College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1127, USA.
Compr Psychiatry. 2010 Mar-Apr;51(2):130-4. doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2009.03.010. Epub 2009 May 5.
A functional polymorphism in the promoter region of the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene has been found to be associated with a broad range of antisocial phenotypes, including physical violence. At the same time, it is well known that gang members represent some of the most serious violent offenders. Even so, no research has ever examined the association between MAOA and gang membership.
The aim of this study is to examine the association between MAOA and gang membership and between MAOA and weapon use.
We examined the effects of MAOA by using a molecular genetic association research design.
A nonclinical sample was used in this study.
Participants were drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (1155 females, 1041 males).
The outcome measures of this study are gang membership and weapon use.
The low MAOA activity alleles conferred an increased risk of joining a gang and using a weapon in a fight for males but not for females. Moreover, among male gang members, those who used weapons in a fight were more likely to have a low MAOA activity allele when compared with male gang members who do not use weapons in a fight.
Male carriers of low MAOA activity alleles are at risk for becoming a gang member and, once a gang member, are at risk for using weapons in a fight.
单胺氧化酶 A（MAOA）基因启动子区域的一个功能多态性与广泛的反社会表型有关，包括身体暴力。与此同时，众所周知，帮派成员是一些最严重的暴力罪犯。即便如此，尚无研究探讨 MAOA 与帮派成员身份之间的关联。
本研究旨在检验 MAOA 与帮派成员身份以及 MAOA 与武器使用之间的关联。
我们使用分子遗传关联研究设计来检验 MAOA 的影响。
本研究使用了非临床样本。
参与者来自国家青少年健康纵向研究（1155 名女性，1041 名男性）。
本研究的观察指标是帮派成员身份和武器使用。
低 MAOA 活性等位基因使男性而非女性更有可能加入帮派和在打架中使用武器。此外，与不使用武器打架的男性帮派成员相比，在打架中使用武器的男性帮派成员更有可能携带低 MAOA 活性等位基因。
携带低 MAOA 活性等位基因的男性更有可能成为帮派成员，一旦成为帮派成员，他们在打架中使用武器的风险就会增加。
