NCJ Number
238167
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 40 Issue: 1 Dated: January/February 2012 Pages: 94-102
Date Published
February 2012
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study blended variables in behavior genetics with criminological perspectives in explaining stability in antisocial behavior over time.
Abstract
In examining antisocial behavioral patterns for a sample of individuals at the beginning (Wave 1), during (Waves 2 and 3), and at the end (Wave 4) of a 13-year period that involved their transition from adolescence to adulthood, the study found a moderate degree of stability in criminal behavior from adolescence to adulthood. Simultaneously, a significant degree of behavioral change occurred over the observation period. The findings indicated that both genetic and non-shared environmental factors were important influences in determining the stability and changes in antisocial behavior over time. One of the most consistent findings of behavior genetic research is that nearly every aspect of personality is under genetic influence (Harris, 1998; Raine, 1993; Rutter, 2006). Research has determined that personality traits, such as self-control, stem from a genetic influence (Beaver et al., 2009, Boisvert, 2009). Thus, the finding of the current study that genetic factors influence behavioral stability is likely the result of an indirect causal pathway that is mediated by personality development. Genes influence personality development, which drives behavioral stability. Given this finding, the question then becomes how to account for changes in behavior from Wave 1 to Wave 4. This study concludes that although a person's genotype is generally unalterable over his/her life span, the effects of genes are malleable through the process of gene-environment interaction. In other words, genetically based personality characteristics interact with changing environmental variables over time to shape behavioral change. Stable personality traits determine largely how a person copes with or responds to various environmental stimuli in determining behavior patterns. Sample selection and data-collection methods are described. 2 figures, 3 tables, 6 notes, and 75 references