ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of some of the key findings to emerge from behavioural genetic and molecular genetic research, as well as how these findings may be integrated into crime prevention and reduction strategies. It highlights how behavioural genetic methodologies help to estimate both the genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behaviours. The chapter reviews some of the findings derived from molecular genetic research, which has identified a number of genetic polymorphisms that are correlated with antisocial behaviours. It illustrates the ways in which environmental factors may be conditioned by one’s genotype, a phenomenon known as gene–environment interactions. The main premise of gene–environment interactions is that the effect of the environment depends on genotype, and the effects of genotype depend on the environment. Gene–environment interactions highlight the complex relationships that exist between genetic predispositions and environmental factors and can help to explain why different people respond to the same environment in different ways.
