Are there sex differences in the etiology of youth antisocial behavior?

ABSTRACT: Sex differences in the etiology of youth antisocial behavior are an intuitively appealing hypothesis given the consistently higher prevalence of antisocial behavior in boys versus girls. Although a few early studies supported this possibility, reporting stronger genetic influences in females and stronger environmental influences in males, subsequent meta-analyses found that antisocial behavior was equally heritable in males and females. Critically however, none of the meta-analyses evaluated whether sex differences in etiology might be enhanced in particular subpopulations or contexts. The current study sought to do just this. We examined 1,030 child twin pairs from the Michigan State University Twin Registry, half of whom were oversampled for neighborhood disadvantage, thereby allowing us

SUBMITTER: Burt SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5788285 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature