Genetic Explanations of Offending Behaviour

12 Key excerpts on "Genetic Explanations of Offending Behaviour"

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  eBook - PDF

  The SAGE Handbook of Criminological Theory

  • Eugene McLaughlin, Tim Newburn, Eugene McLaughlin, Tim Newburn(Authors)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications Ltd

    (Publisher)

  The provocative findings from these early adoption studies have since sparked numerous lines of research attempting to replicate and further refine our understand-ing of both genetic and environmental causes of crime and violence. A plethora of twin and adoption studies subsequently confirmed the genetic effect on criminal outcomes, and on the wider constructs of antisocial behavior (see Rhee and Waldman, 2002) and externalizing behavior disorders. Although dozens of studies have repli-cated the genetic effect in antisocial behavior across a variety of cultures, the genetic 1 Genetics and Crime L a u r a A . B a k e r , C a t h e r i n e T u v b l a d a n d A d r i a n R a i n e LAURA A. BAKER ET AL. 22 influences have been almost entirely unspecified, with little understanding about how many genes, their location in the human genome, or the specific environments or experiences that lead to gene expression. So what is new in research on genetics of crime? Current genetic research on antisocial behavior – including criminal offending – aims to specify the nature of both genetic and environmental influences, and how they may interact with one another to lead to criminal outcomes. This is being done in a variety of ways, includ-ing molecular genetic studies attempting to identify specific genes which increase risk for criminal behavior or its correlates such as impulsivity, risky decision making, and aggression, as well as investigations of biological and social risk factors and how their relations to crime may be mediated by genes and environment. Our goal in this chapter is to review the ways in which we have begun to unpack the black boxes of genetic and environmental influences in antisocial behavior, with a focus on studies that include criminal offending.

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  Measuring Crime and Criminality

  • John MacDonald(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Taylor & Francis

    (Publisher)

  The most plausible view of genetic contributions to crime assumes that multiple genes are involved through their role in coding for enzymes and proteins that influence psychological processes that may make an individual more or less vulnerable to participation in antisocial behavior or crime. More recently, genetic contributions to complex behaviors have been conceptualized as being conditional on environmental risk factors, with epigenetic and gene expression studies challenging the idea that our genetic code is fixed. Within this framework, genes are not necessarily expected to exert a main effect on behavior but instead are assumed to create vulnerabilities that may be expressed if certain environmental conditions are present (see, e.g., work by Caspi et al., 2002). In addition, epigenetic research is providing compelling evidence that genes can be altered via environmental exposures (Meaney, 2010). This line of research has fundamentally changed our deterministic conceptualization of genes as fixed variables and raises the possibility that the expression of genes may vary across both context and development. These conceptual shifts in understanding genetic contributions to criminality have left researchers with the daunting task of disentangling how complex systems of genes interact with each other—and the environment—to influence behavior. Genes have now become moving and dynamic targets within social science research, where linear and additive models of influence are no longer sufficient prerequisites for building explanatory models. To this end, genetically informed research is rapidly moving away from the estimation of heritability coefficients and toward approaches that can help to isolate the role of specific genetic and environmental factors in antisocial behavior

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  AQA Psychology A Level Paper Three: Forensic Psychology

  • Phil Gorman(Author)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  In a meta-analysis of over 25,000 individuals taken from different regions to avoid overlap, Tielbeek et al. (2017), were able to show that the effect of individual genes on antisocial behaviour (ASB) was tiny but that the combined effect of a number of genes was significantly associated with ASB and importantly that the same polygenic effect was found for educational attainment, suggesting that there is a close association between crime and educational attainment at the genetic level.

  However, the researchers were quick to point out that the polygenic influence on crime is only one factor and that other environmental factors, such as traumatic experiences during early years are at least as influential and have also pointed to the influence of epigenetics on gene expression as a factor that requires further study if we are going to provide a complete understanding of the causes of crime.

  Mini plenary

  Consider the arguments made above, both for and against the use of biological ideas/evidence to explain offending behaviour. What do you think? Use a separate sheet of paper to create a plan of the arguments for and against. Then, in no more than 100 words, explain whether we should use biological explanations for offending behaviour.

  Arguments for	Arguments agains

  A modern issue: do biological explanations take away responsibility from the criminal?

