the effects of adverse childhood experiences on risk of

antisocial personality disorder. Psychiatr Genet 21: 240–248.

17. Farrington DP (1996) The psychopathology of crime: Criminal behavior as a

clinical disorder - Raine,A. Psychol Med 26: 1093–1094.

18. Bosker FJ, Hartman CA, Nolte IM, Prins BP, Terpstra P, et al. (2011) Poor

replication of candidate genes for major depressive disorder using genome-wide

association data. Mol Psychiatry 16: 516–532.

19. Verweij KJH, Zietsch BP, Liu JZ, Medland SE, Lynskey MT, et al. (2011) No

association of candidate genes with cannabis use in a large sample of Australian

twin families. Addict Biol Epub ahead of publication.

20. Chabris CF, Hebert BM, Benjamin DJ, Beauchamp JP, Cesarini D, et al. (2012)

Most reported genetic associations with general intelligence are probably false

positives. Psychol Sci. In press.

21. Duncan LE, Keller MC (2011) A Critical Review of the First 10 Years of

Candidate Gene-by-Environment Interaction Research in Psychiatry.

Am J Psychiatry 168: 1041–1049.

22. Bucholz KK, Cadoret R, Cloninger CR, Dinwiddie SH, Hesselbrock VM, et al.

(1994) A New, Semistructured Psychiatric Interview for Use in Genetic-Linkage

Studies - a Report on the Reliability of the Ssaga. J Stud Alcohol 55: 149–158.

23. American Psychiatric Association. Task Force on DSM-IV. (1994) Diagnostic

and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV. Washington, DC:

American Psychiatric Association. xxvii, 886 p.

24. Medland SE, Nyholt DR, Painter JN, McEvoy BP, Mcrae AF, et al. (2009)

Common Variants in the Trichohyalin Gene Are Associated with Straight Hair

in Europeans. Am J Hum Genet 85: 750–755.

25. Li Y, Willer CJ, Ding J, Scheet P, Abecasis GR (2010) MaCH: Using Sequence

and Genotype Data to Estimate Haplotypes and Unobserved Genotypes. Genet

Epidemiol 34: 816–834.

26. Abecasis GR, Cherny SS, Cookson WO, Cardon LR (2002) Merlin-rapid

analysis of dense genetic maps using sparse gene flow trees. Nat Genet 30: 97–

101.

27. Liu JZ, Mcrae AF, Nyholt DR, Medland SE, Wray NR, et al. (2010) A Versatile

Gene-Based Test for Genome-wide Association Studies. Am J Hum Genet 87:

139–145.

Genetic Etiology of Adult Antisocial Behavior

PLOS ONE | www.plosone.org 6 October 2012 | Volume 7 | Issue 10 | e45086

Hannah
Highlight

28. Purcell S, Cherny SS, Sham PC (2003) Genetic Power Calculator: design of

linkage and association genetic mapping studies of complex traits. Bioinformatics

19: 149–150.

29. Raychaudhuri S (2011) Mapping rare and common causal alleles for complex

human diseases. Cell 147: 57–69.

30. Visscher PM, Yang JA, Goddard ME (2010) A Commentary on ‘Common SNPs

Explain a Large Proportion of the Heritability for Human Height’ by Yang et al.

(2010). Twin Res Hum Genet 13: 517–524.

31. Clayton DG, Walker NM, Smyth DJ, Pask R, Cooper JD, et al. (2005)

Population structure, differential bias and genomic control in a large-scale, case-

control association study. Nat Genet 37: 1243–1246.

32. Foley DL, Eaves LJ, Wormley B, Silberg JL, Maes HH, et al. (2004) Childhood

adversity, monoamine oxidase A genotype, and risk for conduct disorder. Arch

Gen Psychiatry 61: 738–744.

33. Fowler T, Langley K, Rice F, van den Bree MBM, Ross K, et al. (2009)

Psychopathy trait scores in adolescents with childhood ADHD: the contribution

of genotypes affecting MAOA, 5HTT and COMT activity. Psychiatr Genet 19:

312–319.

34. Alia-Klein N, Goldstein RZ, Kriplani A, Logan J, Tomasi D, et al. (2008) Brain

monoamine oxidase a activity predicts trait aggression. J Neurosci 28: 5099–

5104.

35. Fergusson DM, Boden JM, Horwood LJ, Miller AL, Kennedy MA (2011)

MAOA, abuse exposure and antisocial behaviour: 30-year longitudinal study.

Br J Psychiatry 198: 457–463.

36. Huang YY, Cate SP, Battistuzzi C, Oquendo MA, Brent D, et al. (2004) An

association between a functional polymorphism in the monoamine oxidase A

gene promoter, impulsive traits and early abuse experiences. Neuropsychophar-

macology 29: 1498–1505.

37. Lee SS (2011) Deviant Peer Affiliation and Antisocial Behavior: Interaction with

Monoamine Oxidase A (MAOA) Genotype. J Abnorm Child Psychol 39: 321–

332.

38. Reti IM, Xu JZ, Yanofski J, McKibben J, Uhart M, et al. (2011) Monoamine

oxidase A regulates antisocial personality in whites with no history of physical

abuse. Compr Psychiatry 52: 188–194.

39. Tikkanen R, Auvinen-Lintunen L, Ducci F, Sjoberg RL, Goldman D, et al.

(2011) Psychopathy, PCL-R, and MAOA genotype as predictors of violent

reconvictions. Psychiatry Res 185: 382–386.

40. Hammerle B, Elizalde C, Galceran J, Becker W, Tejedor FJ (2003) The MNB/

DYRK1A protein kinase: neurobiological functions and Down syndrome

implications. J Neural Supp: 129–137.

41. Marti E, Altafaj X, Dierssen M, de la Luna S, Fotaki V, et al. (2003) Dyrk1A

expression pattern supports specific roles of this kinase in the adult central nervous system. Brain Res 964: 250–263.

42. Lahey BB MT, Caspi A (2003) Causes of conduct disorder and juvenile

delinquency. New York: Guilford Press. 43. Terracciano A, Sanna S, Uda M, Deiana B, Usala G, et al. (2010) Genome-wide

association scan for five major dimensions of personality. Mol Psychiatry 15: 647–656.

44. Prichard Z, Mackinnon A, Jorm AF, Easteal S (2008) No evidence for

interaction between MAOA and childhood adversity for antisocial behavior. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 147B: 228–232.

45. Caspi A, McClay J, Moffitt TE, Mill J, Martin J, et al. (2005) Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children - Fears of the future in children und

young people. Z Soziol Erzieh Sozi 25: 133–145. 46. Maher B (2008) Personal genomes: The case of the missing heritability. Nature

456: 18–21.

47. Yang JA, Benyamin B, McEvoy BP, Gordon S, Henders AK, et al. (2010) Common SNPs explain a large proportion of the heritability for human height.

Nat Genet 42: 565–U131. 48. Boomsma D, Busjahn A, Peltonen L (2002) Classical twin studies and beyond.

Nat Rev Genet 3: 872–882.

49. Ruano D, Abecasis GR, Glaser B, Lips ES, Cornelisse LN, et al. (2010) Functional Gene Group Analysis Reveals a Role of Synaptic Heterotrimeric G

Proteins in Cognitive Ability. Am J Hum Genet 86: 113–125. 50. de Zubicaray GI, Chiang MC, McMahon KL, Shattuck DW, Toga AW, et al.

(2008) Meeting the Challenges of Neuroimaging Genetics. Brain Imaging Behav 2: 258–263.

51. Lombroso C (1896) L’uomo Delinquente. Torino, Italy, Bocca.

52. Gatti U, Verde A (2012) Cesare Lombroso: Methodological ambiguities and brilliant intuitions. Int J Law Psychiatry 35: 19–26.

53. Wright JP, Boisvert D (2009) What Biosocial Criminology Offers Criminology. Crim Justice Behav 36: 1228–1240.

54. Roskies A (2006) Neuroscientific challenges to free will and responsibility.

Trends Cogn Sci 10: 419–423. 55. Farah MJ (2012) Neuroethics: the ethical, legal, and societal impact of

neuroscience. Annu Rev Psychol 63: 571–591. 56. Roskies AL (2007) Neuroethics beyond genethics. Despite the overlap between

the ethics of neuroscience and genetics, there are important areas where the two diverge. EMBO reports 8 Spec No: S52–56.

57. Walsh A, Ellis L (2004) Ideology: Criminology’s Achilles’ heel? J of Ideology 27:

21–25.

Genetic Etiology of Adult Antisocial Behavior

PLOS ONE | www.plosone.org 7 October 2012 | Volume 7 | Issue 10 | e45086

Copyright of PLoS ONE is the property of Public Library of Science and its content may not be copied or

emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission.

However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

A bioscial eplanation of delinquncy abstention1.pdf

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

A biosocial explanation of delinquency abstention

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health 18: 59–74 (2008) Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/cbm.678

BRIAN B. BOUTWELL AND KEVIN M. BEAVER, Florida State University, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1127, USA

ABSTRACT Background One of the more infl uential criminological theories advanced in recent years is Moffi tt’s developmental taxonomy. A line of research has tested the core propositions from her theory regarding the causes of life-course persistent offenders and the causes of adolescence-limited offenders, but very little research has investigated whether Moffi tt’s explanation of delinquency abstention is supported empirically. Aim To examine the biosocial correlates of delinquency abstention. Method We used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine the effects of two dopamine receptor genes (the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) and the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4)), drug-using peers, neighbourhood problems, low self-control, public assistance, age, race, and gender on delinquency abstention. The statistical models were calculated by employing binary logistic regression. Results Analysis of the Add Health data revealed that exposure to drug-using peers and levels of self-control were associated with abstention from delinquency. In addi- tion, there was some evidence suggesting that DRD2 and DRD4 had protective effects against delinquent involvement for males. Conclusion A multifactorial arrangement of environmental and genetic factors con- tributes to delinquency abstention. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Introduction

Delinquent involvement during adolescence is so common that it is considered age normative (Farrington, 1986; Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990; Hirschi and Gottfredson, 1983; Moffi tt, 1993). Although a wealth of theories have been advanced to explain the correlates of offending behaviours during adolescence,

Boutwell, Beaver

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

60

most of these perspectives have paid only limited attention to identifying the factors that may account for delinquency abstention. One notable exception is Moffi tt’s (1993) developmental taxonomy. In her theory, Moffi tt identifi ed two different groups of delinquents: adolescence-limited and life-course persistent offenders. At the same time, she also called attention to the fact that a small percentage of all youths refrain from engaging in misconduct. Although a great deal of empirical research has been conducted to examine various hypotheses on the development and trajectories of adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent offenders (Moffi tt, 2006), a very limited amount of research has examined Moffi tt’s thesis pertaining to the correlates of abstainers (Brezina and Piquero, 2007; Piquero et al., 2005). In our paper, we address this gap in the literature by exam- ining the biosocial contributors to delinquency abstention.

Moffi tt’s developmental taxonomy

Moffi tt’s (1993) developmental taxonomy theory draws from research revealing that most youths engage in some form of delinquency during adolescence, but only a small group of them persist with their antisocial conduct over the life course. Moffi tt labels those offenders who restrict their delinquent behaviours to adolescence ‘adolescence-limited offenders’ and those who are habitual, lifelong criminals ‘life-course-persistent offenders’.

Life-course-persistent (LCP) offenders

Life-course-persistent (LCP) offenders constitute approximately 6% of the popula- tion, but account for an overwhelming proportion of all crimes (Moffi tt et al., 2002). For LCP offenders, antisocial conduct emerges in early childhood and remains relatively stable throughout the remainder of their life. According to Moffi tt, two intertwined factors are responsible for their offending behaviours. First, she maintains that LCPs suffer from neuropsychological defi cits. For Moffi tt, however, neuropsychological defi cits are a necessary, but not suffi cient cause of LCPs. In other words, some individuals with neurological dysfunctions may become LCPs, whereas others will not. A second cause of LCPs which she identi- fi ed was an adverse home life. The presence of neuropsychological defi cits coupled with being raised in a criminogenic family promotes serious, chronic offending. The etiology of LCPs, therefore, is biosocial because biogenic risk factors (i.e. neuropsychological defi cits) and environmental risk factors (i.e. an adverse family life) interact to produce LCPs.

