The interaction between genetic risk and childhood sexual abuse in the prediction of adolescent violent behavior

Abstract

A rich line of empirical research has indicated that antisocial behaviors are the result of genetic factors and environmental factors working interactively. The current study uses this knowledge base as a springboard to examine the effects of childhood sexual abuse and genetic risk in the prediction of adolescent violent delinquency. To address this issue, data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were analyzed. The results of the analyses reveal that childhood sexual abuse interacts with genetic risk to predict involvement in violent delinquency for males. The effects of childhood sexual abuse and genetic risk as well as the interaction between the two are unrelated to violent delinquency for females. Implications of the study are discussed.