  One of the issues raised by these biological explanations for crime is to what extent they can take away blame from those who commit crimes. After all, if someone is ‘born to kill’, should we be surprised when they go on to kill someone? Furthermore, is it their fault, as after all, there was nothing they could do to change the brain they were born with.

  New research Jon Schuppe, Blame my brain: A killer’s bold defense gets a court hearing. nbcnews.com , 27 April 2019.

  In the article, Schuppe reports on the case of Anthony Blas Yepez, who was convicted of the murder of a 75-year-old man who he admitted he had beaten to death in a fit of rage. However, his defence lawyer (Ian Lloyd) has argued that Yepez should not be held responsible due to the fact that he had a rare genetic abnormality that meant he was unable to control his rage.

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  Adolescent Forensic Psychiatry

  • Susan Bailey, Mairead Dolan(Authors)
  • 2004(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  As a consequence, there has been much variation in the terminology used across studies, with some researchers focusing on psychiatric disorders such as conduct dis-orders, many examining the genetics of criminality and delinquency, and others investigating the influence of genes on continuous traits, such as antisocial personality and behavioural symptoms. For the purpose of this chapter, we have conceptualized antisocial behaviour in fairly broad terms, in order to encompass findings from these different studies. We begin by examining the evidence for a genetic con-tribution to juvenile antisocial behaviour. We then move on to consider how genes might influence these behav-iours, and how genetic factors interact with environmental influences. Finally, we consider the molecular basis of juvenile antisocial behaviour, review research strategies that are being used to unravel the molecular genetic basis of juvenile antisocial behaviour, and discuss emerging findings. 7 Genetics and juvenile antisocial behaviour JANE HOLMES AND ANITA THAPAR Introduction 87 Genetic and environmental influences on juvenile antisocial behaviour 88 The influence of genes on behaviour via environmental factors 89 The interaction between genes and environmental factors 90 The molecular basis of antisocial behaviour 91 The molecular genetic basis of antisocial behaviour 92 Conclusions 94 References 95 GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON JUVENILE ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR Does antisocial behaviour run in families? The aetiology of antisocial behaviour is complex. Never-theless there is overwhelming evidence that antisocial behaviour aggregates within families. Research indicates that criminality in parents is associated with a three- to four-fold increase in delinquency in offspring (Rutter et al. 1999).

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  Psychology and Crime

  2nd edition

  • Aidan Sammons, David Putwain(Authors)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  As with family history and twin studies, these findings support the view that offending is genetically influenced. chapter 3 Biologically oriented explanations of offending 29 Again, there are several reasons to treat these findings with a degree of caution. First, they also indicate a significant influence of the environment. Second, greater concordance between offspring and biological mothers may be due to prenatal fac-tors like maternal stress or drug taking rather than a genetic influence. Third, adop-tees may be placed in environments similar to those from which they were adopted, possibly another branch of the same family. Fourth, children may be adopted years after their birth, leaving room for a significant environmental influence from the biological parents early in life. These objections notwithstanding, the accumulated evidence supports the view that offending is influenced by genetics. A systematic review of twin and adop-tion studies by Mason and Frick (1994) estimates the size of this genetic influence at around 50%; this figure is confirmed by recent studies using more sophisti-cated methodologies (Beaver et al., 2009). The influence is not uniform, however. Aggressive offending seems more influenced by genes than is non-violent offend-ing (Eley et al., 2003), and the genetic influence appears much stronger in life-course-persistent than in adolescence-limited offenders (Moffitt, 1993, 2005; see Chapter 2). In general, the question of whether genes influence offending is widely regarded as settled. Research in recent years has shifted to focus on the questions of which genes are involved and how they exert their influence. Where it comes to aggressive offending, several genes have been identified as potentially significant (Raine, 2008). One is the MAOA gene, which codes for monoamine oxidase, a chemical that breaks down serotonin. When the MAOA gene is ‘knocked out’ (made inactive) in mice they become very aggressive (Cases et al., 1995).