Adolescence-limited (AL) offenders

Adolescence-limited (AL) offenders, by contrast, make up the vast majority of delinquents. This group of offenders does not display signs of antisocial behaviour

A biosocial explanation of delinquency abstention

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

61

early in life, nor do they offend as adults, but rather their delinquent involvement is restricted to adolescence. The main cause of AL offending is what Moffi tt refers to as the ‘maturity gap’. The maturity gap is expressed when adolescents have reached a point of biological maturity (e.g. they have the capacity to reproduce and physically resemble adults), but socially they are restricted from engaging in the types of behaviours that are reserved for adults (e.g. they are legally prohibited from consuming alcohol). To reduce the disjuncture in the maturity gap, AL offenders mimic the more ‘adult-like’ behaviours of the LCP offenders. Smoking, drinking alcohol, breaking curfews, and engaging in sex offer the means to appear more socially mature. As these youths age, they are granted more and more privileges and, as a result, they move out of the maturity gap. Consequently, their delinquent involvement evaporates (Moffi tt, 1993, 2006); however, research has also demonstrated that individuals classifi ed as AL offenders may still experience some forms of psychopathology well into adulthood (Vermeiren, 2003). The explanation for AL offending, like that of LCP offenders, is biosocial because biological factors (e.g. the timing of puberty) and social factors (e.g. societal restraints) interact to produce delinquent involvement.

Delinquent abstainers

Most youths, then, engage in some type of delinquency, whether it is chronic life-time offending or delinquency only in adolescence. Moffi tt, however, also identifi es a third group of youths – delinquent abstainers – who refrain from delinquent involvement altogether. She identifi es three major contributors to delinquency abstention. First, she suggests that some youths may not engage in delinquency because they are not ‘caught’ in the maturity gap. For example, adolescents who experience a late onset of puberty are likely to avoid the maturity gap and thus will be more likely to abstain from delinquency when compared to adolescents who reach puberty early or on time. Secondly, exposure to delinquent peer groups is relevant. In general, the more an adolescent is exposed to antisocial friends, the less likely they are to abstain from delinquency. Thirdly, personality traits can play a role (Farrington and West, 1993; Shedler and Block, 1990). Adolescents who are timid, withdrawn, or inactive, are more likely to be excluded from groups that take part in delinquent activities. Ultimately, some abstainers may be less developmentally adjusted than those who experiment with minor forms of delinquency.

Empirical research on delinquent abstainers

Although some studies have examined the predictors of LCP offenders and AL offenders (Piquero, 2001; Piquero et al., 2002; Raine et al., 2005), much less research has examined the predictors of delinquency abstention (Brezina and Piquero, 2007; Farrington and West, 1993; Piquero et al., 2005; Shedler and Block,

Boutwell, Beaver

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

62

1990). In one of the more noteworthy studies, Piquero et al. (2005) analysed data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to examine the corre- lates to delinquency abstention. Analysis of the NLSY revealed that 13% of respondents fi t into the classifi cation of abstainers, and that generally, females abstained more frequently than males. Contrary to expectations, measures of sadness and depression tended to correlate more with delinquent involvement than delinquency abstention. Not surprisingly, abstainers were more likely to associate with prosocial peers.

In another study, Brezina and Piquero (2007) employed data from the Youths and Deterrence Survey to identify the factors related to delinquency abstention. Their analysis revealed that measures of strong moral beliefs, delinquent peers, and family-level characteristics were signifi cantly related to the odds of refraining from delinquency. Taken together, the results from Piquero et al.’s study (2005) and from Brezina and Piquero’s (2007) study provide partial support for Moffi tt’s hypothesis on the causes of delinquency abstention.

Previous studies have also examined the correlates of abstention, though not directly testing Moffi tt’s (1993) theory. Farrington and West’s (1993) study of adolescent males suggested that those individuals who were never convicted of a crime tended to be shy and socially isolated, with few friends. Shedler and Block (1990) examined social and personality characteristics related to three groups of adolescent drug users: experimenters, frequent users, and abstainers. Abstainers tended to be characterized as withdrawn and over controlled.

Biosocial criminology and delinquency abstention

Moffi tt employed a biosocial perspective in her account of LCP offenders and in her account of AL offenders, but less so in her description of the factors contrib- uting to delinquent abstainers. There is some reason to believe, however, that biogenic factors beyond the maturity gap may partially explain why some youths are relatively resistant to engaging in delinquency (Moffi tt, 2005). Recent genetic research, for instance, has revealed that the alleles of certain genes may serve as protective factors against the development of maladaptive behaviours and disor- ders (Moffi tt, 2005). A recent study by Hasin et al. (2002), for example, revealed that a particular allele of an alcohol metabolizing gene conferred a reduced risk of severe dependence on alcohol. Other studies have revealed that certain genetic polymorphisms have an insulating effect against the onset and progression of various medical conditions such as HIV, myocardial infarction, and stroke (Cipollone et al., 2004; Lum et al., 2003).

Nevertheless, some of the best evidence in support of a genetic effect on delinquency abstention comes from research conducted by the Moffi tt–Caspi group (Caspi et al., 2002). In this landmark study, analysis of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study confi rmed that individuals who were maltreated as children were more likely to become involved in various

A biosocial explanation of delinquency abstention

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

63

forms of antisocial behaviours, but that some of the maltreated respondents were relatively resilient. They hypothesized that genotype could be a mediating factor. Results confi rmed that maltreated male respondents with the low MAOA activity allele were at great risk of engaging in antisocial behaviours, but maltreated males with the high MAOA activity allele were not. In other words, the high MAOA activity allele was protective against criminal involvement. The robustness of this gene by environment interaction was revealed in a meta-analysis by Kim-Cohen and colleagues (2006), in which they found that the interaction between MAOA and maltreatment was statistically signifi cant across studies.

Existing evidence thus tends to suggest that certain genes may protect against the emergence of maladaptive phenotypes, including antisocial behaviours (Caspi et al., 2002). A pressing question persists however: which genes are the most likely to promote delinquency abstention? We do not know of any research examining this issue, but there is reason to believe that genes from the dopaminergic system may increase the odds of abstaining. The dopaminergic system has been linked to an array of psychopathologies, such as depression, and drug and alcohol abuse (Faraone et al., 1999; Dubertret et al., 2004; Guo et al., 2007b). Much of the early dopaminergic work centred on examining whether levels of dopamine were related to different phenotypic outcomes (Raine, 1993; Rowe, 2002). Recently, however, researchers have begun to examine whether certain dopaminergic poly- morphisms affect antisocial and criminal propensities (DeYoung et al., 2006). Out of this work, geneticists have identifi ed two dopamine receptor genes – the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) and the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) – as candidate genes thought to be associated with the development of antisocial behaviours (Rowe, 2002).

The role of DRD2 and DRD4 in the creation of adolescent delinquency and adult criminal behaviour has been underscored by the fi ndings from two recent studies. In the fi rst, Guo et al. (2007a) analysed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) study to determine whether genes from the dopaminergic system were related to adolescent delin- quent involvement. They showed that variants of the DRD2 gene and of a dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) were signifi cantly associated with self-reported measures of delinquency. In the second study, Beaver et al. (2007) also using Add Health data, examined the effects of DRD2 and DRD4 on conduct disorder and adult antisocial behaviours, and showed that DRD2 and DRD4 interacted to predict signifi cant variation in fi ve different antisocial phenotypes. Given that prior research has revealed that persons possessing DRD2 and DRD4 risk alleles are at risk of becoming involved in delinquency, we now hypothesize that indi- viduals who do not possess the DRD2 or the DRD4 risk alleles will be likely to abstain from delinquency.

Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight

Boutwell, Beaver

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

64

Methods

Data

Data for our study are from the Add Health database. This draws on a nation- ally representative sample of American adolescents enrolled in grades 7 through 12 (Udry, 1998). Data were collected in three different waves, which cover nearly 7 years of adolescent and early adult development. The fi rst wave of interviews took place in 1994, when the respondents were between 11 and 19 years old. Approximately 20,700 adolescents along with 17,700 primary care providers participated in the in-home component of the study. Wave II data were collected about 1 year after wave I. The third and fi nal wave of data was collected in 2001–2002 when the respondents were 18 to 27 years old. Altogether, 15,197 young adults were re-interviewed at wave III (Harris et al., 2003).

The Add Health data contain a rich array of items that tap the adolescent’s contact with certain environmental risk factors. In addition, at wave III, a sub- sample of respondents was genotyped for certain genetic polymorphisms related to the synthesis of neurotransmitters. To be eligible for participation within the genetic sub-sample, participants had to have a sibling also participating in the survey. Altogether, 2574 participants submitted buccal cells for genotyping. Once missing cases were removed from the data, and after removing one twin from each monozygotic twin pair (Haberstick et al., 2005), the fi nal analytic sample size used in our analysis consisted of 1540 participants.

Measures

Dependent variable

Abstainers. At each of the three waves, we created a composite delinquency scale that indexed the extent to which each adolescent was involved in delinquent and unlawful behaviours. Following prior research (Beaver and Wright, 2005), we developed a wave I delinquency scale that consisted of 15 items that tapped the adolescent’s involvement in activities such as fi ghting, property damage, and cheating (alpha = 0.78). At wave II, 13 items were used to index delinquency. This scale included many of the same questions asked in wave I interviews. For example, each adolescent was asked whether they had driven a car without the owner’s permission, whether they had threatened to use a weapon, and whether they had lied to their parents about their whereabouts (alpha = 0.79). Finally, at wave III a 12-item scale was developed to tap delinquent and criminal involvement in early adulthood (alpha = 0.71). The items in this scale indexed physical violence, theft, and other acts of serious violence. Higher scores on all three of the scales refl ected more involvement in antisocial behaviours.

A biosocial explanation of delinquency abstention

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

65

We used the three delinquency scales to identify abstainers. To do so, we added together all three of the delinquency scales, which resulted in a composite delinquency scale indexing lifetime involvement in antisocial behaviour. Those respondents who scored ‘1’ or higher on the composite scale were pooled into one group, which we called ‘non-abstainers’. Those respondents who indicated they had never engaged in any delinquent acts – that is, they had a score of ‘0’ on the composite delinquency scale – we called ‘abstainers’. The measure of abstainers, therefore, was coded dichotomously where 0 = non-abstainer and 1 = abstainer. Very similar to prior research (Piquero et al., 2005), 12.2% of the Add Health sample was abstainers.

Genetic polymorphisms

Dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2). The DRD2 gene is a polymorphism that consists of two alleles: the A1 allele and the A2 allele. Extant genetic research has revealed that the A1 allele is a risk factor that has been linked to a number of behavioural and psychiatric disorders (Arinami et al., 1993; Berman et al., 2002; Blum et al., 1997; Comings et al., 2001; Connor et al., 2002; Hopfer et al., 2005). The maternal and paternal allele variables were coded such that the A2 allele was coded as ‘0’, while the A1 allele was coded with a score of ‘1’. The two variables were then summed together to form the DRD2 risk allele index, where the value on this index indicated the number of risk alleles possessed by the respondent. Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium was fulfi lled for DRD2. For a more technical discussion of how the dopamine receptor genes were genotyped see Beaver et al. (2007).

Dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4). Research has indicated that the seven-repeat allele of the DRD4 is a risk factor that is associated with the development of certain antisocial phenotypes (Faraone et al., 1999; Faraone et al., 2001). In line with prior research analysing the Add Health data (Hopfer et al., 2005), alleles that were greater than or equal to seven-repeats were coded with a value of ‘1’ and all other alleles were assigned a value of ‘0’. We coded both of the DRD4 variables (i.e. one variable corresponding to the maternal allele and one variable corresponding to the paternal allele) using this procedure and then added them together to form the DRD4 risk allele index. Values on this scale ranged from 0 to 2 and indicated the number of risk alleles that each participant inherited. No deviations from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium were detected.

