ABSTRACT
Antisocial behaviour carries a heavy cost to individuals and to society. As young adults, individuals who engage in antisocial behaviour are at risk for truncated educational attainment, persistent unemployment, incarceration, relationship conflict, physical health problems, and teen pregnancy and parenthood (e.g., Fergusson, Horwood, & Ridder, 2005; Jaffee, 2002; Maughan & Rutter, 2001; Moffitt, Caspi, Harrington, & Milne, 2002). Society members also pay for antisocial behaviour, both as victims and as taxpayers, in quantities that amount to billions of dollars per year (Welsh, 2003). Thus, antisocial behaviour is a significant public health concern. Even more concerning is the possibility that antisocial behaviour is transmitted across successive generations in a “cycle of violence” that clinicians and policy makers have found difficult to break. The goal of this chapter is to review the evidence on the familiality of antisocial behaviour, describe mechanisms by which risk for antisocial behaviour is transmitted from parents to children, and point to new directions for research that may inform efforts to prevent the emergence of antisocial behaviour.
