Watts Stephen J, McNulty Thomas L
University of Memphis, TN, USA
The University of Georgia, Athens, USA.
Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2016 Mar;60(4):469-91. doi: 10.1177/0306624X14553813. Epub 2014 Oct 16.
Self-control has been found to predict a wide variety of criminal behaviors. In addition, studies have consistently shown that parenting is an important influence on both self-control and offending. However, few studies have examined the role that biological factors may play in moderating the relationship between parenting, self-control, and offending. Using a sample of adolescent males drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 3,610), we explore whether variants of the monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA) and the dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene interact with parenting to affect self-control and offending. Results reveal that parenting interacts with these genes to influence self-control and offending, and that the parenting-by-gene interaction effect on offending is mediated by self-control. The effects of parenting on self-control and offending are most pronounced for those who carry plasticity alleles for both MAOA and DAT1. Thus, MAOA and DAT1 may be implicated in offending because they increase the negative effects of parenting on self-control. Implications for theory are discussed.
研究发现，自我控制能力能够预测多种犯罪行为。此外，研究一致表明，养育方式对自我控制能力和犯罪行为均有重要影响。然而，很少有研究探讨生物因素在调节养育方式、自我控制能力和犯罪行为之间的关系中可能发挥的作用。我们以从青少年健康全国纵向研究中抽取的青少年男性样本（N = 3610）为研究对象，探讨单胺氧化酶A基因（MAOA）和多巴胺转运体（DAT1）基因的变体是否与养育方式相互作用，进而影响自我控制能力和犯罪行为。研究结果表明，养育方式与这些基因相互作用，从而影响自我控制能力和犯罪行为，并且养育方式与基因的交互作用对犯罪行为的影响是通过自我控制能力来介导的。对于同时携带MAOA和DAT1可塑性等位基因的个体，养育方式对自我控制能力和犯罪行为的影响最为显著。因此，MAOA和DAT1可能与犯罪行为有关，因为它们会增强养育方式对自我控制能力的负面影响。本文还讨论了该研究对理论的启示。
