NCJ Number
140724
Journal
Aggressive Behavior Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: (1992) Pages: 187-200
Date Published
1992
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Basic behavioral genetic theory, which posits that genetic and environmental variables have different effects across different environments, is tested by examining the effects of intellectual imbalance, a genetic trait, and love deprivation, measured through indices of parental abuse and neglect, on juvenile delinquency in different socioeconomic environments.
Abstract
Data was collected on 388 white juvenile delinquents processed through an Idaho juvenile probation department in the mid-1980's. These findings support the contention that trait heritability is high in advantaged environments and low in disadvantaged environments in terms of the performance (P) > verbal (V) intellectual imbalance profile. Within the disadvantaged group, love deprivation accounted for more than four times the variance in P > V than it did in the advantaged environment. In higher socioeconomic environments, where resistance to crime is stronger, individual differences in physiology and neurology had a greater impact on antisocial behavior than environmental factors. In the disadvantaged group, negative influences in the environment overwhelmed variance in individual differences in accounting for antisocial behavior. The study demonstrated that intellectual imbalance and love deprivation have an interactive effect on juvenile delinquency across socioeconomic levels. 5 tables and 59 references