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Genetic cross-relationships between criminal behavior and severe alcohol-related problems

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Content GENETIC CROSS-RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR
AND SEVERE ALCOHOL-RELATED PROBLEMS
Copyright 1998
By
Jasmine Arianna Tehrani
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In partial fulfillment o f the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY)
DECEM BER 1998
Jasmine Arianna Tehrani
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UNIVERSITY O r S O U T H E R N CALIFORNIA
THE GRADUATE S CHO O L
UNIV ERSITY PARK
LOS A N G ELES, C A LIFO R N IA 9 0 0 0 7
This thesis, written by
Jasmine A. Tehrani
under the direction of Ajer Thesis Com mittee,
and approved by all its members, has been pre
sented to and accepted by the Dean of The
Graduate School, in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
M . A . . . C1 inical„P£Y^£L?SX ....
n , 9/25/98
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Table o f Contents
Genetic Transmission o f Criminal Behavior
Family Studies
Twin Studies
Adoption Studies
Genetic Contribution to Alcoholism
Family Studies
Twin Studies
Adoption Studies
Genetic Cross-Relationships Between
Criminal Behavior and Alcoholism
Family Studies
Twin Studies
Adoption Studies
Summary o f Previous Results
Danish Adoption Project
Results
Hypothesis 1
Hypothesis 2
Post-Natal Contributions
Bio Social Interaction
Discussion
Perinatal Factors
Strengths and Weaknesses
Evidence for a Common Etiological Link
References
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List o f Figures
Figure 1: Convictions in Male Adoptees as a Function o f 24
Criminal and Alcohol Status o f Biological Parents
Figure 2: Severe Alcohol-Related Problems in Male 25
Adoptees as a Function o f Criminal and Alcohol Status
o f Biological Parents
Figure 3; Convictions and Severe Alcohol-Related Problems 26
in Male Adoptees as a Function o f Criminal and Alcohol Status
o f Biological Parents
Figure 4: Severe Alcohol-Related Problems in Male Adoptees 29
as a Function o f Adoptive Parents SES and Criminal Status of
Biological Parents
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Abstract
The role o f genetic factors in the susceptibility to and expression o f criminal
behavior and alcoholism has been widely supported by adoption studies.
Within the context o f the Danish Adoption Project, the risk o f crime and/or
alcohol registrations in the adopted-away sons was associated with having a
biological parent(s) with registrations for both crime and alcohol. Biological parents
who had registrations for both crime and alcohol had an elevated proportion o f male
offspring with crime and alcohol registrations as compared to biological parents who
had registrations for only one o f the disorders. These findings are consistent with
Cloninger’s conceptualization o f the Type II alcoholic. Criminal and alcohol status o f
the adoptive parents did not increase the males’ risk o f either outcome, suggesting
that the post-natal environment may not significantly contribute to the risk o f criminal
and alcohol problems in our sample. These results suggest that severe alcohol-related
problems and criminal behavior share a biological characteristic(s) which increases the
risk o f cross- transmission.
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Introduction
There are three epidemiological methods o f studying the transmission o f
human characteristics: family, twin and adoption studies. These three methods have
provided evidence for the genetic transmission of tendencies towards alcoholism and
tendencies towards criminal behavior.
Genetic Transmission of Criminal Behavior
Family Studies Family studies have indicated that the risk of criminal behavior in the
son elevates as a function o f criminal involvement o f the father. In a landmark study,
Robins (1966) found that the best predictor of son criminality is father criminality.
Robins, West and Herjanic (1975) found, in a study of 76 black St. Louis males, that
for fathers with a juvenile record, 46% o f their sons also had a juvenile record. Reich,
Cloninger and Guze (1975) reported elevations in sociopathy among relatives o f male
and female sociopaths. Osborn and West (1979) reported that in the Cambridge Study
o f Delinquent Development, 51% o f criminal fathers had delinquent sons. This figure
is compared to only 24% o f the noncriminal fathers having delinquent sons. Thirty-
eight percent o f the criminal fathers had a recidivistic son, and these recidivists
accounted for 52 % o f the convictions in the sample.
Kandel and Mednick (1988) also found that criminal sons were more likely to
have been raised by criminal fathers in a Danish cohort sample. Sons at high-risk for
criminal involvement (i.e. having a father who had served one or more jail terms) had
an elevated risk o f serious criminal involvement. The incidence o f serious criminality
for high-risk sons (39.1%) was 5.6 times greater than that for sons o f non-criminal
fathers (7.0%).
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A later study replicated Kandel and M ednick’s findings in that the number o f
criminal convictions o f the son increased as a function o f the father’s criminal
convictions. The sample consisted o f 128 sons who were at risk for psychopathology.
Seventeen percent o f sons o f law-abiding fathers became criminal. When the father
was convicted o f one criminal offense, 30.4% o f sons evidenced criminal behavior.
The risk o f criminal activity in the sons elevated to 39.1% when examining criminal
fathers with two or more criminal convictions (Tehrani et al., 1998, submitted for
publication ).
Problems in Interpretation
Family studies cannot disentangle genetic versus environmental contributions
to the development o f antisocial behavior, as the sons were reared by their criminal
father. Other research designs, such as twin and adoption studies, may provide a more
suitable method for testing the genetic transmission o f human characteristics.