Socialization variables

Drug-using peers. Associating with delinquent peers is one of the best predictors of youthful misconduct (Warr, 2002). According to Moffi tt, abstainers lack exposure to deviant peer networks. In keeping with past research (Piquero et al., 2005), we included a drug-using peers scale in the analysis. At wave I, adolescents

Boutwell, Beaver

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

66

were asked how many of their three best friends smoked at least one cigarette a day, how many of their three best friends smoked pot more than once a month, and how many of their three best friends drank alcohol at least once a month. Responses to each of these three questions were then added together to form the drug-using peers scale (alpha = 0.76). This scale has been used in prior research analysing the Add Health data (Beaver and Wright, 2005; Bellair et al., 2003).

Neighbourhood problems. The likelihood of criminal involvement varies from neighbourhood to neighbourhood (Sampson et al., 1997). We included a fi ve-item neighbourhood problems scale to capture neighbourhood differences that may affect an individual’s propensity to abstain from delinquency. During wave I interviews, the primary caregiver was asked a series of questions about the adolescent’s neighbourhood, including how much litter and trash is on the streets and sidewalks, whether drug dealers and users are a problem, and the extent to which they would like to move away from their neighbourhood. A higher score on this scale indicated more neighbourhood disadvantage (alpha = 0.61).

Control variables

Low self-control. The trait of low self-control is one of the strongest correlates of delinquent involvement (Pratt and Cullen, 2000). The Add Health survey included items that tap low self control (Perrone et al., 2004). Adolescents taking part in the survey were asked questions related to their attention span and their mental focus, as well as to their ability to complete schoolwork. We used a scale identical to the one used by Perrone and colleagues (2004) by summing responses, with higher scores refl ecting lower levels of self-control (alpha = 0.70).

Public assistance. To take into account the fi nancial wellbeing of each respondent, we included a public assistance variable. During wave I interviews, the primary caregiver was asked whether they were currently receiving public assistance or welfare services. This one-item measure was coded dichotomously, such that 0 = no, 1 = yes.

Age. Age was included as a control variable to help control for potential misspecifi cation of the multivariate models. Age was a continuous variable measured in years.

Race. In line with prior abstention research (Piquero et al., 2005), we included race as a dichotomous variable (0 = white, 1 = black).

Gender. To avoid confounding results caused by differential rates of abstention between males and females, we included gender as a dichotomous dummy variable (0 = female, 1 = male).

A biosocial explanation of delinquency abstention

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

67

Plan of analysis

Our analysis was in two steps. First, we began by calculating chi-square statistics and t-tests to determine whether there are differences between abstainers and non-abstainers on the Add Health variables. Secondly, we extended these analy- ses by conducting a series of logistic regression equations to examine the predic- tors of delinquency abstention. These models were calculated for the full sample and, following the lead of Piquero et al. (2005), separately by gender. All of the models were estimated using Huber/White standard errors to correct for non- independence (i.e. more than one sibling from the same household).

Results

As shown in Table 1, abstainers and non-abstainers do not differ in the number of DRD2 risk alleles, according to Add Health data. In contrast, non-abstainers possess signifi cantly more DRD4 risk alleles than abstainers. Consistent with expectations, these results provide tentative evidence suggesting that DRD4 might be associated with delinquency abstention.

The middle panel of Table 1 contains the results of the t-tests for the two socialization variables: drug-using peers and neighbourhood problems. Non- abstainers report having more contact and exposure with delinquent peers, but there is no statistically signifi cant difference between non-abstainers and abstain- ers on the neighbourhood problems scale. The bottom panel of Table 1 reveals the t-tests for the control variables. Supportive of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) theory, abstainers had much higher levels of self-control. Lastly, there were no public assistance, age, or racial differences between abstainers and non-abstainers, but females were signifi cantly more likely than males to be abstainers.

The results thus far provide suggestive evidence of some environmental and some genetic differences between non-abstainers and abstainers. The left hand column of Table 2 contains the results generated from the logistic regression models when the full sample was analysed. As can be seen, DRD2 fails to exert a statistically signifi cant effect on abstention, but DRD4 has a negative associa- tion with abstention. In other words, those individuals who possess less DRD4 risk alleles are more likely to abstain from delinquent involvement. In addition, the drug-using peers scale and the low self-control scale are inversely related to abstention. Lastly, females are more likely than males to be abstainers.

Since prior research has revealed some gender differences in the etiology of abstention (Piquero et al., 2005), and since the Add Health data reveal that females are more likely to abstain than males, we next calculated the models for males (Table 2, column 2) and females (Table 2, column 3) separately. Both DRD2 and DRD4 showed signifi cant and negative relationship with abstention for males. The drug-using peers scale and the measure of low self-control also

Boutwell, Beaver

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

68

have negative effects on abstention. For females, by contrast, there was no evi- dence that either DRD2 or DRD4 had statistically signifi cant effects on absten- tion. Congruent with the models for males, the drug-using peers scale and the low self-control scale exerted statistically signifi cant and negative effects on abstention.

Discussion

Moffi tt’s developmental taxonomy has had a strong infl uence on the study of crime causation. Indeed, Moffi tt’s propositions regarding the aetiology of adoles- cence-limited offenders and life-course persistent offenders have generated a substantial amount of empirical work, which has provided some evidence in favour of her theory (Moffi tt, 2006; Raine et al., 2005; Tibbetts and Piquero, 1999). Researchers have, however, been slow to test her account of delinquent abstention and much remains unknown about its causes and correlates. We, therefore, employed Add Health data to shed some light on why a small pool of adolescents refrains from delinquent involvement. Specifi cally, we followed prior

Table 1: Differences between abstainers and non-abstainers on Add Health sample variables

Abstainers Non-abstainers Statistics

Percentage Percentage χ2

Polymorphisms DRD2 1.140 A1/A1 61 57 A1/A2 32 36 A2/A2 7 7 DRD4 6.308* ≥7R/≥7R 67 59 ≥7R/<7R 30 35 <7R/<7R 3 6

Mean Mean t-Value Socialization variables Drug-using peers 1.30 2.54 8.93* Neighbourhood problems 4.64 4.63 −0.07 Control variables Low self-control 4.37 6.58 11.89* Public assistance 0.08 0.07 −0.452 Age 16.16 16.00 −1.32 Percentage male 0.38 0.48 3.43* Percentage black 0.22 0.20 −0.62

*Signifi cant at the 0.05-level (two-tailed).

A biosocial explanation of delinquency abstention

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

69

T ab

le 2

: L

og is

ti c

re gr

es si

on m

od el

s pr

ed ic

ti n

g de

li n

qu en

cy a

bs te

n ti

on f

or t

h e

fu ll

s am

pl e

an d

by g

en de

r

Fu ll

s am

pl e

M al

e sa

m pl

e Fe

m al

e sa

m pl

e

b S

ta n

da rd

er ro

r E

xp (b

) b

S ta

n da

rd er

ro r

E xp

(b )

b S

ta n

da rd

er ro

r E

xp (b

)

Po ly

m or

ph is

m s

D R

D 2

− 0.

08 0.

14 0.

91 9

− 0.

62 *

0. 24

0. 53

9 0.

17 0.

17 1.

18 7

D R

D 4

− 0.

34 *

0. 14

0. 71

1 −

0. 52

* 0.

26 0.

59 4

− 0.

28 0.

17 0.

75 7

So ci

al iz

at io

n va

ri ab

le s

D ru

g- us

in g

pe er

s −

0. 18

* 0.

05 0.

83 7

− 0.

20 *

0. 07

0. 81

5 −

0. 18

* 0.

06 0.

83 7

N ei

gh bo

ur h

oo d

pr ob

le m

s 0.

02 0.

06 1.

02 1

0. 16

0. 10

1. 17

0 −

0. 04

0. 07

0. 95

7 C

on tr

ol v

ar ia

bl es

L ow

s el

f- co

n tr

ol −

0. 30

* 0.

05 0.

73 7

− 0.

29 *

0. 07

0. 75

2 −

0. 32

* 0.

06 0.

72 7

P ub

li c

as si

st an

ce 0.

07 0.

34 1.

06 7

0. 04

0. 65

1. 03

6 0.

17 0.

39 1.

18 5

A ge

0. 13

* 0.

05 1.

14 2

0. 14

0. 08

1. 15

2 0.

16 0.

07 1.

16 9

R ac

e −

0. 09

0. 21

0. 88

9 0.

36 0.

33 1.

43 5

− 0.

49 0.

29 0.

61 5

G en

de r

− 0.

41 *

0. 17

0. 66

6 C

ox a

n d

S n

el l

R 2

0. 10

0. 08

0. 11

N ot

e: H

ub er

/W h

it e

st an

da rd

e rr

or s

pr es

en te

d. *S

ig n

ifi c

an t

at t

h e

0. 05

-l ev

el (

tw o-

ta il

ed ).

Boutwell, Beaver

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

70

research and examined environmental and psychological correlates to abstention, but also, in some divergence from past work, we also analysed the effects that two genes – DRD2 and DRD4 – had on the odds of abstaining. This revealed three main fi ndings.

First, the results of the chi-square statistics and t-tests indicated that abstainers and non-abstainers differed on a number of variables. Consistent with expecta- tions, abstainers reported having less contact with drug-using peers. In addition, abstainers also had higher levels of self-control. To our knowledge, this is the fi rst time that levels of self-control have been linked to delinquency abstention. Of particular importance were the fi ndings for the genetic polymorphisms. Although the distribution of DRD2 alleles did not differ between abstainers and non- abstainers, non-abstainers possessed signifi cantly more DRD4 risk alleles than abstainers. These fi ndings provide initial evidence that genetic factors may be implicated in delinquency abstention.

Secondly, the results of the logistic regression models revealed the importance of biosocial factors in the prediction of delinquency abstention for males. Both DRD2 and DRD4 were signifi cantly associated with the odds of delinquency abstention for males. The genetic effects for females, however, failed to reach statistical signifi cance. Our fi ndings add to prior work suggesting that the under- lying processes that lead to delinquency abstention may be different for males and females (Piquero et al., 2005). Future research should build on our study and examine whether different genetic markers may be predictive of delinquency abstention for females, but not for males.

Thirdly, abstention was also predicted by the non-genetic measures. For example, across all of the models, exposure to delinquent peers and levels of self- control were statistically signifi cant predictors of delinquency abstention for males and for females. We should note, however, that environmental effects are often strongly infl uenced by genetic factors. Research has shown, for example, that delinquent peer exposure and levels of self-control are partially scripted by genetic factors (Cleveland et al., 2005; Kendler et al., 2007; Wright and Beaver, 2005). Thus it would be inaccurate to assume that the non-genetic measures were not capturing at least a minimal amount of genetic effects.

In light of these fi ndings, it is important to touch upon the main limitations of our study. To begin with, only a sub-sample of all the Add Health participants was genotyped, raising the question of whether these fi ndings are generalizable. Even so, we should point out that Jacobson and Rowe (1998) examined the Add Health data to determine whether there were any signifi cant demographic dif- ferences between the ‘sibling pairs’ sample (from which the DNA sample was drawn) and the nationally-representative sample. Their analysis revealed that the two samples were indistinguishable from each other on a number of important demographic variables and there is some evidence indicating that the ‘sibling pairs’ sample and the nationally representative sample are similar in terms of delinquent peer exposure, levels of self-control, and delinquent and criminal

A biosocial explanation of delinquency abstention

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

71

involvement (Beaver, forthcoming). Still, replication studies are needed to deter- mine if our results will be detected in other samples and in studies that employ alternative measures of delinquency abstention.

In addition, we were unable to measure the effects of the maturity gap on delinquency abstention. Although measures of pubertal development were avail- able (Beaver and Wright, 2005), this scale only taps physical development and it does not measure the extent to which each adolescent feels ‘caught’ in the matu- rity gap. For example, some youths who have reached puberty early may be granted more privileges than their peers and thus ‘feel’ the maturity gap less than others. However, some early-maturing adolescents may have numerous social restrictions placed on them. A pubertal development scale only captures the timing of puberty, not the maturity gap. More research is needed that examines the role of the maturity gap on delinquency abstention.

We close by drawing attention to the importance of applying a biosocial framework to the study delinquency abstention. As our fi ndings revealed, a mul- tifactorial arrangement of psychological, environmental, and genetic factors work together to produce abstainers. Had we only focused on genetic factors or only focused on environmental factors, we would have been left with an incomplete set of correlates to delinquency abstention. Much more research is needed to identify all of the potential causes of delinquent involvement and delinquency abstention, but if our research is any indication, it is likely that the mechanisms associated with the development of antisocial and prosocial behaviours involve the close interplay between biology and the environment.

Acknowledgements

This research uses data from Add Health, a programme project designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by a grant P01-HD31921 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with co-operative funding from 17 other agencies. Special acknowl- edgment is due to Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. Persons interested in obtaining data fi les from Add Health should contact Add Health, Carolina Population Center, 123 W. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516–2524, USA ([email protected]). The authors would also like to thank Matt DeLisi, PhD for his comments and suggestions on an earlier draft of this paper.

References

Arinami T, Itokawa M, Komiyama T, Mitsushio H, Mori H, Mifune H, Hamaguchi H, Toru M (1993) Association between severity of alcoholism and the A1 allele of the dopamine D2 receptor gene TaqI A RFLP in Japanese. Biological Psychiatry 33: 108–114.

Boutwell, Beaver

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

72

Beaver KM (forthcoming) Nonshared environmental infl uences on adolescent delinquent involve- ment and adult criminal behavior. Criminology.

Beaver KM, Wright JP (2005) Biosocial development and delinquent involvement. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 3: 168–192.

Beaver KM, Wright JP, DeLisi M, Walsh A, Vaughn MG, Boisvert D, Vaske J (2007) A gene × gene interaction between DRD2 and DRD4 is associated with conduct disorder and antisocial behavior in males. Behavioral and Brain Functions 3: 30–38.

Bellair PE, Roscigno VJ, McNulty TL (2003) Linking local labor market opportunity to violent adolescent delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 40: 6–33.

Berman S, Ozkaragoz T, Young R, Noble EP (2002) D2 dopamine receptor gene polymorphism discriminates two kinds of novelty seeking. Personality and Individual Differences 33: 867–882.

Blum K, Sheridan PJ, Chen TCH, Wood R, Braverman ER, Cull JG, Comings DE (1997) The dopamine D2 receptor gene locus in reward defi ciency syndrome: Meta-analysis. In: Blum K, Noble E (eds) Handbook of Psychiatric Genetics. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press pp. 407–432.

Brezina T, Piquero AR (2007) Moral beliefs, isolation from peers, and abstention from delin- quency. Deviant Behavior 26: 433–465.

Caspi A, McClay J, Moffi tt TE, Mill J, Martin J, Craig IW, Taylor A, Poulton R (2002) Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children. Science 297: 851–854.

Cipollone F, Tomato E, Martinotti S, Fazia M, Iezzi A, Cuccurullo C, Pini B, Ursi S, Vitullo G, Averna M, Arca M, Montali A, Campagna F, Ucchino S, Spigonardo F, Taddei S, Virdis A, Ciabattoni G, Notarbartolo A, Cuccurullo F, Mezzeti A (2004) A polymorphism in the cyclooxygenase 2 gene as an inherited protective factor against myocardial infarction and stroke. The Journal of the American Medical Association 291: 2221–2228.

Cleveland HH, Wiebe RP, Rowe DC (2005) Sources of exposure to smoking and drinking friends among adolescents: A behavioral genetic evaluation. The Journal of Genetic Psychology 166: 153–169.

Comings DE, Gade-Andavolu R, Gonzalez N, Wu S, Muhleman D, Chen C, Koh P, Farwell K, Blake H, Dietz G, MacMurray JP, Lesieur HR, Rugle LJ, Rosenthal RJ (2001) The additive effect of neurotransmitter genes in pathological gambling. Clinical Genetics 60: 107–116.

Connor JP, Young RM, Lawford BR, Ritchie TL, Noble EP (2002) D2 dopamine receptor (DRD2) polymorphism is associated with severity of alcohol dependence. European Psychiatry 17: 17–23.

DeYoung CG, Peterson JB, Seguin JR, Mejia JM, Pihl RO, Beitchman JH, Jain U, Tremblay RE, Kennedy JL, Palmour RM (2006) The dopamine D4 receptor gene and moderation of the association between externalizing behavior and I.Q. Archives of General Psychiatry 63: 1410–1416.

Dubertret C, Gouya L, Hanoun N, Deybach JC, Ades J, Hamon M, Gorwood P (2004) The 3' region of the DRD2 gene is involved in the genetic susceptibility to schizophrenia. Schizophrenic Research 67: 75–85.

Faraone SV, Doyle AE, Mick E, Biederman J (2001) Meta-analysis of the association between the 7-repeat allele of the dopamine D4 receptor gene and attention defi cit hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 158: 1052–1057.

Faraone SV, Biederman J, Weiffenbach B, Keith T, Chu MP, Weaver A, Spencer T, Wilens T, Frazier J, Cleves M, Sakai J (1999) Dopamine D4 gene 7-repeat allele and attention defi cit hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 156: 768–770.

Farrington DP (1986) Age and crime. In Tonry M, Morris N (eds) Crime and Justice: An Annual Review of Research. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press pp. 189–250.

Farrington DP, West DJ (1993) Criminal, penal, and life histories of chronic offenders: Risk and protective factors of early identifi cation. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health 3: 492–523.

A biosocial explanation of delinquency abstention

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

73

Gottfredson MR, Hirschi T (1990) A General Theory of Crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Guo G, Roettger ME, Shih JC (2007a) Contributions of the DAT1 and DRD2 genes to serious and violent delinquency among adolescents and young adults. Human Genetics 121: 125–136.

Guo G, Wilhelmsen K, Hamilton N (2007b) Gene-life course interaction for alcohol consumption in adolescence and young adulthood. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B (Neuropsychiatric Genetics) 144B: 417–423.

Haberstick BC, Lessem JM, Hopfer CJ, Smolen A, Ehringer MA, Timberlake D, Hewitt JK (2005) Monoamine oxidase A and antisocial behaviors in the presence of childhood and adolescent maltreatment. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B (Neuropsychiatric Genetics) 135B: 59–64.

Harris KM, Joyce T, Bearman PS, Jones J, Udry JR (2003) The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health: Research Design. http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth/design [29 June 2007].

Hasin D, Aharonovich E, Liu X, Mamman Z, Matseoane K, Carr LG, Li TK (2002) Alcohol dependence symptoms and alcohol dehydrogenase 2 polymorphism: Israeli Ashkenazis, Sephardics, and recent Russian immigrants. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 26: 1315–1321.

Hopfer CJ, Timberlake D, Haberstick B, Lessem JM, Ehringer MA, Smolen A, Hewitt JK (2005) Genetic infl uences on quantity of alcohol consumed by adolescents and young adults. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 78: 187–193.

Hirschi T, Gottfredson MR (1983) Age and the explanation of crime. American Journal of Sociology 89: 552–584.

Jacobson K, Rowe DC (1998) Genetic and shared environment infl uences on adolescent BMI: Interaction with race and sex. Behavior Genetics 28: 265–278.

Kendler KS, Jacobson KC, Gardner CO, Gillespie N, Aggen SA, Prescott CA (2007) A develop- mental twin study of peer group deviance. Archives of General Psychiatry 64: 958–965.

Kim-Cohen J, Caspi A, Taylor A, Williams B, Newcombe R, Craig IW, Moffi tt TE (2006) MAOA, maltreatment, and gene-environment interaction predicting children’s mental health: New evidence and a meta-analysis. Molecular Psychiatry 11: 903–913.

Lum JJ, Cohen OJ, Nie Z, Weaver JG, Gomez TS, Yao XJ, Lynch D, Pilon AA, Hawley N, Kim JE, Chen Z, Montpetit M, Sanchez-Dardon J, Cohen EA, Badley AD (2003) Vpr R77Q is associated with long term non-progressive HIV infection and impaired induction of apoptosis. The Journal of Clinical Investigation 111: 1547–1554.

Moffi tt TE (1993) Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A develop- mental taxonomy. Psychological Review 100: 674–701.

Moffi tt TE (2005) The new look of behavioral genetics in developmental psychopathology: Gene- environment interplay in antisocial behaviors. Psychological Bulletin 131: 533–554.

Moffi tt TE (2006) A review of research on the taxonomy of life-course persistent versus adoles- cence limited antisocial behavior. In Cullen FT, Wright JP, Blevins KR (eds) Taking Stock: The Status of Criminological Theory, Vol. 15. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publications pp. 277–311.

Moffi tt TE, Caspi A, Harrington H, Milne BJ (2002) Males on the life-course persistent and adolescence limited anti-social pathways: Follow-up at age 26 years. Development and Psychopathology 14: 179–207.

Perrone D, Sullivan CJ, Pratt TC, Margaryan S (2004) Parental effi cacy, self-control, and delin- quency: A test of a general theory of crime on a nationally representative sample of youth. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 48: 298–312.

Piquero AR (2001) Testing Moffi tt’s neuropsychological variation hypothesis for the prediction of life-course-persistent offending. Psychology, Crime and Law 7: 193–215.

Boutwell, Beaver

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 18: 59–74 (2008) DOI: 10.1002/cbm

74

Piquero AR, Brezina T, Turner MG (2005) Testing Moffi tt’s account of delinquency abstention. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 42: 27–54.

Piquero AR, Gibson CL, Tibbets SG, Turner MG, Katz SH (2002) Maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy and life-course persistent offending. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 46: 231–248.

Pratt TC, Cullen FT (2000) The empirical status of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime: A meta-analysis. Criminology 38: 931–964.

Raine A (1993) The Psychopathology of Crime: Criminal Behavior as a Clinical Disorder. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Raine A, Moffi tt TE, Caspi A, Loeber R, Stouthamer-Loeber M, Lynam D (2005) Neurocognitive impairments in boys on the life course persistent antisocial path. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 114: 38–49.

Rowe DC (2002) Biology and Crime. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury. Sampson RJ, Raudenbush S, Earls F (1997) Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study

of collective effi cacy. Science 277: 918–924. Shedler J, Block J (1990) Adolescent drug use and psychological health: A longitudinal inquiry.

American Psychologist 45: 612–630. Tibbetts S, Piquero AR (1999) The infl uence of gender, low birth weight, and disadvantaged

environment in predicting early onset of offending: A test of Moffi tt’s interactional hypothe- sis. Criminology 37: 843–878.

Udry JR (1998) The National Longitudinal Sample of Adolescent Health. Chapel Hill, NC: Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Vermeiren R (2003) Psychopathology and delinquency in adolescents: A descriptive and devel- opmental perspective. Clinical Psychology Review 23: 277–318.

Warr M (2002) Companions in Crime: The Social Aspects of Criminal Conduct. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Wright JP, Beaver KM (2005) Do parents matter in creating self-control in their children? A genetically informed test of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s theory of low self-control. Criminology 43: 1169–1202.

Address correspondence to: Kevin M. Beaver, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University, 634 West Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1127, USA. Tel: 850.644.9180. Fax: 850.644.9614. Email: kbeaver@mailer. fsu.edu

A gene-Based Evolutionary Explanation1.pdf

A Gene-Based Evolutionary Explanation for the Association Between Criminal Involvement and Number of Sex Partners

Kevin M. Beaver, PhD^ *; John Paul Wright, PhD^ and Anthony Walsh,

"College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University, Tallahassee. FL; Diviaiim of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati. OH; '^Department of

Criminal Justice Administration, Boise State University, Boise, ID

ABSTRACT; Empirical research has revealed a positive relationship between number of sex partners and involvement in antisocial behaviors. Most attempts to explain this association have taken an evolulionary perspective and argued that the same traits (e.g., impulsiveness, short- sightedness, and aggressiveness) that are related to a large number of sex partners are also related to criminal involvement. However, there is also reason to believe that the covariation between sex partners and crime behaviors can be partially explained by a common genetic path- way, where genes that are related to sex partners are also related to antisocial conduct. We test this pos.sibility by using data Trom tbe National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Specifically, we examine whether variants of the dopamine transporter gene (DATl) are associated with number of sexual partners and with adult criminal behavior. The results of our analyses reveal two broad Tmdings, First, and in line with prior research, we find that there is a strong positive ass<iciation between sex partners and antisocial hehavior. Second, DATl explains variation in both number of sexual partners and in criminal conduct for males. We speak to the implications of our findings.

