Genetic and environmental explanations of juvenile violence in advantaged and disadvantaged environments

Abstract

This study tests the proposition derived from behavioral genetic theory that genetics and environmental variables have different effects across different environments. I examine the effects of intellectual imbalance [performance IQ (P) significantly greater than verbal IQ (V)] a variable assumed to be heritable to some extent, and love deprivation, a composite variable consisting of various indices of parental abuse and neglect, on violent delinquency within different socioeconomic status (SES) environments. The findings are consistent with behavioral genetic theory, in that love deprivation could not explain any unique variance in violent delinquency after P > V explained all that it could in the advantaged environment (49.5%), and P > V could not explain any unique variance in the disadvantaged environment after love deprivation explained all that it could (28.8%). It was also found that love deprivation explains a highly significant 30.5% of the variance in P > V among SES‐disadvantaged subjects, thus supporting those who posit that environmental disadvantages contribute significantly to intellectual imbalance. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Do the Predictors of Child Conduct Problems Vary by High- and Low-Levels of Socioeconomic and Neighborhood Risk?

“…Many of the studies included in this review used arbitrary cut-offs to define high-and low-levels of SN risk (Coley & Hoffman, 1996;Dornbusch et al, 2001;Walsh, 1992), such as classifying youth with risk scores above the sample median as high risk, and the reverse for youth with risk scores below the sample median (Brody et al, 2003). This approach is problematic because it may not result in groups of youth from qualitatively different environment types.…”

“…The following individual risk factors were investigated in only one study: academic achievement (Beyers et al, 2001), stressful life events (Hoffman, 2003), and the difference between Verbal and Performance IQ (Walsh, 1992). Of these risk factors, only the difference between Verbal and Performance IQ was found to interact with SN risk.…”

Adolescent maltreatment, negative emotion, and delinquency: An assessment of general strain theory and family-based strain

“…Notes 1. The type of abuse leading to delinquency may be physical (Brown, 1984;Gross & Keller, 1992;Kaufman & Zigler, 1987;Kempe et al, 1962;Van Voorhis et al, 1988;Walsh, 1992;Widom, 1989b), psychological/emotional (Cernkovich & Giordano, 1987;Johnson, 1979;McCord, 1983;Wadsworth, 1976;Walsh & Petee, 1987), or both (Abrams, 1981;Agnew, 1985Agnew, , 1989Brezina, 1996Brezina, , 1998Glueck & Glueck, 1950;Kaufman & Zigler, 1987;Kempe et al, 1962;Morrow & Sorrell, 1989;Piquero & Sealock, 2000;Simons, Robertson, & Downs, 1989;Strauss, 1991Strauss, , 1994Strauss & Donnelly, 1993;Vissing et al, 1991;Zingraff et al, 1993).…”

“…Although there is substantial evidence linking maltreatment to delinquency (see Loeber & Stouthamer-Loeber, 1986 for a review of the literature up to 1986; see also Brezina, 1998;Gross & Keller, 1992;Heck & Walsh, 2000;Vissing, Strauss, Gelles, & Harrop, 1991;Walsh, 1992), several scholars have questioned the maltreatment-delinquency relationship and intensified skepticism of empirical findings. Critics argue that studies of the relationship between maltreatment and delinquency have been hindered by a failure to employ adequate controls, particularly with respect to family structure (Doerner, 1987;Schwartz, Rendon, & Hsieh, 1994;Widom, 1989a;Zingraff et al, 1993).…”

Mothers as a Resource in Times of Stress: Interactive Contributions of Socialization of Coping and Stress to Youth Psychopathology

“…This model would predict stronger risk effects for maladaptive coping suggestions and stronger protective effects for adaptive coping suggestions. Empirical support for the amplification of risk effects for negative parenting (e.g., harsh parenting, low involvement) has been established in the context of chronic stressors, such as economic or neighborhood disadvantage (Brody et al, 2003; Plybon & Kliewer, 2001; Shek, 2002; Walsh, 1992) and parent divorce (Pettit, Bates & Dodge, 1997), as well as temporary stressors, such as difficult homework assignments (Pomerantz, Wang & Ng, 2005a). Empirical support for the amplification of protective effects for positive parenting (e.g., inductive reasoning, supportiveness, authoritativeness, monitoring) has been established primarily in the context of heightened neighborhood disadvantage (Beyers, Bates, Petit, & Dodge, 2003; Dearing, 2004; Meyers & Miller, 2004; Natsuaki et al, 2007).…”