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Genetic and environmental explanations of juvenile violence in advantaged and disadvantaged environments
Author(s) -
Walsh Anthony
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
aggressive behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.223
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1098-2337
pISSN - 0096-140X
DOI - 10.1002/1098-2337(1992)18:3<187::aid-ab2480180303>3.0.co;2-x
Subject(s) - disadvantaged , juvenile delinquency , behavioural genetics , psychology , neglect , socioeconomic status , developmental psychology , poison control , variance (accounting) , injury prevention , human factors and ergonomics , nature versus nurture , demography , population , genetics , biology , sociology , environmental health , medicine , economics , psychiatry , accounting , economic growth
This study tests the proposition derived from behavioral genetic theory that genetics and environmental variables have different effects across different environments. I examine the effects of intellectual imbalance [performance IQ (P) significantly greater than verbal IQ (V)] a variable assumed to be heritable to some extent, and love deprivation, a composite variable consisting of various indices of parental abuse and neglect, on violent delinquency within different socioeconomic status (SES) environments. The findings are consistent with behavioral genetic theory, in that love deprivation could not explain any unique variance in violent delinquency after P > V explained all that it could in the advantaged environment (49.5%), and P > V could not explain any unique variance in the disadvantaged environment after love deprivation explained all that it could (28.8%). It was also found that love deprivation explains a highly significant 30.5% of the variance in P > V among SES‐disadvantaged subjects, thus supporting those who posit that environmental disadvantages contribute significantly to intellectual imbalance. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.