Twin Studies Twin studies support the contention that criminal behavior may be a
heritable trait. The rationale behind twin studies is to compare the rate o f criminal
behavior o f twins who are genetically identical (MZ) with twins who are not (DZ) in
order to assess the role o f genetics.
Earlier twin studies (Lange, 1929, Rosanoff, 1932, Yoshimasu, 1962, Dalgaard
and Kringlen, 1976) reported considerable variations in the pairwise concordance
rates (among monozygotic twins from 100% to 25% and in dizygotic twins from 81%
to 0%). Several methodological flaws in earlier twin studies made it difficult to draw
conclusions regarding the genetic liability to criminal behavior. First, the definition o f
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concordance varied from mild incidental offenses to long-term incarceration. A
potentially more serious methodological concern is that, with the exception of
Dalgaard and Kringlen’s study, all other twin samples suffered from biased samples.
Using an unselected sample o f 3,587 twin pairs in Denmark, Christiansen (1977)
reported 52% o f the identical twins were probandwise concordant for criminal
behavior whereas only 22% o f the fraternal twins were probandwise concordant for
criminal behavior. The probandwise concordance is an estimate o f the probability that
an individual has a diagnosis given that their cotwin has a diagnosis. The sample
included all twins who were born on the Danish Islands east o f the Little Belt from
1881 to 1910 and who survived to age 15. The correlations for criminal behavior
were .74 for M Z twins and .47 for DZ twins. Crime was defined by Christiansen as
criminal convictions that were sanctioned by some type o f unconditional or
conditional deprivation o f liberty after the age o f 15, the legal age o f majority in
Denmark.
A marked rate o f probandwise concordance for criminal behavior among
identical or MZ twins suggests that the identical twins inherit some biological
characteristic(s) that increase their joint risk for criminal involvement.
Lyons (1996) examined rates of concordance for self-reported acts of
delinquency and criminal offending among 3,226 male twins drawn from the Vietnam
Era Veteran Twin Registry. The registry was compiled from computerized military
records and includes men who were born between 1939 and 1957 and served in the
military during the Vietnam War (May 1965 to August 1967). The findings suggest
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that genetic factors, but not the common environment, significantly influenced the
cross-twin correlations for adult criminal offending.
Several methodological concerns must be raised. First, subjects had been
exposed to the stressors o f war, and may also evidence co-morbid psychological
disorders which may increase the likelihood o f criminal behavior. Furthermore, self-
report data, rather than official criminal records were used to identify criminal status,
potentially introducing bias in reporting.
Evidence for a substantial genetic influence on the risk for D SM -III-R CD was
found among a large community sample o f adult Australian twins. Subjects were
drawn from the Australian National Mental Health and Medical Research Council
Twin Registrar (ATR). There were 2685 complete twin pairs (930 female MZ twin
pairs, 396 male MZ twin pairs, 533 female-female DZ twin pairs, 231 male-male DZ
twin pairs, and 592 female- male DZ twin pairs). The MZ concordance was higher
than the DZ concordance in both men (.53 versus .37) and women (.30 versus .18).
This difference was statistically significant only among men (men: x2 (1) = 6.2, p
=.01; women: x2 (1) = 1.4, p = .24). Similarly, the correlations in liability for the
D SM -III-R CD were higher among MZ than among DZ twins, but significantly so
only among men (men: .70 versus .37, x2 (1) = 6.7, p =.01; women: .68 versus .48,
x2 (1)=1.2, p = .28) (Slutske et al., 1996). The findings suggest that criminal behavior
may be a gender moderated outcome.
Problems with Interpretation
The use o f twin studies to test questions o f heritability are limited in that it is a
rare occurrence for the twins to be reared in separate environments. In addition,
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Dalgaard and Kringlen (1976) suggested that the greater similarity o f MZ twins was
caused by greater similarities in their shared environmental experiences. Feldman
(1977) has suggested that the identical twin o f a criminal may be more likely to attract
arrest, as one twin may suffer from the “labeling” o f his MZ twin (Leimert, 1951).
Studies comparing concordance rates in MZ twins reared apart and MZ twin reared
together can avoid this problem, but it is difficult to obtain such subjects. Adoption
studies, however, may provide an even stronger argument for the heritability o f
certain disorders.
A doption Studies Several adoption studies have suggested that biological factors
appear to exert a marked effect on the expression o f criminal behavior.
Crowe (1975) found an increased rate o f criminal involvement in 37 Iowan
adoptees with criminal biological mothers as compared to 37 nonadopted controls.
Crowe found that 19% o f the 37 adult adopted- away children o f criminal mothers
had a criminal conviction as opposed to only one in the matched control group.
Among the criminal adoptees o f criminal mothers, one had two felony property
offenses, two for single property offenses, four for misdemeanor property offenses,
and one for a misdemeanor sexual offense.
Cadoret (1978) reported similar findings from a sample of 246 adoptees in Iowa.
Biological parents were diagnosed using information obtained from adoption agency
files. The adoptees ranged in age from 10 to 37 years old. Antisocial adult adoptees
were significantly more likely to than controls to have an antisocial biological parent.
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Mednick et al. (1984) found that adoptive away sons had an elevated risk of
having a criminal conviction if their biological parent, rather than their adoptive
parent, had one or more court convictions. If neither the biological nor adoptive
parents are convicted, 13.5 percent o f the sons are convicted. If the adoptive parents
are convicted and the biological parents are not, this figure only rises to 14.7 percent.