INTRODUCTION

A long line of research has revealed a rohust association between adult male criminal behavior and mating effort. All else equal, antisocial adult males report having more sex partners than average and they also report an early age of sexual onset. Empirical evidence of these associ- ations is quite compelling. Ellis and Walsh (2(XX)), for example, reviewed fifty-one studies examining the relation- ship between number of sexual partners

*Address correspondence to: Kevin M. Beaver, PhD, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Florida State University. Tallahassee. Fl. 32.106-1127; Tel: 85Ü-M4.9180/850.877.1402; Fax: 850.644.9614. E-mail: k bea ver@ mai le r. fsu.ed u.

and criminal behavior. Fifty of the studies reported a significant positive association. They also examined an additional thirty- one studies that tested for an association betweeti age of first intercourse and anti- social behavior. All thirty-one studies revealed that an early age of sexual onset corresponded to greater involvement in criminal behavior {Ellis and Walsh, 2000). Based on the empirical literature it appears as if male criminals are likely to employ reproductive strategies that place a high premium on the conquest of a large numbers of sexual partners.

The question that remains, however, is why there is a high degree of covariation between criminal involvement and number of sexual partners? Attempts to answer

47

Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight

48 Beaver, Wright, and Walsh

this question have tended to be couched in lenns of an evolutionary psychology frame- work, where criminal behavior is the direct, albeit unintended, offshoot of reproduc- tive adaptations (Walsh, 2006). One of the common elements cutting across evo- lutionary-based theories of criminal behavior is the distinction between two different reproductive strategies that can be used to achieve genetic fecundity: parent- ing effort and mating effort. According to Walsh and Ellis (2007:209), "Parenting effort is thai proportion of the total repro- ductive effort invested in rearing off- spring, and mating effort is that proportion allotted to acquiring sexual partners." The choice of one strategy over another is largely guided by each individual's suite of traits: males who are typified by high levels of empathy and altruism are apt to place an emphasis on parenting, whereas criminally involved males are more apt to select multiple mates (Rowe, 1996; Walsh, 2006).

According to the logic of evolutionary perspectives, certain traits have evolved throughout evolutionary history because they increased reproductive success. At the same time, however, these trails also had effects on certain behavioral patterns. For example, traits associated with a mat- ing-effort approach (e.g., aggression, impulsiveness) became associated with increased criminal involvement, wbile those traits associated with ihe parenting- effort approach became associated with increased prosocial conduct (Rowe, 1996). The key point to bear in mind, therefore, is that traits are Ihe unit of anal- ysis for explaining the association between antisocial behavior and tbe number of sexual partners.

There is reason to believe, however, that instead of focusing on whether the evolution of traits may be able lo account

for tbe crime-sex partners nexus, it may be more useful to examine this associa- tion at the level of tbe gene. Simply put, since evolution works at the level of the gene, and since some of the same genes may be implicated in tbe etiology of sex- ual activities and in the etiology of crimi- nal behaviors, then genes, not traits, may be driving the crime-sex partners associa- tion. It is important to point out that this type of genetic explanation is not neces- sarily incompatible or incongruent with evolutionary theories that call attention to the importance of certain trails. Traits are polygenic phenotypes that are manifesta- tions of multiple genes working indepen- dently and synergistically (Rutter, 2006). Studies ihat examine the evolution of traits, and bow these traits may be linked to sex partners and antisocial behavior, are likely measuring genes that increase reproductive success. Even so, such stud- ies are unable to isolate ibe precise gene or genes tbat may be related to an increase in sex partners and to an increase in anti- social conduct.

Molecular genetic research has identi- fied dopaminergic polymorphisms as some of the most promising candidate genes in tbe etiology of certain personal- ity traits, certain antisocial phenotypes, and certain sexual activities (Rowe, 2002). One of the more promising genes that may be related to criminal behavior and to sex partners is the dopaminc trans- porter gene (DATI). The 10-repeat alíele of the DATI gene has been found to con- fer a greater risk of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Gill et al., 1997; Rowe et al., 2001). schiz- oid avoidant behaviors (Blum et al-, 1997), generalized anxiety (Rowe et al., 1998), and depression (Rowe et al., 1998). Some research has also found tbat different vari- ants of DATI may be linked to impulsive

Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight

Evolution and Críminal Behavior 49

behaviors, such as compulsive gambling (Comings et al., 2001), and to conduct problems (Young el al., 2002). Taken together, these studies hint at the possibility that DATl may be associated with the correspondence between sex partners and criminal involvement.

In this study we examine whether number of sexual partners is associated with criminal involvement among a sain- ple ol" adults. Drawing on prior research (Ellis and Walsh, 2000), we predict that there will be a strong positive association. We then extend the extant literature and examine whether the DAT 1 polymor- phism bas effects on criminal behavior and on sex partners. We bypothesize that the lOR alíele of DATl will be associated witb an increased number of sex partners and will also be associated with an increased involvement in crime behavior.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

SUBJECTS

Data for this study come from wave 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) (Udry, 2003). The Add Health is a longitudinal and nationally-representative sample of American adolescents in seventh through twelfth grade. Wave 1 of the Add Health data was collected in 1994-1995, when the respondents were between the ages of II and 19 years old. More than 90,000 youths were interviewed at school and asked questions pertaining to their social relationships, to tbeir involvement in risky behaviors, and to other topics germane to adole.scents. A stratified subsample of subjects was chosen to be re-interviewed at home. During these in- home interviews, adolescents were asked more detailed questions about their lives, including items indexing delinquency.

drug and alcohol use, and friendship net- works, among others. In total, 20,745 adolescents and 17,700 of their primary caregivers completed the in-home survey (Harris et al., 2003).

Approximately one to two years later, the second wave of data was collected. The survey instrument contained many of the same items that were employed during wave 1 interviews. Altogether, 14,738 of the original wave I participants were suc- cessfully re-interviewed at wave 2. The third and final wave of data was collected in 2001-2002 wbcn the respondents were now between tbe ages of 18 and 26 years old. Given that many of the questions asked at wave 1 and wave 2 were no longer age appropriate, the questionnaires were redesigned to include items tbat were relevant to young adults. For exam- ple, at wave 3 respondents were asked about their contact with tbe criminal jus- tice system, their sexual experiences, and their marital history. Nearly 15,200 Add Health participants completed the survey instrument at wave 3 (Harris et al., 2003).

One of the distinguishing aspects of the Add Health data is that at wave 3 a subsample of respondents was asked to submit samples of their DNA for genetic typing and analysis. Add Health partici- pants who had a sibling or a co-twin also participating in the Add Healtb study were eligible to take part in the genetic subsample. Individuals meeting this requirement were asked to provide buccal cells lo be genotyped for certain genetic polymorphisms, including the dopamine transporter gene (DATl). In total, 2,574 subjects participated in the DNA subsam- ple of the Add Health study. In line witb prior work, we removed one twin from each monozygotic twin pair to provide con- servative parameter estimates (Haberstick et al., 2005).

Hannah
Highlight

50 Beaver, Wright, and Walsh

MEASURES

During wave 3 interviews, respondents were asked a series of questions tapping their involvement in various types of seri- ous violent behavior. Specifically, each subject was asked how many times in the past 12 months they had: taken part in a group fight, threatened to use a weapon, used a weapon in a fight, and whether they had ever been initiated into a named gang (0 = no. I = yes). Each of these items (excluding the gang involvement measure) was coded such that 0 = never, 1 = 1 or 2 times, 2 = 3 or 4 times, and 3 = 5 or more times. Responses to each of the items were then summed together to form the serious crime scale. Scores on this scale ranged from 0 to 7, with nearly 76 percent of tbe sample indicating they bad not engaged in any type of physical violence within the past year (M = .29, SD = .63).

At wave 3 respondents were also asked to indicate the total number of people tbey had ever had vaginal sexual intercourse with during their lifetime. Prior research- ers investigating tbe nexus between sex- ual involvement and criminal behavior have used similarly worded questions and found them to bave face validity and pre- dictive validity (Ellis and Walsb, 2000). A little more than 15 percent of tbe sam- ple indicated that they bad never bad intercourse, and over balf of ibe sample indicated that they had bad intercourse with between 1 and 4 different people (M = 5.14, SD = 7.35). Importantly, tbe average number of sex partners for males (M = 5.90, SD = 8.48) and for females (M = 4.46, SD = 6.07) was significantly different (i = 4.696, p < . 0 5 ) . '

Race and age were included as statisti- cal control variables in the analyses. Race was ccxled as a dichotomous dummy vari- able, where 0 = non-Hispanic Caucasian,

1 = African American, and age was mea- sured in years. Nearly 78 percent of tbe sample indicated ibey were Caucasian and most respondents at wave 3 were in their early- to mid-twenties.

GRNOTYPING

Tbe dopamine transporter gene (DATl ) has been mapped to chromosome 5 at location 5p!5.3 (Vandenbergh et al., 1992). DAT! bas a 40 base pair variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs). The number of repeats tbat an individual can posses ranges between 3 and 11 copies. The 40 base pair polymorphism is located in tbe 3' untranslated area of the gene (SLC6A3)—the same region of (be gene responsible for tbe translation of the stri- atal dopamine transporter (DAT) protein (Heinz et al., 2000).

Tbe main tunction of the dopamine transporter gene (DATl) is to blunt dopam- inergic activity in the synapse by facilitating tbe rcuptake of dopamine back into Ihe pre- synaptic terminals. In the Add Health data, the DATl polymorphism was amplified by using the following primer sequences: for- ward, 5'-TGTGGTGTAGGGAACGGC- CTGAG-3' (nuorescently labeled), and reverse. 5'dTCCTGGAGGTCACGGCT- CAAGG-3'. This method resulted in PCR products of 320 (6-repeat alíele), 360 (7-repeat alíele), 400 (8-repcat alíele), 440 (9-repeat alíele), 480 (10-repeat alíele), and 520 ( 11 -repeat alíele) base pairs.

The 9R alíele and the lOR alíele are the two most frequently occurring alíeles in the population and the lOR alíele is considered the risk alíele for a number of maladaptive outcomes (Rowe et al., 1998; Swanson et al., 2000; Timberlake et al., 2006; Young et al., 2002). Following prior researchers analyzing tbe Add Health data, respondents wbo possessed

Evolution and Criminal Behavior 51

alíeles other than the 9R alíele or the lOR alíele were removed from the sample (Hopfer et al. 2005). Respondents were then classified into three groups: those with zero I OR alíeles (5 percent of the sample), those with one lOR alíele (34 percent of the sample), and those with iwo lOR alíeles (61 percent of the sam- ple). Scores on the DATl variable thus ranged from 0 to 2, witb values indicating the number of lOR alíeles possessed by the respondent. Hardy-Wein berg equilib- rium was fulfilled in tbe Add Health sample (X^ = .12, p > .05; the expected probability of tbe 9R alíele = .218 and tbe expected probability of tbe lOR alíele = .782).

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

We estimate a series of statistical mod- els lo examine the interrelationships among crime, sexual partners, and DATl. To do so, we begin by calculating a num- ber of independent sample i-tests to deter- mine whether the average number of DATl risk alíeles differs significantly between certain groups. We then analyze the predictors of serious crime and the predictors of the number of sexual part- ners. Given that both of these variables are count measures, and that their distributions approximate a poisson distribution, we

employ negative binomial regression techniques. All models were calculated using HuberAVhite variance estimates to take into account the clustering of some observations (i.e., siblings sampled from the same household).

