Do aggressive and non-aggressive antisocial behaviors in adolescents result from the same genetic and environmental effects?
Abstract
Antisocial behavior (ASB) in adolescents can broadly be separated into two forms; aggressive and non-aggressive. Both are heritable and it has been suggested that aggressive ASB is more heritable. The extent to which genes contribute to the correlation between the two is unknown. Structural equation modeling was applied to a population-based twin sample of 258 twins pairs aged 11-18 to estimate the heritability of each form of ASB and to estimate the extent to which the phenotypic correlation was the consequence of shared genes and environmental factors. Non-shared environment and genetic factors substantially influenced both forms of ASB. The heritability of aggressive (but not non-aggressive) ASB was significantly higher in girls than in boys. Combining both sexes, a model in which the genetic effects on aggressive and non-aggressive ASB were identical could be rejected. Our results suggest a partial genetic overlap with a specific genetic effect contributing to the variance of aggressive ASB and a stronger genetic effect on aggression in females than in males.
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Studies including adolescent twins do not in most cases report finding any shared environmental influences.
“Studies including adolescent twins (∼ younger than 19 years of age) do not in most cases report finding any shared environmental influences (Table 8.2; e.g., Button et al., 2004; Cho et al., 2006; Gelhorn et al., 2006; Tackett et al., 2009).”
From Human Aggression Across the Lifespan (2011) · cites this paper as Button et al., 2004
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- Authors
- Button, T. M. M., Scourfield, J., Martin, N., & McGuffin, P.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- Cardiff University (GB)
- Centre for Human Genetics (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Button, Tanya M.M.
- ORCID
- McGuffin, Peter
- Venue
- American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B Neuropsychiatric Genetics
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2004-05-24
- Volume
- 129B
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 59-63
- ISSN
- 1552-4841 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-485X
- OpenAlex
- W2022815763
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 2.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B Neuropsychiatric Genetics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
- Keywords
- antisocial behavior, aggression, adolescents, heritability, genetic overlap, nonshared environment, shared environment, sex differences, twin studies, genetic and environmental effects
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Aggression, Analysis of Variance, Child, Female, United Kingdom, Humans, Male, Models, Genetic, Models, Psychological, Phenotype, Sex Factors, Social Behavior Disorders, Twins, Twins, Dizygotic, Twins, Monozygotic
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