This figure, however, rises to 20 percent if the biological and not the adoptive parents
are convicted. A biological characteristic which increases risk for criminal convictions
appears to be transmitted from the biological parents to their sons.
Furthermore, there is a positive relationship between criminal convictions in
the sons and degree o f recidivism in the biological parents. Among biological fathers
who had no criminal convictions, 13% o f their adopted away sons received one
criminal conviction. Among biological fathers with one criminal conviction, 16% o f
sons were registered for a criminal conviction. Among biological fathers with two or
more convictions, 20% o f sons had a conviction. The incidence o f criminal behavior
in the sons elevates as a function o f the severity o f the father’s criminal record. This
finding favors a genetic liability to criminal behavior (Mednick et al., 1984).
The Swedish Adoption Study provided a unique opportunity to examine the
genetic heritability o f criminal behavior. (Bohman, 1978, Cloninger et al., 1985). The
register consists o f 2,324 adoptees bom between 1930 and 1949 in Sweden. Bohman
(1978) originally found that criminal behavior was elevated among the adoptees o f
alcoholic-criminal biological parents. Bohman (1978, 1982) concluded that criminal
behavior is often a consequence o f alcoholism. The authors note the importance o f
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distinguishing between alcoholic criminals versus non-alcoholic criminals. This
distinction will later be addressed in our study.
Sum m ary The role o f genetic factors in the susceptibility to and expression of
criminal behavior has been supported through family, twin and adoption studies.
Monozygotic twins are more likely to be concordant for criminal behavior as
compared to dizygotic twins. Adoption studies, which provide the advantage of
examining the separate contributions o f the biological and adoptive parents, illustrate
a genetic link between criminality in the biological parents and adopted-away
offspring.
Genetic Contribution to Alcoholism:
Fam ily Studies: Researchers have consistently found a high familial incidence o f
alcoholism. A family history o f alcohol abuse is one o f the most powerful predictors
o f alcoholic risk (Cotton, 1979). Offspring o f alcoholics are approximately five times
more likely to develop alcohol-related problems than offspring o f nonalcoholics
(Winokur & Clayton, 1968; Midanek, 1983).
Amark (1951) found that relatives o f alcoholics were more likely to become
alcoholic (in Schuckit). Winokur and Pitts (1966) studied the families o f 62
alcoholics and found increased incidences of alcoholism in fathers and brothers (in
Schuckit).
In 1970, W inokur et al.. found that the incidence o f alcoholism in all male first-
degree relatives approached 50%. Family interviews were conducted on 259
hospitalized alcoholics in the St. Louis area. Alcoholism was diagnosed based on the
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presence o f any o f the following occurring in conjunction to alcohol abuse: job loss, a
marital separation or divorce, three or more nontraffic arrests, or a result o f a alcohol
related health problem (i.e. cirrhosis).
Problems in Interpretation
Family history studies, however, cannot address issues of nature versus nurture, as
most family members are reared by biological relatives.
Twin Studies: Genetic factors also appear to exert an impressive impact on the
development o f alcoholism. Findings from studies o f alcoholism in twin pairs (Kaij,
1960, Hrubec and Omenn, 1981; Koskenvuo et al., 1984; Kaprio et al., 1987;
Romanov et al., 1991; Allgulander et al.., 1990, 1991, 1992; Caldwell and
Gottesman, 1991; Pickens et al.., 1991; Kendler et al., 1992; McGue et al., 1992;
Prescott et al., 1994; Heath and Martin, 1994) are consistent with a genetic
contribution to the risk o f developing alcohol- related problems. An elevated
probandwise concordance (i.e. the probability that an alcoholic twin will have an
alcoholic cotwin) has been observed in monozygotic twin pairs as compared to
dizygotic twin pairs (Heath et al., in Wilsnack). This finding has been duplicated in
numerous studies.
For example, Kaprio et al. (1978) reported that hospitalization rates for
alcoholism between 1972- 1979 in a Finnish sample were 23.1% in MZ male twin
pairs and only 10.8% in DZ male twin pairs.
Kaij (1960)obtained a sample o f 172 Swedish male twins by searching county
Temperance Board records. He reported greater MZ (0.71) than DZ (0.32)
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concordance for chronic alcoholism. This diagnosis was ascertained using a
combination o f information obtained from official records and personal interviews.
Registration with the Swedish Temperance Board is often the result o f action by the
police or other agencies after some antisocial behavior has occurred.
Hrubec and Omenn (1981) studied a sample o f 715 male twins drawn from the
National Academy o f Sciences- National Research Council registrar ofU S Armed
Services Veterans. The diagnosis o f alcoholism was based on Department o f Veterans
Affairs medical records. A significantly greater MZ (.26) than DZ (.12) concordance
rate was observed.
Problems in Interpretation;
The data convincing suggest that individuals who are more genetically alike (i.e.
identical twins) are more likely to develop alcoholism than dizygotic twin pairs. As
previously mentioned, the twin method, however, is unable to completely separate
environmental and genetic contributors. Adoption studies may provide an even more
compelling test o f genetic influence in alcoholism in that the studies are designed to
partial out most environmental effects.
