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Studies have consistently found a significant gap between Black and White students in various forms of school discipline. Few studies, however, have examined disciplinary differences between other racial and ethnic groups. Focusing on out-of-school suspensions, a punishment closely linked to the “school-to-prison pipeline,” we investigate the disparities between Hispanic, Asian, and White youth. Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class are used to control for contemporary socioeconomic variables, the context of the school environment, and the parent-reported behavior of the student. Through a series of logistic regression models, we found that White students were significantly more likely to be suspended than were Hispanics or Asians. However, while the disparity between Hispanics and Whites was eliminated after controlling for student misbehavior, the gap persisted between Asians and Whites. These results question the contention that systemic racial discrimination is a leading contributor to group differences in school discipline. Moreover, we add to a limited but growing literature showing Asian students are significantly less likely to experience school punishments including suspension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dark Triad is represented by three interrelated personality characteristics thought to share a “dark core”—that is, to be associated with a range of negative outcomes. We investigate this link alongside another potent predictor of crime, low self-control. Our analyses found the Dark Triad was strongly predictive of delinquency, especially violent delinquency, where it accounted for the effects of self-control. Yet it exerted no significant effect on drug-based delinquency. However, an interaction between the Dark Triad and low self-control remained substantive and predictive across all models, where low self-control amplified the effects of the Dark Triad on delinquency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low self-control has emerged as a ubiquitous predictor of a range of behaviors and life outcomes, including criminal and analogous behaviors. Evidence linking self-control to criminal conduct, moreover, has also emerged from several cross-cultural studies. While important, cross-cultural studies remain limited in number and in scope. Extending empirical investigations into the effects of self-control cross-culturally, we present findings from data collected from Saudi Arabian high school youth. Low self-control was a substantive predictor of self-reported delinquency, violent behavior (VB), victimization, and delinquent peer associations for males and females. The effects of low self-control were found to be substantive, general, and invariant across sex within a culture that practices sex segregation and one that embraces harsh punishments for violent conduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we describe how the ascendency of biosocial criminology challenges the “sacred values” of the discipline, values that have in the past elevated the professional ideology of criminologists over science. We argue that biosocial criminology can lead to a criminology this is rooted more in science and empirical observation than in ideology and that biosocial criminology can link criminology to a diverse array of other disciplines and research methodologies. The forces that would diminish or restrain biosocial criminology, however, cannot be discounted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criminologists have long debated whether the risk factors for criminal behavior differ for males and females. Previous studies have predominantly focused on whether environmental risk factors for criminal behavior vary by gender, with little to no investigation of the impact of genetic sex differences. That is, whether the same genetic risk factors are relevant to offending for males and females and whether genetic risk factors have a stronger effect on criminal behavior for one gender (versus the other). Using data from the Add Health (140 MZ males, 135 MZ females, 124 DZ males, 118 DZ females, and 186 DZ opposite-sex twin pairs), the results from the qualitative and quantitative sex difference analyses revealed that the same genetic factors are influencing criminal behaviors in males and females and that the magnitude of the genetic effects on criminal behavior does not differ across the sexes. The implications of these findings are discussed from a biosocial approach to the study of criminal behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral genetics research has revealed that approximately 25% of the variance in measures of the family environment, including parenting, is attributable to genetic factors. However, precisely which candidate genes are associated with the family environment is largely unknown. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by analyzing data drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Results provide some evidence that three genes of the dopaminergic system (Dopamine D2 receptor gene [DRD2], Dopamine D4 receptor gene [DRD4], and Dopamine transporter gene [DAT1]) are associated with variation in measures of maternal negativity, paternal negativity, and childhood maltreatment for Caucasian males. We speak to what these findings mean for criminological theory and research that focuses on family socialization as an important factor in the etiology of crime and related antisocial behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. There is growing recognition that antisocial behaviors are produced by a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Research has revealed that environmental and genetic factors work interactively and often moderate the effects of the other. Method. We test for gene–environment interactions in the current study by examining whether neighborhood disadvantage interacts with two dopamine receptor genes (DRD2 and DRD4) to predict three different antisocial measures: adolescent victimization, contact with delinquent peers, and involvement in violent delinquency. Results. Analysis of male respondents drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health revealed that the association between the two dopamine genes and the measures of antisocial outcomes tended to be stronger in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Conclusions. Antisocial outcomes appear to be affected by gene–environment interactions between dopaminergic genes and neighborhood disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research has shown that offenders, on average, are more likely to be violently victimized than nonoffenders. However, a substantial percentage of offenders are not violently victimized. The current study uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to investigate whether variants of a polymorphism in the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) distinguish between offenders who are violently victimized and offenders who are not violently victimized. The results show that offenders who are violently victimized are more likely to carry the DRD2 (A1) risk allele than offenders who have not been violently victimized. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Gender's role in self-control measures has been largely neglected. Although studies show that males have lower self-control than females, rarely have researchers questioned whether items used to measure self-control should be used for both groups. This study uses a Rasch rating scale analysis to assess item functioning of Grasmick et al.'s 24-item self-control scale for males and females. Using a sample of young adults, results indicate that 33% of the scale items showed differential functioning or item bias; that is, after controlling for self-control, females found one third of the items to be either more or less agreeable than males. Once biased items were removed from the scale, males, on average, still had lower self-control than females. In addition, after excluding biased items from the scale, the effect of self-control on criminal behavior and other outcomes was similar to the effect found with the full 24-item scale. Suggestions for future research on Grasmick et al.'s self-control scale are offered, and limitations of the current study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gottfredson and Hirschi's A General Theory of Crime, Moffitt's developmental taxonomy theory, and Caspi et al.'s Gene x Environment study are three of the most influential pieces of contemporary criminological scholarship. Even so, there has been little attempt to integrate and empirically assess these three perspectives simultaneously. This article addresses this gap in the literature by analyzing phenotypic and genotypic data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The results revealed that all three perspectives have considerable empirical support, where neuropsychological deficits interact with the MAOA genotype to predict adolescent delinquency and levels of self-control for White males. The theoretical implications of the findings are noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognition of the interplay between nature and nurture is decades old in fields such as psychiatry, but other fields in the social sciences continue to be hampered by the idea that social and biological variables compete for explanatory relevance. In a recent study of the adolescent brain and risk taking, Males critiqued biologically oriented approaches as "biodeterminist" compared to environmentally friendly approaches. Here the authors suggest that the use of biological and social variables, or nature and nurture, is not only uncontroversial but also essential for understanding psychopathology, externalizing, and antisocial behaviors. Moreover, biosocial scientific inquiry has led to progressive state policy in the case of Roper v. Simmons, precisely the opposite outcome that critics of biologically friendly research often claim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criminology has historically maligned biological perspectives despite the scientific rigor of the biological sciences. In recent years, however, a growing number of criminologists are incorporating biological, neurological, genetic, and neuropsychological constructs along with environmental measures into their research. This review explores the relevance of biosocial criminology to the parent discipline of criminology by focusing on its scientific discovery, advanced methodologies, increased theoretical specificity, acknowledgement and illumination of individual differences, and promise of effective policy based on knowledge of human development. In sum, biosocial criminology is a potential fruitful paradigm shift in the scientific study of crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A range of Gene × Environment interactions is associated with antisocial phenotypes, and the evidence is clear that the etiology of antisocial behavior is strongly heritable and that environmental liabilities are important. However, the precise ways that genetic and environmental pathogens interact to predict antisocial behavior are underspecified. The present study shows that the interaction between a polymorphism in a dopamine receptor gene (DRD2) and a criminal father predicts five antisocial phenotypes among African American females (n = 232) in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Genetic risk (as measured by the A1 allele) and a criminal father interacted to predict serious and violent delinquency at Wave 1, serious and violent delinquency at Wave 2, and number of police contacts. The current investigation represents the first study to show Gene × Environment interactions in the prediction of antisocial phenotypes using criminal justice system status as an environmental pathogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of serious, violent, and chronic offenders is a primary research area in criminology; however, its genetic underpinnings are relatively unknown. Based on genetically sensitive data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this study empirically explored the genetic antecedents of chronic and dangerous criminal behavior. Controlling for age, gender, cognitive ability, and self-control, the models yielded some significant effects for the genetic polymorphisms dopamine transporter (DAT1) and serotonin transporter (5HTT), and these effects were conditioned by the delinquent peer network within which adolescents were situated-thereby suggesting a significant Gene × Environment interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the Cincinnati Lead Study, this study examines the effects of postnatal blood lead concentrations in early childhood (78 months) on adult psychopathy and six subscales of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory. Results reveal that higher blood lead concentrations in early childhood are associated with higher levels of psychopathic symptoms in adulthood, controlling for the effects of gender, race, mother's IQ, child's intellectual achievement, and the quality of the home environment. Childhood lead levels predicted variation in Machiavellian Egocentricity, Social Potency, Impulsive Nonconformity, and Blame Externalization. Overall, these results implicate lead exposure in the etiology of psychopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral genetic research has revealed that biogenic factors play a role in the development of antisocial behaviors. Much of this research has also explicated the way in which the environment and genes may combine to create different phenotypes. The authors draw heavily from this literature and use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine genetic and environmental effects on adolescent delinquent involvement. The results of the multivariate models reveal that genetic factors have a direct effect on youthful misconduct. Most important, however, is that genetic factors interact with delinquent peers and with low self-control to predict variation in delinquency. Analysis of the Add Health data also provide evidence suggesting that there is a shared genetic pathway to delinquent involvement, to antisocial peer group formation, and to the development of low self-control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored early childhood manifestations of self-control in a nationally representative cohort of kindergarten children. Finite mixture modeling was used to identify five latent classes of children based on parent and teacher reports of self control across three waves of data. These were a low impairment, teacher report (n = 5,047, 29.3%), low impairment, parent and teacher report (n = 2,889, 16.8%), moderate impairment, teacher report (n = 5,267, 30.6%), moderate impairment, parent report (n = 2,415, 14.0%), and severely impaired subgroups (n = 1,594, 9.3%). Parental stress, externalizing behaviors, and interpersonal skills deficits were important differentiators across class memberships. The severely impaired subgroup possessed an array of neurocognitive deficits, behavioral problems, and learning difficulties relative to other classes. To forestall life-course problem behaviors for impaired children appropriate screening and intervention is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a difference scores approach, this study examines the effects of sibling differences in experiences both within and outside the home on differences in externalizing problem behavior. The results suggest that differences in parental monitoring, sibling interaction, and delinquent peer association are significantly related to sibling differences in externalizing behavior. These effects, however, appear to differ based on the sex composition of the sibling pair. Differential sibling interaction was most consistently related to differences in externalizing behavior. Differential peer association and differential parental monitoring were only significantly related to sibling differences in externalizing behavior for sister pairs and mixed-sex pairs, respectively. The importance of considering nonshared environmental influences in explaining sibling differences in behavior is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A large body of research has revealed that aggressive personality traits and violent criminal behaviors are influenced by genetic factors. Surprisingly, however, no research has been devoted to investigating the potential genetic origins to adolescent victimization. In the current study, the authors address this gap in the literature by using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine whether different variants of the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) are related to victimization, net of the effects of environmental measures. The results of the multivariate models revealed a significant gene X environment interaction in the creation of victimization for White males. Specifically, DRD2 interacted with delinquent peers to predict victimization. The authors discuss the implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most dominant theories of crime and criminality underscore the saliency of the family in the etiology of offending behaviors. Recently, a small pool of research has suggested that elements of the family, especially parents, do not have a lasting impact on children. This line of inquiry argues that once the effects that the child has on the family are taken into account, the relationship between family factors and child outcomes will be reduced substantially. The authors use data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development to test the reciprocal effects between the family and the child. The results of their structural equation models reveal that global measures of family risk have a very limited effect on adolescent involvement in an antisocial lifestyle. However, adolescent embeddedness in an antisocial lifestyle negatively affects family functioning. The authors speak of the implications of their findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990), levels of self-control are determined by parental management techniques, not by biological and genetic influences. Recent behavioral genetic and neuroscientific research challenges this view and reveals that biogenic factors are largely responsible for the development of self-control. The current article builds off this body of literature and argues that Gottfredson and Hirschi's parental socialization thesis should be reformulated to recognize that self-control is just one part of a larger constellation of executive functions that are modulated by the prefrontal cortex of the brain. Using a sample of about 3,000 children, this reformulated thesis was tested by examining whether neuropsychological deficits are predictive of parental and teacher reports of the child's level of self-control. Results revealed that measures of neuropsychological deficits were associated with variability in childhood self-control. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

