The Association Between Genetic Risk and Contact With the Criminal Justice System in a Sample of Hispanics

Abstract

A considerable amount of research has examined the genetic correlates to a wide array of antisocial behaviors. The results culled from this line of research have revealed that genes of the dopaminergic system are associated with criminal and delinquent involvement. Whether these associations would be detected with samples of various racial/ethnic origins remains to be determined. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the association between genetic risk (as measured by dopaminergic genes) and contact with the criminal justice system in a sample of Hispanics. Analyses of data drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health revealed that genetic risk was related to the odds of being arrested, being sentenced to probation, being incarcerated, and being arrested multiple times. Limitations of the study are discussed and avenues for future research are explored.

Aggression and polymorphisms in AR, DAT1, DRD2 and COMT genes in Datoga pastoralists of Tanzania

“…As mentioned above, previous findings regarding the association between genes and particular behavioural traits are highly contradictory3637. One possible reason for these disparities may be rooted in environmental factors38, and the present data together with our data on the Hadza42 illustrate a situation favouring this suggestion. Additionally, particular polymorphic loci may account for a relatively small proportion of phenotypic variance, and these effects may not be significant in relatively small samples of individuals with different socialisation experiences.…”

“…One possible solution for this situation is to obtain a very large sample; another possibility is the generation of biologically founded multilocus genetic profiles reflecting the cumulative effects of multiple polymorphic loci of known functionality on a specific behaviour49. In accord with this approach, Beaver and Chavian created the Genetic Risk Index for criminal involvement in Hispanics based on three dopaminergic gene polymorphisms and demonstrated its effectiveness38. Other authors proposed the construction of a multilocus genetic profile score based on five functional polymorphic loci for dopamine signalling and reported that it accounted for 10.9% of the inter-individual variability in reward-related VS reactivity50.…”

“…One of the general explanations for this difficulty is that “there are few, if any, loci with large effect size, and it is becoming increasingly obvious that it will be necessary to consider the impact of genes, not in isolation, but as part of a multifactorial miasma including both other genetic factors and the environment”9. Because most studies are based on clinical samples or samples that are not nationally representative and each sample is likely differentially exposed to particular environmental conditions, certain genes may only have effects when they are paired with certain environments38. Another possible reason for the lack of reproducibility in this arena is population stratification.…”

“…Another possible reason for the lack of reproducibility in this arena is population stratification. Indeed, the allelic frequencies of some genes vary significantly across different racial/ethnic categories39, and genetic effects may vary across racial/ethnic groups because of (a) differences in allelic distributions and (b) differences in exposure to environmental risk factors38.…”

On the Heritability of Criminal Justice Processing

“…This was not the intent of prior research (Beaver, 2011). Fourth, and finally, prior researchers examining the role of genetic factors in CJ processing have examined the impact of measured genes (Beaver & Chaviano, 2011;. Researchers have become increasingly aware, however, that candidate gene research has some inherent limitations (Chabris, Lee, Cesarini, Benjamin, & Laibson, 2015;Dick et al, 2015).…”