Adoption Studies: Although in the first published adoption study o f alcoholism, no
evidence for genetic effect was found (Roe, 1944), twin and adoption studies
published in the past 20 years have provided evidence for the genetic transmission of
alcoholism (McGue et al., 1992). Alcoholism risk in adoptees has been found to be
positively associated with alcoholism risk in the biological parent (Cadoret et al.,
1994).
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The Stockholm Adoption Project provided evidence for the heritability of
alcoholism in the biological parent and the adopted- away child. All births to unwed
mothers in Stockholm, Sweden between 1930- 1949 were identified. Cases were
included if the biological father could be identified, if the adoption had occurred
before age 3 and if the adoptee was placed with a non-relative. Alcoholism in the
biological and adoptive parents was assessed using temperance board registrations as
mild (single registration), moderate (2-3 registrations) or severe (three o f more
registrations, treatment or psychiatric diagnosis o f alcoholism and/or hospitalization).
The sample resulted in approximately 32% o f the biological fathers but only 4.7% of
the biological mothers meeting the above noted criteria for alcoholism. This is
contrasted by less than 4% o f the adoptive parents meeting criteria for alcoholism.
Risk o f alcoholism in the adoptees was not significantly associated with alcoholism
risk in the adoptive parents. Alcoholism was significantly more common in the
adopted-away sons o f alcoholic biological fathers (23%) than in the adopted-away
sons of nonalcoholic parents (2.8%) (Cloninger et al., 1985). Cloninger et al. (1985)
reported that among adopted-away daughters, alcoholism was significantly more
common in the daughters o f alcoholic biological mothers but not in the daughters of
alcoholic biological fathers.
Alcoholism risk in adoptees has been found to be positively associated with
alcoholism risk in the biological parent, an association which would be predicted if
there is a genetic contribution to alcoholism risk.
Within the context o f the Danish Adoption Project, Goodwin et al. (1973)
examined the risk o f alcoholism in adopted-away children of biological parents who
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had been hospitalized with an alcoholism diagnosis. The sample included the adopted-
away sons (n =55) and adopted-away daughters ( n = 49) o f alcoholic parents as well
as control adoptees (n = 78 adopted sons, n= 47 adopted daughters) and non-adopted
offspring o f the alcoholic biological parents ( n = 20 sons, n = 81 daughters). The
adoptees were drawn from records o f all adoptions to non-family adoptive parents
between 1924- 1947, and were included only if the adoption had occurred within the
first six months o f life. The risk o f alcoholism for the adopted sons o f alcoholics was
greater in probands than in male control adoptees (18% versus 5%). The risk to the
adopted sons did not differ from the risk to the non-adopted biological offspring o f
the alcoholic parents. Adopted- away sons o f alcoholics were less likely to report a
history o f alcoholism in their adoptive fathers (12% for possible or definite
alcoholism) than were the control adoptees (22%). Daughters o f alcoholics were not
found to be risk for developing alcoholism. These findings suggest that similarities in
alcoholism risk between parents and male offspring are determined by shared genetic
factors rather than by shared environmental risk- factors.
Sum m ary Twin and adoption studies provide evidence for the genetic transmission
o f alcoholism. Studies have found that twins that share a greater proportion o f their
genetic makeup (MZ twins) are more likely to be concordant for alcoholism.
Adoption studies, which have the improved measure o f parceling out environmental
factors, support the genetic heritability o f alcoholism.
Genetic Cross-Relationships Between Criminal Behavior and Alcoholism
Several researchers have asked whether criminal behavior and alcoholism are
genetically distinct or related outcomes. Criminal behavior and alcoholism may in fact
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share common genetic risk factors, as suggested by the high rate o f comorbidity
between criminal behavior and alcoholism (Lewis et al., 1983, Brennan, 1995).
Family, twin and adoption studies have all suggested genetic cross- relationships
between criminal behavior and alcoholism.
Fam ily S tudies: A review o f epidemiological research collected in Western Europe,
Latin America and Japan found that parental alcoholism markedly increases the risk
for criminal behavior in the children (Plant et al., 1989). The authors believe that the
children o f alcoholics are exposed to a variety o f environmental stressors that
ultimately may trigger the onset o f unlawful and deviant behavior. Another plausible
explanation asserts that genetic contributions may be producing the observed results.
In view o f the high degree o f co-morbidity between alcoholism and criminal
behavior, other family studies have recognized the utility o f examining these two
negative outcomes separately. Lewis et al. (1983) assessed the rate o f (Alcohol
Dependence) AD in relatives o f probands with (Antisocial Personality Disorder)
ASPD but not AD, and the rate o f AD without a history o f ASPD in the relatives o f
probands with ASPD. They found that the rate of AD was elevated in relatives o f men
with ASPD, but only in the relatives of men with ASPD and AD, not in the relatives
o f probands with only ASPD. Similarly, the rate o f ASPD was elevated in the
relatives o f men with AD, but only in the relatives o f those with AD and ASPD, and
not in the relatives o f probands with only AD. Antisocial acts were not increased in
the relatives o f alcoholics without ASPD. The authors concluded that ASPD and AD
are etiologically independent and they do not share familial risk factors.
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Pickens et al. (1995) suggest that this approach may be overly conservative
because the most genetically informative cases (i.e. those with both ASPD and AD)
are removed. Furthermore, this type of analysis, as Slutske et al. (1996) argue,
ignores the possibility that ASPD may be an important mediator through which the
expression o f the common genetic liability for ASPD and AD increases the risk for
the development o f AD.