RESULTS

The analysis begins by estimating mean differences in the average number of lOR alíeles for different categories of respondents. In the top row of Table 1, the independent samples /-tests reveal that African Americans, on average, have more lOR alíeles than Caucasians. The i- tests were also calculated only for males. Similar to the findings garnered for tbe full sample, African-American males have, on average, more lOR alíeles than Caucasian males. These results are con- gruent with population genetic research revealing that certain alíeles vary signifi- cantly across different racial and ethnic groups (Kang et al., 1999; Mountain and Risch, 2004; Sarich and Miele, 2004; Shields et al., 2005).

Next, the number of sexual partners variable was divided at the mean (for males only). Those respondents who scored above the mean (6 sexual partners or more) were placed into one group and

TABLE I AVERAGE DU-TERENCES IN THE NUMBER OF tOR A I Í . E L E S FOR D A T l

SAMPI.E

Full Sample Mules

# of sex partners split al mean fur males

Serious crime split al mean for males

C*{iCASiAN M E A N

1,52

t , 5 t BELOW M E A N

1.53

1,53

AFRICAN-AMfcRitAN M E A N

1.65

1.61 ABOVE M E A N

1.62

1.62

I V M . U E

4.148* 1.980*

2.448*

2.188*

•Significam ai the .05 level, iwu-iailed.

52 Beaver, Wright, and Walsh

those wbo scored below tbe mean (5 sexual partners or less) were placed into the other group. In addition, f-tests were cal- culated to determine whether tbe average number of risk alíeles (i.e., lOR alíeles) differed significantly between the two groups. Table 1 shows that males scoring above tbe mean have, on average, signifi- cantly more lOR alíeles than males wbo have fewer than 5 sexual partners.

The bottom row in Table 1 depicts the results for the Mesls comparing the average number of risk alíeles formales scoring at or below the mean on the crime scale con- trasted against males scoring above tbe mean on tbe crime scale. The r-tesls reveal that tbe average number of lOR alíeles is higher for males scoring above the mean on the crime scale compared to males scoring at or below tbe mean on the crime scale.

Table 2 contains the results of the neg- ative binomial regression equations pre- dicting the serious crime scale for tbe full sample of respondents (N = 1,925). In model 1, race and age are entered into the equation and both have statistically sig- nificant effects on adult crime. African Americans and younger respondents are more likely to report engaging in serious criminal acts in the pasl year.

The number of sexual partners variable is introduced in tbe next equation. As can be seen in model 2, race and age continue

to exert a direct effect on criminal bebav- ior. Tbe measure of the number of sexual partners, however, generated the strongest direct association with the adult crime scale.

Tbe third model in Table 2 added the dopamine transporter gene (DATl) as a covariate. Three findings emerged from tbis model. First, partitioning out the effects of DATl on criminal bebavior reduced the race variable to statistical insignificance. Second, the sexual part- ners measure maintained a statistically significant effect on criminal involve- ment. Third, tbe DATl gene emerged as a significant predictor of adult crime. Respondents with more lOR alíeles appear to bave a greater propensity lo engage in antisocial bebavior during adulthood.

Subsequently, we calculated a number of gender-specific models to determine whether the effects that were observed in Table 2 would hold for both males and for females. For females, the number of sex- ual partners variable was related to crime in adulthood, but DATl was not (analyses not presented, but are available upon request). However, tbe findings for males were virtually identical to tbose found analyzing tbe full sample (Table 2). Tberefore we only present tbe models cal- culated with the sample of males. As shown in tbe left hand side of Table 3,

TABLE 2 NEGATIVE BINOMIAL RHÍRLSSION EQUATIONS PRCDÍCTING SERIOUS CRIME IN ADULTS ( N = 1,925)

MODEL I

VABUBUS b SE Z P b

MODEL 2

SE z P b

MlHlEL 3

SE z f>

Race .346 .11 3.04 .002 .272 .t2 2.34 .019 Age -.090 .03 -3.27 ,001 -.122 .03 ^ . 1 8 .000 Sexual Partners .033 .00 7.34 .000 DATl

.186 II 1.64 .100

. 124 .03 ^ . 3 7 .000

.033 .00 7.82 .000

.158 .08 2.06 .039

Evolution and Criminal Behavior 53

TABLE 3 REGREsstoN EQUATIONS PREDICIINÍ; SERIOUS CRIME AND NUMBER

œ SEXUAL PARTNERS IN ADULT MALES ( N = 912)

VARIABLES

Race Age Sexual Partners DATl

Í)

.044 -.158

.031

.205

SERIOUS C W M E

SE

.16

.04

.00

.10

.28 ^ . 3 3

6.49 2.03

p

.780

.000

.000

.043

h

.385

— .173

ER OF SEXUAL PARTNERS

SE

.10

.03 — .07

3.94 5.04 —

2.33

p

.000

.000 —

.020

age, number of sexual partners, and DATl were all statistically significant predictors of adult criminal involvetnent for males. There were no differences in criminal involvement between African Americans and Caucasians.

The right hand side of Table 3 contains the results of the negative binotnial equa- tion predicting the number of sexual part- ners. African Americans and older respondents report having significantly more sexual partners. Consistent with expectations, the DATl gene also exerted a significant and positive effect on num- ber of sexual partners. Similar to the mod- els predicting serious crime, the more IOR alíeles that a respondent possesses, Ihe more likely they are to have had a greater number of sexual partners. Results gleaned from the Add Health data thus suggest that the DATl polymorphism bas effects on criminal involvement and on number of sexual partners.

DISCUSSION

Our research examined a gene-based evolutionary explanation for the sex part- ners-crime relationship. Analysis of the Add Health data provided initial support for this perspective and revealed two broad findings. First, and in une with prior researcb, the multivariate models

provided empirical evidence of a strong positive association between number of sex partners and adult criminal bebavior. Second, possession of the IOR alíele of the DATl polymorphism was related lo a greater number of sexual partners and to increased involvement in antisocial behaviors for adult males. To our knowl- edge, this is the first time that the covaria- tion between mating effort and criminal behavior has been linked to a common genetic pathway.

We would be remiss, however, if we did not point out three main litnitations of our researcb. First, although tbe Add Health dataset is one of the largest sam- ples in tbe world that includes DNA infor- mation, Ihe possibility exists that the genetic subsample is not nationally repre- sentative. Thus caution should be taken before generalizing the findings to the larger population. Second, we only exam- ined whether one gene—DATl—was related to criminal behavior and to number of sexual partners. Given that botb of these phenotypes are probably created by multi- pie genes, future research needs to explore other polymorphisms tbat may have effects on crime and on mating effort. Third, the effect of DATl on sexual partners and on criminal involvement was only observed for males. Perhaps this is not too surpris- ing of a finding because the association

Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight
Hannah
Highlight

54 Beaver, Wright, and Walsh

between sex and aggressive criminal behavior is often only found for males.

With these limitations in mind, addi- tional studies are needed to determine whether the effect of DATl on number of sex partners and on criminal hehavior will be observed in different samples, col- lected in different countries. Even so, the results of our study point to the need for future researchers to examine the genetic roots to sexual behaviors and antisocial conduct.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research uses data from Add Hcallh. a program project designed by J. Richard Udry. Peier S. Bearman. and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by a grant POt HD31921 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding trom 17 other agencies. Special acknowledgment is due to Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in ihe original design. Persons inter- ested in obtaining data files from Add Heallh should contact Add Heallh, Carolina Population Center. 123 W. Franklin Strcei. Chapel Hill. NC 27516-2524 ([email protected]).

NOTE

1, One reviewer pointed oui that if males repon having more sexual partners ihan females, ihen with whom are those inen having sex? Walsh (IW5) lackled this issue when he argued thai there are a small number of women who are as promiscuous as any man. These women have a significant advantage over promiscuous men as they are in a posilion lo enjoy easy access to willing partners. Promiscuous heterosexual men must compromise with the more choosy mating strategy of woniien and must work

hard for their "successes." If this is so. then the coefficienl of skewness should be greater for females than for males, indicating ihal a few hypersexual women are pulling Ihe mean oui toward Ihe positive tail of the distribution. To examine ihis possibility, we calculated skewness statistics for males and for females. In line with Walsh's ( 1995) prediction, the C(»efrieient of skewness was higher for females (skewness = 3.74) than for males (skewness = 2.63).

REFERENCES

BLUM, K. et al. 1997. Association of polymorphisms of dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2). and dopam- ine transporter (DATI) genes with schizoid/ avoidanl behaviors (SAB). Molecular Psychiatry 2:239-246.

CoMiNUS, D. b. el al. 2001. The addiiive effect of neurotransmilter genes in pathological gam- bling. Clinical Genetics 60:107-116,

ELLIS. L.. and WAI^SH. A. 2000. Criminology: a glo- bal perspective. Boston. MA: Allyn and Bacon.

GQX, M . . DALY. G., HHRON, S.. HAWI, Z . . and FITZGERALD, M . 1997. Confirmation of associa- tion between aitenlion deficii hyperactiviiy dis- order and a dopamine transporter polymorphism. Molecular Psychiatry 2:311-313.

HABbRSTKK, B. C. et al. 2005. Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) and antisocial behaviors in ihe pres- ence of childhood and adole.scent maltreatment. American Journal of Medical Genetics 135B: 59-64,

HARRLS. K. M . . FLORKV. F.. TABOR. J., BEAHMAN. P. S.. Jt)NES. J.. and UKKY. J. R. 2003. The national longitudinal sludy n( adolescent heallh: research design [www documenl], URL: hltp://www. cpe. unc.edu/projects/addhealih/design,

HEINZ, A. et al, 20(X). Genotype influences in vivo dopamine iransponer availability in human stria- tum. Neuropsychopharmacology 22:133-139.

R, C. J. el al, 2005. Genetic influences on quantity of alcohol consumed by adolescents and young adults. Drug and Alcohol Depen- dence 78:187-193.

KANG, A . M . , PALMATIER. M . A., and KiOD, K, K, 1999. Global variation of a 40 bp VNTR in the 3'-untranslated region of the dopamine trans- porter gene {SLC6A3). Biotogicat Psychiatry 46:15t-l60.

MOUNTAIN, j . L., and RISLII. N. 2004. Assessing genetic contributions to phenotypic differences among "racial" and "ethnic" groups. Nature Genetics 36:48-53.

RowE. D, 1996. An adaptive strategy theory of crime and delinquency. In J. Hawkins (ed.) Delin- quency anil crime: current theories, pp. 268-314. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

. 2002. Biology and crime. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury,

RowL, D. C. et al. 1998. The relation of the dopam- ine transponer gene <DATI) to symptoius of internalizing disorders in ctiildren. Behavior Genetics 28:215-225. E, D. C . SILVER. C . CHASE. D . , SHF.RMAN, S.,

AHRAMDWII/, A., and WALDMAN. I. D. 2001. Two dopamine genes related to reports of childhood retrospective inattention and conduct disorder symptoms. Molecular Psychiatry 6:429-433.

Evolution and Criminal Behavior 55

Ruiii-K. M. 2006, Genes and behavior: nature- nurture interplay explained. Maiden, MA: Blackwell-

SARKH. V,, and Miri,r. F. 2004. Race: ihe reality of human différences. Boulder, CO: Westview,

SHIELDS, A, E, et al, 2005, The use of race variables in genetic studies of eotnplex trails and the goal of reducing health disparities: a transdisciplinaiy perspective, American Psychologist 60:77-10.3.

