School-Level Moderators of Genetic Influences on Antisocial Behaviors

162 Pages·2015·0.74 MB·English

by  Brian Benjamin Boutwell

Florida State University Libraries
Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School
2010
School-Level Moderators of Genetic
Influences on Antisocial Behaviors
Brian B. Boutwell
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THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

SCHOOL-LEVEL MODERATORS OF GENETIC INFLUENCES ON ANTISOCIAL

BEHAVIORS

By

BRIAN B. BOUTWELL

A Dissertation submitted to the
College of Criminology and Criminal Justice
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Awarded:
Summer Semester, 2010

Copyright © 2010
Brian Boutwell
All Rights Reserved
The members of the committee approve the dissertation of Brian Boutwell, defended on June 4,
2010.

__________________________________
Kevin M. Beaver
Professor Directing Dissertation

__________________________________
Lisa Eckel
University Representative

__________________________________
Eric A. Stewart
Committee Member

Approved:
__________________________
Thomas G. Blomberg
Dean, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice
The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members.
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I dedicate this dissertation to my family. Without their constant encouragement and support I
never would have reached this point.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are a number of individuals who contributed tremendously to the completion of
this dissertation. First, and foremost, Dr. Kevin Beaver has been a mentor, an advisor, a
confidant, and a friend throughout my time in graduate school. Dr. Beaver is the most
outstanding scholar that I know, and it has been a privilege to be his student. These few words
are woefully insufficient to express my gratitude for the countless hours that Dr. Beaver has
invested in helping me to reach this point in my academic career. His patient instruction and
constructive critiques have been invaluable during my time as a student. I am forever indebted
to him for his unwavering support and encouragement. It is an honor to have him as the chair of
this dissertation, and a true pleasure to count him as a colleague and friend.
I wish to also sincerely thank the members of my dissertation committee for the generous
donation of their time and scholarly advice during this process. Dr. Eric Stewart has been a
tremendous help in all phases of the dissertation process. Dr. Stewart is a scholar of the highest
quality, and his comments and suggestions have been invaluable. Dr. Lisa Eckel generously
agreed to serve on this committee and contributed numerous insightful comments and
suggestions that markedly increased the quality of this dissertation. I am truly thankful to my
committee as a whole for the donation of their time and efforts during the entire dissertation
process. It was a pleasure to work with all of them.
During the course of my studies I have had the pleasure of working with, and getting to
know, a number of outstanding scholars. Each of these individuals has played a critical role in
helping to shape my academic career to this point. I sincerely wish to thank Dr. John Paul
Wright, Professor Daniel Maier-Katkin, Dr. Jamie Vaske, and Dr. Christina Mancini. I would
also be remiss not to thank a number of individuals who have encouraged me during my time in
graduate school. J.C. Barnes, Marie Ratchford, Ryan Shields, Elizabeth Stupi, and Daniel Ragan
formed a support system that has been priceless during the peaks and valleys of graduate school.
It is a distinct pleasure to count them all as friends and colleagues, and I look forward to
continued collaboration in the future.
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Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank my family. My father and mother, Billy
and Wanda Boutwell, and my brother Brett are without question the most important people in my
life. Without their support, I simply would not have gotten to this point in my career. My parents
have encouraged me, prayed for me, and were always there to listen patiently to my problems. I
owe them a debt of gratitude that I can never fully repay. Ideally, each of their names would
accompany mine on this dissertation, because it is just as much their accomplishment as it is my
own. I cannot thank them enough.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES …………………………………………………………… .. ix
ABSTRACT………………. ................................................................................ x
CHAPTER 1: Introduction .................................................................................. 1
The Nature-Nurture Debate in Criminology ......................................... 2
Settling the Debate ................................................................................ 5
Statement of the Problem ...................................................................... 4
Conclusion ............................................................................................ 6
CHAPTER 2: Behavioral Genetics ...................................................................... 8
Introduction ........................................................................................... 8
What is a Gene ...................................................................................... 9
The Structure of DNA ........................................................................... 10
Synthesizing Proteins ............................................................................ 11
Structural and Functional Proteins ........................................................ 12
Introduction to the Concepts of Behavioral Genetics ........................... 12
The Limitations of Standard Social Science Methodologies ................ 15
Twin Based Research ............................................................................ 16
Decomposing Phenotypic Variance ...................................................... 17
The Assumptions of Twin Based Research .......................................... 19
Adoption Based Studies ........................................................................ 22
The Assumptions of Adoption Based Research .................................... 22
Empirical Evidence from Twin and Adoption Studies ......................... 24
Introduction to Molecular Genetics ...................................................... 27
Genetic Variation .................................................................................. 27
Genetic Variation and Phenotypic Variation ........................................ 30
Neurotransmitters, Molecular Genetics, and Antisocial Behavior ....... 31
Nature and Nurture: Gene-Environment Interplay ............................... 35
Gene-Environment Correlations ........................................................... 35
Empirical Evidence of rGEs ................................................................. 37
Molecular Genetics Studies of rGEs ..................................................... 40
Epigenetics ............................................................................................ 41
Empirical Evidence of Epigenetic Effects ............................................ 43
Gene-Environment Interactions ............................................................ 45