Twin Studies: Twin studies find higher correlations between indices o f criminal
behavior and alcoholism among monozygotic twins than among dizygotic twins. In a
sample o f twin pairs gathered from alcohol treatment programs, McGue, Pickens and
Svikis (1992) found higher scores on a Conduct Disorder (CD) symptoms scale in
male monozygotic (MZ) cotwins o f alcoholics than in male dizygotic (DZ) cotwins
o f alcoholics. Using the same sample, Pickens et al.. (1995) found higher cross-twin
correlations between alcoholism in a twin and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)
in a cotwin in male M Z versus DZ twin pairs.
Using a small sample of MZ twins reared apart, Grove et al. (1990) found
substantial overlap between the genetic influences for alcohol problems and childhood
conduct disorders (genetic correlation o f 0.54) and between alcohol problems and
adult antisocial behaviors (genetic correlation o f 0.75).
Other studies suggest that genetic factors may in part lead to the co-occurance o f
these disorders. Using subjects from the Australian National Health and Medical
Research Council Twin Registrar (ATR) (N= 6327), Slutske et al. (1996) examined
the rates o f Alcohol Dependence (AD) in men whose cotwin had a history ofD SM -
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HI-R Conduct Disorder (CD). The correlation between CD in a twin and AD in their
cotwin was .29 for MZ twin pairs as compared to .05 for DZ twin pairs (0.29 versus
0.05, X2 = 4,63, d f =1, p = .03). This suggests that the co-occurance between CD
and AD is genetically mediated. About 76% of the phenotypic association between
CD and AD was attributed to genetics while the remaining 24% o f the association
was due to nonshared, or environmental risk factors. The authors noted a strong
genetic relationship for CD and AD among both males and females.
The results o f these twin studies suggest that CD and AD are not genetically
distinct disorders: they appear to share common genetic risk factors. A higher rate of
concordance between criminal and alcohol indices among MZ twins as compared to
DZ twins suggest a genetic link between the two disorders.
Adoption Studies:
Adoption studies provide us with a natural experiment to test the existence
and strength o f inherited predispositions. Results from adoption studies that have
examined the familial association between alcoholism and indices o f criminal behavior
(i.e. conduct disorder, antisocial behavior) have yielded mixed results.
The Relationship Between Crime in the Biological Parents and Alcoholism in
Their Adopted-Awav Offspring.
The Crowe adoption study (1974) of offspring o f antisocial women found an
increase in antisocial personality diagnoses in offspring but not alcoholism (N =37). In
a separate adoption study from Iowa, Cadoret (1985) showed that adult adoptees
from biological parents with antisocial behavior had a higher rate o f antisocial
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from biological parents with antisocial behavior had a higher rate o f antisocial
personality diagnoses but not an increase in alcoholism. In the Swedish Adoption
Project, Cloninger et al. (1985) also concluded that criminality in the biological
parents did not elevate the offsprings’ risk o f alcohol-related problems. These studies
conclude that antisocial behavior in the biological parents does not increase the
offsprings’ risk o f alcoholism.
The Relationship Between Alcoholism in the Biological Parents and Criminal
Behavior in Their Adopted-Awav Offspring
Within the context o f the Stockholm Adoption Project, an association has
been observed between alcoholism in the biological parents and criminal behavior in
the adopted-away children, but only when the biological parents evidence both
alcoholism and criminal behavior (Bohman, 1982, Cloninger et al. 1985).
It has been suggested that distinct types o f alcoholism can be differentiated
according to the presence o f criminality or antisocial behavior in alcoholics or in the
biological relatives o f alcoholics (Cloninger et al., 1981). Cloninger suggests that
there are two distinct forms o f alcoholism. Type 1 alcoholism requires the presence of
a genetic and environmental predisposition and is characterized by adult onset and
rapid progression from mild abuse to severe alcohol dependence with no criminality.
Type II alcoholism, in contrast, is highly genetically heritable only in males and is
associated with teenage onset o f drinking and recurrent criminal behavior. Cloninger
concluded that criminal -alcoholic biological parents (Type II) were more likely to
have criminal- alcoholic sons (Type II) than non-criminal alcoholic biological parents
(Type I). Type II alcoholism was seldom expressed in females, a finding that was
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16
replicated by Sigvardsson et al. (1996) using a different Swedish sample. This tends
to suggest that the risk for developing both crime and alcohol is elevated only among
men with a genetic predisposition and not among women.
Summary o f Previous Results
Therefore, in the context o f an adoption study, there are two ways to examine the
genetic relationship between crime and alcohol abuse. We can look at the relationship
between crime in the biological parents and alcohol abuse in their offspring, or we can
examine the relationship between alcohol-abuse in the biological parents and crime in
the adoptees. When we look at alcohol abuse in the biological parents and crime in
the adoptees, we find conclusive results that suggest a genetic relationship. Studies
have not supported a genetic relationship between crime in the biological parents and
alcohol abuse in the adoptees.