SWANSON, J, M, el al, 2000. Dopaminc genes and ADHD. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 24:21-2S,

TiMiifRi AKF,, D. S, et al. 2006. An association between Ihe DATI polymorphism and smoking behavior in young adults from the National Lon- gitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, Health Psychology 25:190-197,

UDRY. J, R, 2003, The Naional Longitudinal Siudy of Adolescent Health (Add Health}. Waves I and II. 1994-19%: Wave ÜI 2001-2

dala file and documentation |, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill. NC: Carolina Population Center,

VANDENBERCII. D , J. et al, 1992, Human dopaminc transporter gene (DATI) maps lo chromosome 5pl5,3 and displays a VNTR, Genomics 14:1104-1106,

WAI^SH, A , 1995, Biosociology: an emerging para- digm. Wesport. Conn; Praeger Publishers,

, 2006, Evolutionary psychology and criminal behavior. In 1. Barkow (ed.). Missing the revolu- tion: Darwinism for social scientists, pp. 225-268, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

WALSH. A,, and ELLIS. L . 2007, Criminology: an interdisciplinary approach. Thousand i)aks. CA: Sage/Pine horge Press.

YOUNG, S, E . et al, 2(X)2, Dopamine transporter polymorphism associated with externalizing behavior problems in children. American Journal of Medical Genetics 114:144-149.

example template for apa research paper.doc

Running Head: RACE BIAS IN SENTENCING 1

PAGE

12

RACE BIAS IN SENTENCING

Race Bias in Sentencing when Comparing Minority and Majority Races

First and Last Name

University’s Name

Abstract

ID PROBLEM This paper looks into how the race bias of sentencing within the United States creates mistrust between Americans and the justice system. Specifically when referring to minority races such as African Americans. METHODOLOGY Through Internet database research, information has been found regarding the negative mass media portrayal of minority races, statistics involving the side effects of parental incarceration on children, and cocaine drug laws that target races based on use. ID PARTIES INVOLVED This research sheds light into how this race bias can affect not only offenders, but also their families and their race as a whole. It also takes into consideration that discretion in the courtroom gives prosecutors the loose ability to make their decisions based on the law with the contribution of their personal views. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS These factors force the public to wonder if they are being treated 100% fairly when they are being tried for a crime or if their race is playing a role in their treatment within the justice system.

Introduction

Since the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and the 1960s, there has still been a lot of oppression towards specific races by those with power. In this country, “men are privileged over women, white skin is privileged over darker skin, and able bodies are privileged over disabled bodies” (Gilliard, 2015). As if it is not bad enough that people face this way of thinking every day at school or work, but they are also facing such biases by police on the streets, and judges and juries in the courtroom. SPECIFIC PROBLEM These biases lead to unfair imprisonment and length of sentences for minority offenders, and make it very difficult for minority races and ethnicities to put their trust in the justice system.

HOW TO INVESTIGATE THE PROBLEM There is a lot of evidence from government statistics, academics journals, and books that show that a bias based on race and ethnicity is still a very large problem in America. Through the use of Internet databases, research will be done to determine how this bias in sentencing among minority and majority races creates mistrust between the public and the justice system in the United States. OUTCOMES PREDICTED It is to be predicted that research will show that the media’s negative portrayal of races does in fact result in higher incarceration rates for minorities. WHY YOU EXPECT THE RESULTS Also, it is expected that the impact of having a parent removed from the home due to incarceration can be quite scarring and negatively effect a child, and that the specific laws that target minority offenders while virtually protecting white offenders create a lot of apprehensiveness and mistrust between minorities and the justice system.

Thesis Statement

ARGUMENTATIVE The race bias of sentencing within the United States creates mistrust between the public and the justice system.

Discussion

To many white Americans, walking past a police officer on the street when they are doing nothing wrong isn’t a very intimidating encounter. On the other hand, to a person of a minority race, this encounter has the potential to be quite nerve wracking. When considering that “an estimated 22% of black males ages 35 to 44 in 2001 had ever been confined in State or Federal prison, compared to 10.0% of Hispanic males and 3.5% of white males in the same age group”, it is easy to see how this could be worrisome (Bonczar, 2003) (For more statistics based on race and gender, see Appendix A). The racial bias of prison sentencing in the United States has created mistrust between minority races and the justice system.

Biased media portrayal in the United States creates stereotypes about specific races that contribute to harsher punishments against minorities. When you turn on the morning news, it is likely that one of the first things to cross your television screen probably has to do with some sort of violent crime, and usually that violent crime will involve a person of color. However, the media fails to show all of the crimes committed by people not of color. When looking at statistics from the Uniform Crime Report, it is easy to see that white Americans actually commit more crimes than blacks or Hispanics (see Table 1), yet the media does not show this. This biased media portrayal of crime makes it look as if the only people doing bad things are people of color. Due to this, people begin to make assumptions that these races are more dangerous or more violent than others. Not only is the media more likely the show minorities as perpetrators, but also it is less likely to depict minority races as the victim. A study conducted in 2010 on the representation of races in crime news found that whites were more likely than African Americans and other minorities to be depicted as the victim of a crime (Bjornśtrom, Kaufman, Peterson & Slater, 2010). As a result of the biased perpetrator and victim portrayals, viewers can assume that whites are more victimized than minorities and that minorities commit more crimes. Assumptions like these make for biased people who can make up future juries in the courtroom. The media’s representation of races can also put pressure on judges and prosecutors because the public wants them to incarcerate every person who has ever committed a crime. This portrayal may even create a few biased law enforcement officers because they hear stories about riots and shootings involving African Americans, and become intimidated the next time they see a person of color. The potential biases that these people may hold create the opportunity for them to seek harsher punishments for people who are seen as a threat. Therefore, this bias created by the media makes it difficult for minorities to actually trust that the justice system will work in their favor.

The incarceration of a parent can create mistrust among young children, adolescents, and the law. If a child witnesses their parent being taken from them by a law enforcement officer, their outlook on the law can change completely. Rather than being helpful when in trouble, the law can become something that is feared or viewed as a threat. The effects of the incarceration of a parent can be truly devastating for a child. This can be exceptionally worse if the child is from a minority race or ethnicity because the rate of incarceration is much higher. In 2007, it was found that “black children were 7.5 times more likely than white children to have a parent in prison, and Hispanic children were more than 2.5 times more likely than white children to have a parent in prison” (Craigie, 2011). This fact alone shows how incarceration affects children of minorities more than children from white families. Many more children of minorities are having their parents taken from them than white children, which from the public’s point of view, makes it look as if minorities commit more crimes. However, the tearing apart of families is doing more than just making children doubt the justice system. The incarceration of a parent can cause psychological problems in children as well. Studies have revealed that some children with incarcerated parents show problems associated with antisocial behavior, while others “may experience cognitive and developmental regression as well as exhibit externalizing behaviors such as aggression, violence or defiance, and internalizing behaviors such as anxiety or depression” (Craigie, 2011). While these side effects to the incarceration of a parent aren’t race specific, the treatment of children with these problems definitely varies depending on race. Based on a personal observation, aggression or defiance in a white child is more predominantly viewed as a mental problem and is more likely to be fixed, while aggression or defiance in a child of a minority race or ethnicity is more likely to go untreated and people are more prone to viewing the child as a problem. Without the help that they need, these children are more likely to resort to crime themselves, and form a negative view about the justice system for taking their loved one away from them.

Many drug policies in the United States aren’t necessarily meant to target any one race or ethnicity, however, parts of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 does target users to a specific drug. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act “created the basic framework of mandatory minimum penalties that currently apply to federal drug trafficking offenses,” and these penalties were “triggered exclusively by the quantity and type of drug involved in the offense” (“Report on”). For example, the average sentence length for powder cocaine versus crack cocaine varies between 135 months and 170 months even though they are the same substance just in a different form, with a different base of users (Taxy, Samuels & Adams, 2015) (see Table 2). During the beginning of the War on Drugs, and even still today, crack cocaine is much more popular among minorities, while powder cocaine is used more commonly among the white population. Therefore, when people of minority races are arrested and sentenced for their possession of crack cocaine, the sentence is longer than if a white person were sentenced for possession of powdered cocaine. To many people, this is seen as a racial bias in sentencing and can lead to a loss of trust in the government, even if it is not actually meant to target a specific race.

Some people may say that there is no race bias among sentencing in the United States because it would be illegal. However, there is an amount of discretion that law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and even judges are allowed to use when dealing with arrests and sentencing. In fact, “prosecutors probably have more discretion than any other official in the criminal justice system,” not only do they get to decide if they want to prosecute, but they also get to decide what to charge an individual with (Rutz-Burri, 2015). Even though it shouldn't, this amount of discretion leaves an opening for personal views and biases to play a role in determining charges against a person. Due to the media and many other contributing factors involved in creating stereotypes about races, this discretion can easily be used negatively towards minorities or to the advantage of majorities even if it is unintentional.

Conclusion

Due to the media’s portrayal of violence, the negative effects that parental imprisonment has on children, and the targeting of specific crime, the United States has created mistrust between minority races and the justice system. It becomes difficult to have faith in a system that seems to consistently target specific people due to their race or ethnicity, especially when you take into consideration that their sentences are usually longer than most.

Media portrays violence usually based on race, making that specific race look more dangerous than another. This can lead to viewers making unfair assumptions that could possibly alter someone’s life down the road. If a person were to watch the news and come to the conclusion that all African Americans are violent people, the way they come to a decision if selected as a member of a jury could be completely altered. Just one vote in a jury could change the outcome of a person’s trial and sentence, potentially leading to a young child’s parent being taken away from them. This sentence, depending on the charge and mandatory minimums could strip a child of their parent for an average of 170 months, for a crime like the possession of crack cocaine. As a result, that child could potentially lose trust in the justice system because it forced them away from their mother, father, or maybe even both. When looking at all three situations together, one can see how the impact of the racial bias in sentencing can alter the public’s trust toward the justice system.

A hope for the future would be that the public and criminal justice officials educate themselves about crimes and who is actually committing them. This could occur through one’s work by mandatory training. If an employer required employees who have any amount of interaction with sentencing of criminals then 10 hours of continuous training a year would be required. Training would start out identifying the problem so that employees understand the gravity of the situation and then build each subsequent year. Homework would also be required in these training forums. One such assignment could be to simply look at statistics from the Uniform Crime Report or the Bureau of Justice, and maybe these biases could be eliminated. However, if this nation continues to blindly believe everything the news and other media outlets say, and then the United States is no longer progressing, but regressing.

References

Bjornśtrom, E. S., Kaufman, R. L., Peterson, R. D., & Slater, M. D. (2010). Race and Ethnic Representations of Lawbreakers and Victims in Crime News: A National Study of Television Coverage. Social Problems, 57(2), 269-293. JOURNAL

Bonczar, T. (2003). Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974-2001. Bureau of Justice Statistics: Special Report, 1. INTERNET

Craigie, T. L. (2011). The Effect of Paternal Incarceration on Early Child Behavioral Problems: A Racial Comparison. Journal Of Ethnicity In Criminal Justice, 9(3), 179-199. doi:10.1080/15377938.2011.594349 JOURNAL

Gilliard, D. D. (2015, 04). THE UNBEARABLE WHITENESS OF BEING. Sojourners Magazine, 44, 36-39. MAGAZINE

Racial Disparity. (n.d.). Appendix A, Retrieved November 15, 2015, from http://www.sentencingproject.org/template/page.cfm?id=122 INTERNET

Report on Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2015, from http://www.ussc.gov/report-cocaine-and-federal-sentencing-policy-2 JOURNAL

Rutz-Burri, L. (2015). Chapter Three: The Courts. In Foundations of Criminal Law and Procedure (Vol. 2, p. 51). BOOK

Taxy, S., Samuels, J., & Adams, W. (2015). Drug Offenders in Federal Prison: Estimates of Characteristics Based on Linked Data. 6-6. NEWSPAPER

Uniform Crime Reports: Arrests by Race, 2013. (2014, November 3). Retrieved November 15, 2015, from https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013/tables/table-43 INTERNET

Table 1

Total Arrests Based on Race and Ethnicity, 2013

White

African American

Hispanic or Latino

American Indian or Native Alaskan

Asian

Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

6,214,197

2,549,655

799,931

140,290

105,109

5,384

Note. Retrieved from AC Nielsen Market Information Digest New Zealand. Copyright 2011 by the Nielsen Company. Reprinted with permission.“Uniform Crime Reports”, 2014.