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  Criminal Psychology

  • David Canter(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Taylor & Francis

    (Publisher)

  One is that genes only have any influence when they exist in a particular environment. Gene-environment interactions capture the process by which genes only have effects when they are paired to certain environ-ments, and vice versa (Beaver, Wright & DeLisi 2008). An example would be when a biochemical imbalance that relates to aggressiveness occurs in a social context that condones violence. Similarly, in such an environment, those prone to violence are more likely to express that. A rather different gene-environment relationship is when genetic factors contribute to selecting, shaping and modifying the environment (Scarr & McCartney, 1983). An example might be of a person of low intelligence with little support in school drifting away from school into opportunist criminality. The genetic background helps to predetermine the environment a person experiences. CONCLUSIONS An attempt to link criminality to genetic makeup, biology or hormones is the focus of the present chapter. This must be an oversimplification on a number of counts. Crimes are hugely diverse in their nature, so, explanations for one sort of crime, such as murder, may be very different for another, such as burglary. Furthermore, most studies have relatively weak findings, or are inconclusive, and reveal wide ranges of scores on any measures. Thus, although there are, without doubt, aspects of the makeup of people who commit crimes that, in very broad terms, distinguish them from the population at large, these biologically based explanations of crime cannot be the whole story. In general, most explanations of crime are what are known as ‘biosocial‘, bringing together the nature of the individuals and the environments in which they grow up and live. It would be difficult to find a hard and fast, fundamentalist, biological determinist explanation of crime today. All experts will sit somewhere along a continuum from emphasising biology to giving weight to environment.

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  Theories of Crime

  • Ian Marsh(Author)
  • 2007(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  The debate over the importance of genes in behaviour has always been intense, from the eugenics movement at the start of the twentieth century right through to the present (e.g. Lewontin, Rose and Kamin 1984). Critics, some from within biology, have attacked the implication that genes largely determine our behaviour as well as the interpretation of the data from some of the methods that form the cornerstone of the genetic approach. For most of the twentieth century the ‘nature versus nurture’ debate, in which one side argued that biology, especially genes, determined our behaviour and the other that the environment determined how we behaved, was how disagreements were presented. More recently it has become clear that the evidence makes sense only if the biosocial interaction model is used (e.g. Raine 2002b).

  No serious biologists think that there is ‘a criminal gene’: they are looking for genes that make criminal behaviour more probable. If genes can influence our impulsivity, and we know impulsivity makes you more likely to become an offender, then those genes increase the probability that you will perform criminal acts.

  We now have compelling evidence that genes are important in establishing the likelihood that we will display particular anti-social and criminal behaviour. For example Brunner et al. (1991) showed that one defective version of a gene that makes an enzyme crucial in how some of our neurons work leads to a massively increased risk of very violent behaviour.

  The combination of sustained criticism and improved understanding has resulted in the recognition that the impact of genes depends on the social and physical environment that the person lives in. Investigating the contribution genes make to a behaviour also reveals the importance of the environment. Parens (2004) gives a clear account of our present understanding of the role of each and of the difficulties in interpreting the results from such studies.

  As with evolution there are several distinct approaches within genetic research. We will consider two: behavioural genetics and molecular biology.

  Behavioural genetics

  Behavioural genetics tries to identify how important genes are in particular behaviours using methods that rely on comparing how similar different relatives are on that behaviour. Different relatives share different, predictable proportions of their genes. Humans share about 99 per cent of their genes because most are for crucial biological systems such as your heart, liver etc. Humans all need genes to do the same tasks, so we may all seem to have the same set of genes. However, remember that there will be a variety of versions of the same gene so we will end up with different genotypes. Almost all the genes we have do not appear to be relevant to how likely we are to be anti-social or criminal; that leaves a much smaller number where variations in the versions, or alleles that we inherit may alter our predisposition to criminality. If you share half of your alleles in general with a relative then you will also be likely to share half of those alleles relevant to criminal behaviour.

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  Genetics of Criminal and Antisocial Behaviour