Adoption studies suggest that criminal behavior and alcoholism are etiologically
distinct whereas twin studies report that the two disorders share common genetic risk
factors. The reason for the discrepant findings from the adoption and twin literature
may be an issue o f methodology. Twin studies may be a more powerful method of
detecting genetic covariation between traits than adoption studies (Carey and DiLalla,
1994). The power to detect cross-transmission (i.e. a significant relationship between
one trait in an individual and another trait in a relative) will usually be weaker than the
power to detect familial transmission of a single trait. Adoption studies examine the
genetic cross-transmission between first degree relatives, who share approximately
half of their genes. Small sample sizes may result in insufficient power to detect a
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17
genetic association between two traits in first degree relatives. A larger sample, such
as the Danish Adoption Project (N= 14,427), may address this issue.
Danish Adoption Project
Based on the Findings above, two hypotheses were formulated.
Hypotheses
1. Biological parents with severe alcohol -related problems will be more likely to have
criminal adopted-away children than biological parents who do not have severe
alcohol alcohol-related problems. On the basis o f findings from previous adoption
studies, we do not hypothesize an association between criminal convictions in the
biological parents and severe alcohol-related problems among the adoptees.
2. Biological parents who have registrations for both crime and alcohol will be more
likely to have male adoptees with both crime and alcohol registrations
Procedures
Total Cohort
Information for all nonfamilial adoptions in the Kingdom o f Denmark between
1924 and 1947 (N = 14, 427, 7727 female adoptees and 6700 male adoptees) was
obtained from records at the Ministry o f Justice. The register was established at the
Psykologisk Institut in Copenhagen (now called the Institute for Preventative
Medicine) by a group o f American and European investigators and includes
information on the adoptee and his or her adoptive and biological parents. The total
sample size, consisting o f the adoptee, biological and adoptive parents is 65,516.
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18
T ransfer History
The majority o f the adoptions were the results o f pregnancies o f unwed
women. The adoptive agency removed the newborns from their biological mothers
and would immediately placed them in an adoptive home (25.3% o f the adoptions) or
placed them in an orphanage until they were adopted. O f those placed in orphanages,
50.6% were placed with an adoptive family within the first year, 12.8% were placed
with an adoptive family in the second year, and 11.3% were placed after the age of
two.
Not fully identified cases
In order to check the court register, it was necessary to have the name, date
and place o f birth. A significant number of cases were lost due to four factors. First,
there was no record o f place and/or date of birth. Second, Denmark requires by law
that the biological mother name the biological father. In a few cases, she refused, was
unsure or named more than one possible father. These cases were subsequently
dropped. Third, among the adoptive parents, 397 were single women. This was either
due to the death o f
the adoptive father or the child was adopted by a single mother. Fourth, limitations in
checking criminal records before 1910 resulted in persons born prior to January 1,
1885 being excluded from the study.
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The following table reflects the proportion o f cases that were not identified:
Family M ember Number Identified Number N ot Identified %notidentified
Male adoptee 6,129
Female adoptee 7,065
Adoptive father 13,918
Adoptive mother 14,267
Biological father 10,604
Biological mother 12,3 00
571
662
509
160
3,823
2,217
9.3%
9.3%
3.6%
1. 1%
36.0%
18.0%
Criminality Data
Court convictions will be used as the index o f criminal behavior. Court
convictions may present a more conservative measure of criminal behavior. Minors
under the age o f 15 are excluded since they cannot receive court convictions. Court
convictions information is maintained by the chief o f the police district in which the
individual is born. The court record (Strafferegister) contains information on the date
o f the conviction, the paragraphs o f the law violated and the sanction. Court records
w ere accessed for all persons for whom date and place o f birth were available. A
search court records between 1976- 1978 resulted in the identification o f 7065
female and 6129 male adoptees. At the time o f data collection, the adoptees were
between the ages o f 31 and 54 years old and had thus had passed through most o f the
age o f risk for onset o f criminal behavior.
The entire population was checked in the death register. If an adoptee had
died or emigrated before the age o f 30, the adoptee and both sets o f parents were
dropped from the study since the adoptee had not passed the entire risk period for
criminal conviction.
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D ata previously presented by Mednick et al. (1984) suggest that the biological
parents were heavily criminal. Nearly 30% o f the biological parents had at least one
or more criminal convictions. The adoptive parents, in comparison, sustained far
fewer
criminal convictions (6.2%). It was a condition o f the adoption that the adoptive
parents not have a conviction for five years preceding the adoption.
Alcohol Data
There is no Danish central register o f individuals with alcohol disorders. We
examined two sources o f information regarding alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.
From court conviction data, we ascertained subjects with court convictions for:
public intoxication or having been treated for alcoholism as a court -ordered condition
o f probation.
Information regarding a primary or secondary psychiatric diagnosis of
alcoholism was obtained by a search o f the Danish national psychiatric register o f all
admissions and discharges from psychiatric inpatient facilities. The search o f all
records was conducted in 1978. Diagnoses were derived from the eighth edition of
the World Health Organization (1968) International Classification o f Diseases (ICD-
8).
If an individual appears in either court or psychiatric register, they will be
considered to suffer from severe alcohol-related problems. This is a severe criterion
for alcohol problems. It includes only 1.2% o f the total sample o f adoptees (2.1% of
males, .4% o f females). Among the biological parents, 2.9% evidenced severe
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alcohol-related problems (2.6% of biological fathers and .3% o f biological mothers).