Table 2

Sentence Lengths for Drug Offenders Based on Drug Type, 2012

Sentence Length

Powder Cocaine

Crack Cocaine

1 year or less

0.1%

0.1%

1-5 years

21.0%

10.3%

5-10 years

32.4 %

27.8%

10-20 years

34.4%

40.1%

20 years or more

12.0%

21.8%

Mean (average)

135 months

170 months

Note. Retrieved from AC Nielsen Market Information Digest New Zealand. Copyright 2011 by the Nielsen Company. Reprinted with permission. Taxy, Samuels & Adams, 2015).

Appendix A

image1.png

Racial Disparity. (n.d.). Appendix A, Retrieved November 15, 2015, from http://www.sentencingproject.org/template/page.cfm?id=122

Genes_and_Criminal_Behavior.docx

4

Genes and Criminal Behavior

Crime is a problem within society. Nowadays, criminals are harshly punished within the United States as the criminal justice system fights against murders, kidnappings, rapes, and others vicious crimes. Scientists are still trying to discover through research whether the problem of criminal behavior is in the genes of the person himself or in the individual’s environment. Some researchers found that the combination of genetics and the environment influence human behavior. Genes and a person’s criminal behavior is a complex process. Gene can influence the person to find the environment that can allow him whether to be criminal or not. Throughout this paper, genes such as Monoamine Oxidase (MAOA), Cadherin13 (CDH13), and Dopamine Receptors D2 and D4 (DRD2 and DRD4), the Cheater theory and environmental factors that influence criminal and antisocial behavior will be discussed. Genes are the primary cause of criminal behavior.

(MAOA) is an “enzyme that breaks down several monoamine neurotransmitters” (Tielbeek, Medland, Benyamin, Byrne, Heath, Madden, Verweij, 2012). The study had tested the genomes of 895 criminals in Finnish prisons, and they found the MAOA gene inside the criminals who had committed 10 or more serious crimes (Connor, 2014).

The figure is showing the percentage of family that thought children had more re-formable rose gradually with age.4. Levitt, M. (2013).

Cadherin13 (CDH13) is involved in communication between brain cells and controls reckless behavior, and a connection was found within a dangerous criminal who exhibits violent behavior (Tielbeek, Medland, Benyamin, Byrne, Heath, Madden, Verweij, 2012). The third gene, called Dopamine Receptors D2 and D4 (DRD2 and DRD4), are “dopamine receptors that are a class of G protein-coupled receptors that are prominent in the vertebrate central nervous system. The neurotransmitter dopamine is the primary endogenous ligand for dopamine receptors” (Boutwell and Beaver, 2008). According to Boutwell and Beaver (2008), they found that the people who have DRD2 and DRD4 danger alleles are at risk of being involved in crime and deviant behavior. Genes have the greatest influence to create thoughts to find the environment, so genes will effect on the person’s thoughts and will committed crimes.

Ellis (1997) has several theories about genes and criminal behavior. Ellis received his Ph.D. from Florida State University, Tallahassee, and is a professor in the Department of Sociology at Minot State University. Some theories of criminal (and antisocial) behavior Ellis has written about are from an evolutionary perspective. He mentions that people differ in their genetic natures that push them toward criminal acts. The first theory is crime specific, relating to the crimes of rape, spousal murder, and neglecting one's child. Also, Ellis studied if there are differences between the genes of a criminal and the genes of a normal person. The second theory mentions an individual who exhibits a lot of antisocial behavior, such as a cheater. “According to the cheater theory, males have been naturally selected to make lower parental investment than women” (Ellis & Walsh, 1997). The cheater theory explains how a “subpopulation of men has evolved with genes that incline them toward extremely low parental involvement. Sexually aggressive, can be deceit for sexual conquest of as many females as possible” (Ellis & Walsh, 1997). In this theory, people believe that cheating is painful, but it can be for several reasons. For instance, jealousy, lack of confidence, and frequent problems between couples can make the person look for another enjoyable environment. Once the person begins to cheat, he will believe that the best solution is to continue cheating, to not face his problems, and to forget about his main relationship. The cheater will want to have multiple sex partners and live the rest of his life with many sexual encounters. Overall, these individuals have a higher likelihood of committing crimes, and their antisocial behavior is linked with their genetics and environment.

The environment and genes have the greatest influence in determining whether a person behaves as a law abiding citizen or a criminal one. They have the same influence to the person, but genes can give the person more signals to look for the surrounding and start the crimes. Individuals who are law abiding citizens are highly praised, whereas our society looks down upon those who are deviant from the norm and commit criminal acts. The environment could influence our societies enormously, especially stress, friends, school, news, home life, and drugs. Many criminals committed their crimes mainly because of their environment, but genes allow the person to believe and start to change the way that criminals think..

In conclusion, the genes has the greatest effect on people’s attitudes, especially to be either prosocial or antisocial. No doubt, environment might play a role but they are not deterministic in this matter. If we look at many offender’s histories, it would be clear that most of them were raised by abusive parents and were surrounded by drugs and alcohol. So they changed by how they believe and became criminals. That gives the children the potential to be criminals in the future. Most offenders come from low socioeconomic classes, meaning they are generally poor and have little education. This illustrates the importance of people’s level of lifestyle and its impact on their potential behavior and eventually their connection with the criminal justice system. Something important to draw from this conclusion is that the best way to fight crime is to know that crimes are consequences of poor parenting, poor education and lack of opportunities in society. By enhancing people’s lifestyles we reduce the likelihood of people to be criminals. Adopting the perspective that genes are responsible for criminal behavior is obvious, especially because it is entirely true. By understanding the connection the genes have with budding criminals, our society could potentially reduce future criminal behavior.

References

Beaver, K. M., Wright, J. P., & Walsh, A. (2008). A Gene-Based Evolutionary Explanation for

the Association Between Criminal Involvement and Number of Sex Partners. Biodemography & Social Biology, 54(1), 47-55.

Boutwell, B. B., & Beaver, K. M. (2008). A Biosocial Explanation of Delinquency Abstention.

Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health, 18(1), 59-74. doi:10.1002/cbm.678

Connor, S. (2014, October 28). Two genes found linked to tendency for violent crime. Retrieved

February 23, 2015, from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/two-genes-found-linked-to-tendency-for-violent-crime-9824061.html

Ellis, L., & Walsh, A. (1997). Gene-Based Evolutionary Theories in

Criminology. Criminology, 35(2), 229-276.

Gillett, G., & Tamatea, A. J. (2012). The warrior gene: epigenetic considerations. New Genetics

& Society, 31(1), 41-53. doi:10.1080/14636778.2011.597982

Hagan, F. (2012). Introduction to Criminology: Theories, Methods, and Criminal Behavior (8th

ed.). Sage Publications.

Levitt, M. (2013). Genes, environment and responsibility for violent behavior: “Whatever genes

one has it is preferable that you are prevented from going around stabbing people”. New Genetics & Society, 32(1), 4-17. doi:10.1080/14636778.2012.699352

Levitt, M. (2014). CRIME GENES. Biologist, 61(3), 24-27.

Rhee, S. H., & Waldman, I. D. (2002). Genetic and Environmental Influences on Antisocial

Behavior: a meta-analysis of twin and adoption studies. Psychological Bulletin, 128(3), 490.

Tielbeek, J. J., Medland, S. E., Benyamin, B., Byrne, E. M., Heath, A. C., Madden, P. F., & ...

Verweij, K. H. (2012). Unraveling the Genetic Etiology of Adult Antisocial Behavior: A Genome-Wide Association Study. Plos ONE, 7(10), 1-7. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045086

parts of research paper apa.pptx

APA Research Papers!

How to Write

NOTE

IN YOUR RESEARCH PAPER

Title Page- 1 page

Abstract- 1 page 150-200 words

Introduction- 1-2 pages

Thesis Statement- 1 sentence @ end of Intro

Discussion- 2-6 pages

Conclusions- up to 1 page

References- minimum of 4

Table

Appendix

Parts of Your Research Paper Label Each Part In Your Paper- in the order below Center it Before It Begins In Your Paper

The basics

Microsoft Word

1- Margins- Normal for 1”

Top-Bottom-Left-Right

2- Font

Times New Roman- Regular-12 (default)

3- HEADER

Different 1st Page

Running head: SHORTENED TITLE

(all caps 50 characters including spaces)

PAGE #- right justified in HEADER

3- Title of Paper

center

2” or 1/3 down

Double Spacing

Remove space after Paragraph

4- Your Name

center

double spaced below title

5- Your School

center

double spaced below name

1st Page

TITLE PAGE

The basics

Microsoft Word

1- HEADER

Shortened Title (ALL CAPS) no “RUNNING HEAD” TYPED ONLY TITLE

PAGE #- right justified (word will now automatically number all pages in order)

2- ‘Abstract’

Title Centered below HEADER

NO indentation

Body of Abstract Left Justified

150-200 words

concise summary

2nd Page

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

Purpose:

DEVELOP THE READERS TRUST

150-200 Words

*Summary

*I.D. the problem

*I.D. parties involved

*Methodology

*Outline findings/conclusion

NOTE THESE ON DRAFT

Choose Type of Thesis Statement:

Analytical: paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.

Expository: (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience

Argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

Thesis

Thesis Statement

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytical thesis statement:

An analysis of the college admission process reveals one challenge facing counselors: accepting students with high test scores or students with strong extracurricular backgrounds.

The paper that follows should:

Explain the analysis of the college admission process

Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

The life of the typical college student is characterized by time spent studying, attending class, and socializing with peers.

The paper that follows should:

Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

High school graduates should be required to take a year off to pursue community service projects before entering college in order to increase their maturity and global awareness.

1- Present the SPECIFIC PROBLEM

2- Describe the research strategy to HOW TO INVESTIGATE THE PROBLEM

CONCLUDING YOUR INTRODUCTION:

1- mention what you are comparing

2- mention what results/outcomes you expect OUTCOMES PREDICTED

3- mention WHY YOU EXPECT THE RESULTS

INTRO

INTRODUCTION

You have already done an ABSTRACT

AND

You have already done an INTRODUCTION and THESIS STATEMENT

So……..

Make sure you give your readers something to keep them interested!

GIVE YOUR READERS SOMETHING CLEAR, CONCISE AND INTERESTING TO READ.

Conclude your discussion with a strong paragraph stating the main point or points again in different terms- not utilized prior in your paper

DISCUSS

DISCUSSION

Longest Portion- 2-6 Pages

Tie everything together!

Make sure you point out the ideas that support what you have referenced and spelled out and argued in the discussion.

Think of stairs- the reader will climb the stairs seeing the connections between each point of your discussion

END:

WITH A DETAILED SUGGESTION FOR EITHER FUTURE STUDY OR ACTION THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN

CONCLUDE

CONCLUSION

REFERENCE

REFERENCE PAGE

List type of reference

APPENDIX

APPENDICES

What are “appendices?”

DETAILED INFORMATION THAT WOULD BE DISTRACTING IN THE MAIN BODY OF THE PAPER

Examples:

Lists of words

Questionnaire

Detailed description of something

Apparatus used in research

1st Appendix- Appendix A

2nd Appendix- Appendix B

How to cite an Appendix

Example in-text citation:

Inner city mental health care access continues to be a problem (see Appendix for a table showing mental health care access by city).

AND

Reference Page- For example, a citation on the reference page for an appendix found in a book should read: Author. (year). Appendix A of Title of work. Location: Publisher. The appendix letter should match the appropriate section you are using.

TABLE

TABLES

TABLE

Allows you to show your data in an EASY to READ form

Identify each table by a number:

Table 1

Table 2

Refer to Table in text:

As shown in Table 1

How to cite a table

@ bottom of TABLE:

Note. Retrieved from AC Nielsen Market Information Digest New Zealand. Copyright 2011 by the Nielsen Company. Reprinted with permission.

In-text citation As shown in Table 1, vitamins, minerals & herbal supplements sales ...

Reference list

The Nielsen Company. (2011). Sales of vitamins/minerals & herbal supplements in New Zealand, 11 September 2010 - 11 September 2011[Table]. Retrieved from ACNielsen Market Information Digest New Zealand.