  • Gregory R. Bock, Jamie A. Goode, Gregory R. Bock, Jamie A. Goode(Authors)
  • 2008(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  It is clear that this field of research is active and productive, with some very interesting and important findings that carry promise that over the next decade we may gain a much improved understanding of the factors involved in the genesis of antisocial behaviour. Equally, it is apparent that researchers in this arena are constructively self-critical, with a deep awareness of the methodological hazards to be avoided, the inconsistencies across studies to be explained, and the marked limitations in the inferences that can be drawn from the findings so far. Nevertheless, it is evident that genetic factors do play a significant role in antisocial behaviour and that their investigation is likely to be useful, with respect to both theory and practice. Despite that conclusion, it is obvious that the assumption in some media reports that researchers are involved in a search for the ‘gene for crime’ is seriously mistaken. Equally, the assumption by some critics of genetic research that genetic studies are predicated on a notion that there is a single homogeneous entity characterized by antisocial behaviour could not be more wrong. Not only does genetic research test for heterogeneity, but also genetic findings have been particularly informative on the nature of some important sources of heterogeneity. Thus, twin studies data indicate that genetic factors are probably particularly important in those varieties of antisocial behaviour associated with early-onset, pervasive hyperactivity. Conversely, it is likely that they are least influential in the case of adolescent-onset delinquency that has not been preceded by hyperactivity. At first sight, it might seem paradoxical that twin studies also show a stronger genetic effect with adult crime than juvenile delinquency.

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  Criminal Behaviour

  A Psychological Approach To Explanation And Prevention

  • Clive Hollin(Author)
  • 2006(Publication Date)
  • Taylor & Francis

    (Publisher)

  The term biological is used here in the sense of the individual’s physiological functioning. A biologically based explanation of criminal behaviour would therefore seek to describe the physiological factors inherent in both the acquisition and maintenance of criminal behaviour. In its most simple form a theory of crime based upon biological factors would suggest that criminal behaviour is a product of heredity; in other words, that criminals are born not made. This view provides us with a convenient starting point to trace the development of biological research and thinking on the topic of criminal behaviour.

  Genetic Transmission

  In discussions of genetic transmission and criminal behaviour it is customary to begin by pointing to the absurdities of some of Lombroso’s early writings and so, either implicitly or explicitly, dismiss the need to consider biological influences on behaviour. Cesare Lombroso (1835–1909), an Italian physician and ‘criminal anthropologist’, put forward the proposition that criminals were the product of a genetic configuration unlike that found in the normal, non-criminal population. His research led him to the view that the signs of a criminal genetic constitution were to be found in the atavistic anomalies — physical characteristics such as enormous jaws, high cheek-bones, handle-shaped ears, solitary lines on the palms of the hands, insensitivity to pain, and, best of all, a craving for orgies — that clearly marked the criminal as a throwback to more primitive times when people were savages. Plainly, such a genetic constitution must come about through heredity, either directly by being related to a family of criminals, or indirectly from association with a ‘degenerate’ family marked by a history of insanity, physical disease or addiction. In his later work Lombroso changed his views somewhat, suggesting that as well as genetic forces, it is necessary to consider psychological factors such as human greed and environmental conditions such as educational provision when seeking to understand criminal behaviour. Indeed, this nomination of biological, psychological, and social factors as playing an interactive role in the aetiology of criminal behaviour has led to Lombroso being called ‘the father of modern criminology’ (Schafer, 1976).

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  Psychology and Crime

  2nd edition

  • Aidan Sammons, David Putwain(Authors)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Genes are sequences of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) that transmit information from one generation to its offspring. A human being has around 20,000 genes (Ezkurdia et al., 2014), inherited from their parents and organised into 23 pairs of chromosomes. Together, they provide a ‘blueprint’ for the development of the individual. The majority of genes are shared by all humans but around 1% of them exist in different forms called alleles. These contribute to the differences between people, influencing physical traits such as eye colour and psychological and behavioural traits such as personality. Genes are relevant to crime because some of them influence the development of the nervous system. They may therefore be responsible for the differences in the brain that are associated with offending.

  The consensus among biopsychologists is that genes influence criminal behaviour. This view rests on evidence from family history studies, twin studies and adoption studies. A family history study is conducted in order to ascertain whether a specific trait (in this case, offending) runs in families. If it does, this provides evidence that genetic influence plays a role. Osborn and West (1979) report that 40% of the sons of criminal fathers go on to get a criminal record themselves, compared with only 13% of the sons of non-criminal fathers. Other studies report similar results (Cloninger et al., 1978; West, 1982). Although suggestive of a genetic influence on offending, these findings could also indicate an environmental influence: sons might acquire criminal tendencies through social learning or the correlation might be due to the influence of a third variable that affects both father and son such as social class, deprivation or poor education (see Chapter 5 ).