At the heart of the gender-specificity debate is the argument that gender-neutral theories cannot adequately explain female delinquency. Instead, it has been asserted that theories should incorporate risk factors that capture females' unique experiences. In this context, the current study uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health to address the generality-specificity debate. The analysis includes variables not only from traditional criminological theories and the newer life-course approach but also from the feminist perspective. Results from multivariate analyses show that although there are some similarities in the predictors of male and female delinquency, differences also emerged. Variables measuring general strain and involvement are stronger predictors for males, whereas only attachment to school is stronger for females. One feminist theory variable and one life-course variable exhibit stronger effects in the models for females. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are also addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory has generated an abundance of research examining the effects of low self-control on crime and analogous behaviors. Less research, however, has focused on the factors that contribute to the development of low self-control. Gottfredson and Hirschi maintain that ineffective parents are the sole cause for the emergence of low self-control. At the same time, they disregard the possibility that low self-control has a biological or genetic component. This article extends prior research and examines the effects of birth complications and parental involvement on low self-control. Using a sample of twin children, the authors find that parental involvement is only weakly and inconsistently related to low self-control. On the other hand, although most of the birth complications had no appreciable effect on low self-control, anoxia (oxygen starvation) emerged as the strongest and most consistent predictor of low self-control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we examine the influence of pubertal development on misbehavior, as well as examine a series of Gene × Environment Interactions. Specifically, we examine whether the onset of puberty interacts with preexisting temperamental differences and whether puberty influences peer groups selection. The data for this study come from the public-use version of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally representative sample of 6,504 adolescents. The results show that pubertal development is a robust predictor of misbehavior (especially for boys) and that puberty interacts with individual differences and with peer group affiliation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Prior research demonstrates that military service disconnects men from past social and personal disadvantages and thus potentially alters normal life-course patterns of development. Much of this research, however, has been conducted only with World War II veterans. Relatively few studies have examined the influence of military service in Vietnam and its impact on altering individual trajectories of development. Through latent growth curve models, the authors examine the impact of military service in Vietnam on drug use and arrests across the life-course. Longitudinal data collected by the Marion County Youth study (1964-1979) were used to track a sample of men over a 15-year period. Analyses of these data revealed substantial nonrandom selection effects associated with service in Vietnam. Lower-class youths with already established delinquent patterns were significantly more likely to have served in Vietnam. It also appears, however, that service in Vietnam significantly increased individual drug use and, hence, offending rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on extensive field research, Elijah Anderson argues that the behavior of many youths is influenced by a street culture or “code” that prescribes violent reactions to interpersonal attacks and shows of disrespect. Although Anderson’s account has been well received by the criminological community, questions remain about the validity and generality of his findings. To address these issues, the authors review other (mostly quantitative) studies of youth violence and consider whether the findings of these studies are consistent with Anderson’s account. The authors also conduct analyses to determine whether Anderson’s observations can help to extend the existing body of quantitative research and, hence, further our understanding of youth violence. Overall, the results of this assessment suggest that Anderson’s observations provide valuable insight into the general problem of youth violence and that future research in this area would benefit from greater attention to the social processes he has served to highlight. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Suggests that social support may serve as a public idea that can help organize a progressive approach to crime control. Reasons behind behind this assertion; Policy proposals.

Examines the public support given to early intervention programs as a strategy to reduce crime based on a 1997 survey of Tennessee respondents. Overview of related studies; Methodology of the study; Criticisms on the method; Reasons for classifying the method as a progressive policy agenda.

Investigates the relationship between labor market participation and delinquency among students. Delinquency measure; Work intensity; Other independent variables; High-risk youths; Impact of adolescent work intensity on delinquency status; Effects of working by risk and gender.

In both public and scholarly circles, it often is assumed that employ ment is beneficial to the development of adolescents. To assess this claim, we explored the relationship of working to delinquency among a sample of youths, drawn from the National Youth Survey, who were in school and between the ages of 12 and 19. The analysis revealed that work conditions, especially the number of hours employed, were posi tively associated with delinquent involvement. We argue that these results are consistent with a critical criminological perspective, which would see juvenile employment within its structural context and be sen sitive to how the needs of youths are not served in the prevailing labor market. Accordingly, we caution against a policy agenda that views employment as a panacea for delinquency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]