NCJ Number
222616
Journal
Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: 2008 Pages: 59-74
Date Published
2008
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study identified biological and social factors linked to adolescents who had not engaged in any delinquent behavior "abstainers."
Abstract
The study found that delinquency abstainers and nonabstainers differed on a number of variables. Abstainers, both males and females, reported having less contact with drug-using peers than nonabstainers. In addition, abstainers also had higher levels of self-control. Both DRD2 and DRD4 DNA alleles (genetic factors) were significantly associated with male abstainers compared with nonabstainers; however, these genetic factors failed to reach statistical significance for females. This finding confirms previous research that suggests males and females have a different set of factors related to the presence or absence of delinquent behavior. The dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) is a polymorphism that consists of two alleles (A1 and A2 alleles). Genetic research has shown that the A1 allele is a risk factor linked to a number of behavioral and psychiatric disorders. In addition, research has indicated that the seven-repeat dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) is associated with the development of certain antisocial behaviors. The authors note that the social factors (self-control and lack of association with drug-using peers) may not stem only from nongenetic influences, since prior research has suggested that self-control and the disposition to associate with delinquent and nondelinquent peers may be related in some measure to genetic factors. The authors recommend that research on delinquent behavior include a multifactorial arrangement of psychological, environmental, and genetic factors, since all play a role in the level and perhaps type of delinquent behavior. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used to determine delinquency and sociodemographic variables. A subsample of respondents (n=2,574) was genotyped for certain genetic polymorphisms related to the synthesis of neurotransmitters. 2 tables and 50 references