  This problem is avoided by the twin study methodology, because it eliminates the confounding effect of shared environmental influences, at least in principle. A twin study compares monozygotic (MZ; genetically identical) and dizygotic (DZ; non-identical) twin pairs. It rests on the assumption that, in both MZ and DZ twins, criminality is affected by environmental factors to the same extent, because both MZ and DZ twins develop in equivalent environments: they are born into the same family, at the same time, go to the same schools etc. If it is found that the MZ twins are more similar in their criminality than the DZ twins this must be due to their greater genetic similarity. The similarity between twins is expressed as a correlation or concordance. A 25% concordance means that 25% of the time both

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  Drug Abuse and Antisocial Behavior

  A Biosocial Life Course Approach

  • Christopher P. Salas-Wright, Michael G. Vaughn, Jennifer M. Reingle González(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  © The Author(s) 2016

  Christopher P. Salas-Wright ,

  Michael G. Vaughn and

  Jennifer M. Reingle González

  Drug Abuse and Antisocial Behavior Palgrave's Frontiers in Criminology Theory 10.1057/978-1-137-55817-6_3

  Begin Abstract

  3. Genetic Underpinnings

  Christopher P. Salas-Wright 1  ,

  Michael G. Vaughn 2 and

  Jennifer M. Reingle González 3

  (1) Boston University, Boston, USA

  (2) Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, USA

  (3) School of Public Health, University of Texas, Texas, USA

   

  End Abstract

  Introduction

  Why do some individuals appear to be more prone to addiction than others? And why do some addicted persons engage in antisocial acts while other addicted persons do not? While previous chapters have focused on the epidemiology of addiction and antisocial behavior and conceptualizations of addiction, the present chapter directs our attention to answering the aforementioned questions by examining the genetic underpinnings of the addiction–crime phenomenon. Although criminologists have only begun to recognize the importance of genes, the addiction sciences have been searching and uncovering the genetic basis of addictive disorders for many years. It is taken as a given in both addiction science and in criminological science that substance dependence and offending runs in families; however, the former science accepts that genes drive this result, while the latter has been slower to acknowledge the genetic basis for intergenerational transmission. Because genetics comprise a major component of the biosocial perspective of addiction and antisocial behavior, in this chapter we review the existing literature published on genes and addiction. We also highlight the avenues by which genetics give rise to addiction-related antisocial behavior.

  Understanding the genetic etiology of addiction and by extension, antisocial behavior, is important for several reasons. Perhaps the most important reason is that knowing the underlying causes of addiction allows us to target those causes for amelioration through policy, prevention, and treatment. Criminal justice practitioners and policymakers can benefit from knowledge of the genetics of addiction by treating their clients in a more scientifically informed and humane way. Despite the utility of this information, many people still hold erroneous views related to addiction. For example, some continue to see addiction as a character flaw, while others believe that recovery from addiction is as straightforward as putting one’s mind to becoming (and remaining) abstinent. These negative biases, among many others, become attenuated through sound scientific elucidation of the complex causes of addiction.

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  Biological Influences on Criminal Behavior

  • Gail Anderson(Author)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  40

  Despite criticisms, a multitude of studies using different data sets, birth cohorts, and methods have shown the same overall results—that criminogenic behavior is approximately 50% heritable.40 This plethora of studies from numerous different researchers, countries, and cultures shows that these results are robust. Perhaps more important than the actual number is that antisocial behavior has a large heritable component. It is important to remember that many traits are involved in antisocial behavior, and each trait is governed by a very large number of genes, each of which contributes a very small amount of variance to the whole. Moreover, these genes interact with each other and with the environment. Understanding the role of genetics and the environment in antisocial behavior allows us to develop a better understanding of potential protective factors.

  Protective factors

  Twin and adoption studies show us not only the role of genetics in behavior but, perhaps much more importantly, also the role of the environment and sometimes the interactive effects of the two. Understanding these factors can help us understand and develop appropriate intervention strategies in order to help at-risk youth. The cycle of violence is well known, in that offspring of criminal parents are more likely to exhibit high levels of antisocial and criminal behavior and are at much greater risk for arrest and conviction themselves. Many factors have been shown to play a role in this transgenerational transmission of criminal behavior, such as SES, parental stress, domestic abuse, parental education, and exposure to parental criminal behavior. Twin and adoption studies have shown that there are also a considerable number of genetic factors at play. However, environmental factors are also extremely important and give us greater insight into methods of intervention.

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