Differential genetic and environmental influences on developmental trajectories of antisocial behavior from adolescence to young adulthood

Little research has investigated differential genetic and environmental influences on different developmental trajectories of antisocial behavior. This study examined genetic and environmental influences on liabilities of being in life-course-persistent (LCP) and adolescent-limited (AL) type delinquent groups from adolescence to young adulthood while considering nonviolent and violent delinquency subtypes and gender differences. A genetically informative sample (n = 356, 15-16 years) from the first three waves of In-Home Interview of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health was used, with 94 monozygotic and 84 dizygotic pairs of same-sex twins (50% male). Biometric liability threshold models were fit and found that the male-specific LCP type class, chronic, showed more genetic influences, while the AL type classes, decliner and desister, showed more environmental influences. Genetic liability and shared environment both influence the persistence of antisocial behavior. The development of female antisocial behavior appears to be influenced more by shared environment.