Empirical Evidence of GxEs ................................................................. 47
Empirical Evidence of AxEs ................................................................. 50
Conclusion ............................................................................................ 53
CHAPTER 3: The Intersection of Schools, Genes, and Antisocial Behavior ..... 55
Introduction ........................................................................................... 55
Condition 1: Heterogeneous Effects of Schools on Behavior .............. 57
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Summary ............................................................................................... 66
Condition 2: Causal Associations ......................................................... 67
Summary ............................................................................................... 71
Condition 3: Biological Plausibility ..................................................... 71
Summary ............................................................................................... 73
Conclusion ............................................................................................ 73
CHAPTER 4: Methods ........................................................................................ 76
The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health ....................... 76
Add Health Sampling Procedure .......................................................... 76
Wave I In-School Interview .................................................................. 77
Wave I School Administrator Interviews ............................................. 77
Wave I In-Home Interview ................................................................... 78
Wave II In-Home Interview .................................................................. 79
Wave III In-Home Interview ................................................................ 79
Add Health Sibling Subsample ............................................................. 80
Measures ............................................................................................... 80
Low Self-Control .................................................................................. 80
Serious Delinquency ............................................................................. 82
Violent Delinquency ............................................................................. 82
Victimization......................................................................................... 83
Polydrug Use ......................................................................................... 83
Alcohol Abuse ...................................................................................... 84
Cigarette Smoking ................................................................................ 85
Sexual Risk Perceptions ........................................................................ 85
School Disadvantage ............................................................................. 86
School Discipline .................................................................................. 87
School Quality ...................................................................................... 87
School Programming ............................................................................ 88
Analytic Strategy .................................................................................. 88
Plan of Analysis .................................................................................... 91
Research Question 1 ............................................................................. 91
Research Question 2 ............................................................................. 91
Research Question 3 ............................................................................. 92
Research Question 4 ............................................................................. 92
Research Question 5 ............................................................................. 92
CHAPTER 5: Results .......................................................................................... 94
Research Question 1 ............................................................................. 94
Summary of Findings for Research Question 1 .................................... 96
Research Question 2 ............................................................................. 97
Summary of Findings for Research Question 2 .................................... 98
Research Question 3 ............................................................................. 99
Summary of Findings for Research Question 3 .................................... 101
Research Question 4 ............................................................................. 101
Summary of Findings for Research Question 4 .................................... 103
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Research Question 5 ............................................................................. 104
Summary of Findings for Research Question 5 .................................... 105
Summary ............................................................................................... 105
CHAPTER 6: Discussion ..................................................................................... 107
Summary of Research Findings ............................................................ 107
Limitations ............................................................................................ 110
Implications for Criminology ............................................................... 113
Conclusion ............................................................................................ 115
APPENDIX ................................................................................................ 126

REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 131

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ............................................................................... 151

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Extended DF Analysis to Test for Gene x Environment Interactions with School
Quality ............................................................................................................. 117

Table 2 Extended DF Analysis to Test for Gene x Environment Interactions with School
Discipline ........................................................................................................ 118

Table 3 Extended DF Analysis to Test for Gene x Environment Interactions with School
Disadvantage ................................................................................................... 119

Table 4.1 Extended DF Analysis to Test for Gene x Environment Interactions with School
Programming ................................................................................................... 120

Table 4.2 Extended DF Analysis to Test for Gene x Environment Interactions with School
Programming ................................................................................................... 122

Table 5 Heritabilities of Antisocial Behavior for School-Level Cut-Off Values ......... 124

Table 6 Summary of Findings....................................................................................... 125

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