Among the adoptive parents, .6% evidenced severe alcohol-related problems (.4% of
adoptive fathers and .2% o f the adoptive mothers), Subjects identified by these
criteria will be referred to as evidencing severe alcohol-related problems.
In view o f the low levels o f criminal convictions and severe alcohol-related
problems among female adoptees, the analyses will concentrate on the criminal and
alcohol outcomes o f the male adoptees.
Results
Preliminary Analyses
The Genetic Relationship Between Severe Alcohol-Related Problems in the
Biological Parents and Male Adoptees
An evaluation o f the measure o f severe alcohol-related problems was
employed to test the validity o f the definition. To this end, I examined the
relationship between severe alcohol-related problems in the male adoptees and the
biological parents. In a logistic regression, it was observed that the risk o f severe
alcohol-related problems was elevated among male offspring o f biological parents
who had severe alcohol-related problems (8.7% vs. 2.7%,chi square (1) = 18.1, p <
.005). Biological parents who evidenced severe alcohol-related problems were 3.5
times more likely to have adopted-away sons with severe alcohol-related problems
than biological parents who had no registration for severe alcohol-related problems.
With this same data set but a different definition o f alcohol problems,
Goodwin et al. (1973) reported a genetic risk-ratio o f 3.5 for male adoptees with
alcoholic biological parents. It should be noted that Goodwin’s definition of
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22
alcoholism was determined from hospital and clinic records, and did not include
alcohol- related criminal offenses. The findings suggest that the criteria for severe
alcohol-related problems employed in this study may also provide a valid definition.
The Genetic Relationship Between Crime in the Biological Parents and Crime in the
Male Adoptees
Genetic liability towards criminal behavior was significantly increased among
male offspring o f criminal biological parents, as previously reported by Mednick et al.
(1984). Male offspring o f criminal biological parents were 1,5 times more likely to
engage in criminal behavior than offspring o f non-criminal biological parents. The
greater genetic risk-ratio for severe alcohol-related problems (risk-ratio = 3.5) as
compared to criminal behavior (risk-ratio = 1.5) tends to suggest that alcohol-related
problems have a higher heritability than criminal behavior. Bohman et al. (1982) also
found a greater genetic effect for alcoho!ism(l,6) than for criminal behavior (1.3)
among their Swedish sample.
The Co-Morbidity Between Crime and Alcohol-Related Problems Within the Same
Individual
There is considerable co-morbidity within individuals o f registrations for
criminal behavior and severe alcohol-related problems among the male adoptees.
Criminal male adoptees were 6.7 times more likely to have severe alcohol-related
problems than non-criminal adoptees (8.8% vs. 1.3%, chi square (1) = 166, p <
.00001).
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Similarly, criminal biological parents were 4.8 times more likely to have severe
alcohol-related problems as compared to non-criminal biological parents (7.8% vs.
1.6%, chi square (1)= 336, p <.00001).
Test o f Hypotheses
Hypothesis 1: Biological Parents with severe alcohol-related problems will be
more likely to have criminal adopted-away male offspring than biological
parents who do not have severe alcohol-related problems.
Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between severe
alcohoLrelated problems in the biological parents and criminal behavior in the sons
(chi square (1) = 11.9, p = .0006). Biological parents with severe alcohol-related
problems were twice as likely to have criminal adopted-away males than biological
parents who had no alcohol registrations (5.1% vs. 2.5%).
In view o f the co-morbidity between alcohol and crime, it is possible that the
relationship between severe alcohol-related problems in the biological parents and
crime in the male adoptees was due to a large subpopulation o f biological parents
who had registrations for both crime and alcohol. When controlling for criminal
status in the biological parents, it was observed that adopted-away males were at
greater risk for criminal behavior only if their biological parents had registrations for
both crime and severe alcohol-related problems (chi square (1) =6.7, p = .009).
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24
I None Crime Ale (No Crime
^ n=5098 (No Crime) and Ale
Ale) n=69 n=117
n=1381
Criminal and Alcohol Status of Biological Parents
As demonstrated in Figure 1, alcohol-related problems alone in the biological
parents were not associated with significantly increased rates o f criminal convictions
among the male adoptees. However, o f the male adoptees whose biological parents
had both criminal and alcohol registrations, 21.4% had a criminal conviction. Male
adoptees whose biological parents sustained both crime and alcohol registrations were
twice as likely to receive a criminal conviction as compared to male adoptees whose
biological parents had only criminal registrations (12,8 % o f the male adoptees were
criminal) and male adoptees whose biological parents had only alcohol registrations
(13% o f male adoptees became criminal). The combined effect o f crime and alcohol in
the biological parents increases the risk for crime in the adoptees more than crime
alone in the biological parents.
As reported in previous adoption studies (Cadoret, 1985, Bohman, 1982),
male adoptees o f criminal biological parents were not at significantly increased risk of
developing severe alcohol-related problems compared to male adoptees o f non
criminal biological parents (ns). The combined effect o f having a biological parent
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25
with both a criminal conviction and severe alcohol-related problems, however, was
significantly associated with severe alcohol-related problems among the male
adoptees. Offspring o f biological parents who had both criminal and alcohol
registrations were 3.8 times more likely to evidence severe alcohol-related problems
as compared to male offspring o f biological parents who only had a criminal
registration (8.5 vs. 2.2, chi square (1) = 17.9, p = .0003).
Crime Crime
| n=5098 (No Crime) a n d Ale
« A le) n=69 n=117
n=1381
Crim inal and A lco h o l S ta tu s o f B io lo g ica l P aren ts
H ypothesis 2: Biological parents with both criminal and alcohol registrations
will be more likely to have male adoptees with both criminal and alcohol
registrations.
Figure three demonstrates that male adoptees whose biological parents have
either a criminal conviction or evidenced alcohol-related problems did not have an
elevated risk o f having both crime and alcohol registration. Among biological parents
with registrations for both crime and alcohol, 6.0% of their adopted-away male
offspring also evidenced criminal and severe alcohol-related problems (compared to
1.1% o f offspring o f criminal biological parents and 1.4% of offspring o f biological
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26
parents with severe alcohol-related problems (chi square (1)= 6.3, p = .001). The risk
for the registration for both crime and alcohol problems is elevated only among
individuals who are at genetic risk for both.
r_
None Crime Ale (No Crime
n=5098 (No Crime) and Ale
Ale) n=69 n=117
n=1381
Criminal and Alcohol Status of Biological Parents
Post-Natal Contributions to C rim inal B ehavior and Severe Alcohol-Related
Problem s
The adoption design provides the opportunity to test hypotheses concerning
differential genetic and environmental predispositions. I evaluated the contribution of
criminal behavior and severe alcohol-related problems in the adoptive parents to the
development o f either outcome among the male adoptees.
Male offspring reared in homes where one or both of the adoptive parents had
severe alcohol-related problems were at no increased risk of developing severe
alcohol-refated problems as compared to sons raised by unaffected adoptive parents
(p= ns). The incidence o f severe alcohol-related problems in the adoptive parents was
infrequent (.6%) and may reflect an attempt by the adoption agency to select a
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27
suitable home environment. The data, however, support previous adoption studies
that suggest that the risk o f developing severe alcohol-related problems and related
indices (i.e. alcoholism) may have a stronger genetic component than an
environmental component (Goodwin et al., 1973, Bohman 1978, 1982).
There was a significant association between criminal convictions and severe
alcohol-related problems among the adoptive parents. Criminal adoptive parents were
3.6 times more likely to have severe-alcohol related problems than non-criminal
adoptive parents (24.4% vs. 6.7%, chi square (1)= 19.8, p= < .00001).
In order to test the environmental contributions to the development o f
criminal behavior and severe alcohol-related problems, the same analyses performed
with the biological parents and male adoptees were carried out using the adoptive
parents and male adoptees. Adoptive parents who evidenced severe alcohol-related
problems did not have a greater proportion of sons who became criminal as compared
to adoptive parents who had no alcohol registrations. Similarly, criminal adoptive
parents were not more likely to have sons with severe alcohol-related problems than
non criminal adoptive parents. A combination o f crime and alcohol registrations in the
adoptive parents did not increase the risk o f either outcome among the sons.
Furthermore, adoptive parents who had registrations for both crime and alcohol were
not more likely to have sons who evidenced a combination of criminal behavior and
severe alcohol-related problems. This finding was observed at each level o f the
adoptive parents’ socioeconomic status. These analyses indicate that independent o f
rearing SES, criminal and/or alcohol registrations in the adoptive parents were not
associated with criminal and/or alcohol registrations among the male adoptees.
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28
Bio Social Interaction
Vulnerability towards criminal behavior and alcoholism may be transmitted
through genetic and/or environmental pathways. An adoptee may be exposed to
multiple genetic and environmental risk factors. It is important, therefore, to evaluate
the interaction between these multiple risk factors. The low incidence o f severe
alcohol-related problems among the adoptive parents, however, prevented the use of
cross-fostering analyses.
Several factors, such as high intelligence and high socioeconomic status, have
been found to protect high-risk samples from adverse outcomes. Within the context
o f the Danish Adoption Project, Van Dusen et al. (1983) reported that regardless of
genetic factors, improved social conditions were associated with a reduction in
criminal behavior. Specifically, 18 % o f the sons o f criminal biological parents who
were adopted into low SES homes later evidenced criminal behavior. This figure is
compared to 16.8% o f sons who were adopted into middle class homes and 12.9% of
sons who were adopted into high SES homes. Therefore, criminal biological parents’
male offspring who were adopted into medium to high SES homes had a lower rate of
criminal offending than males with the same genetic predisposition who were adopted
into low SES homes.
Cross-fostering analysis was conducted using criminal status o f the biological
and adoptive parents, and social class of the adoptive parents as the independent
variables and severe alcohol-related problems among male adoptees as the dependent
variable. As the figure demonstrates, male adoptees o f criminal biological parents who
were adopted into medium to high SES homes were at decreased risk o f developing
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29
severe alcohol-related problems compared to male adoptees with the same genetic
predisposition who were adopted into low SES families. Thus, adoption into middle
and upper class homes significantly reduced the risk o f expression o f the genetic
vulnerability. Again, there were an insufficient number of adoptive parents with
alcohol registrations in which to test whether adoption into middle to high SES
homes reduced the risk o f criminal behavior among sons o f biological parents with
alcohol registrations.
s . 4
113.5
I 22.5
„ a. £
I Il-5
S3 1
3 <*0.5
o
2 < 2 Low SES
° < n=1369
Middle
SES n=
3113
Non-Criminal Biological P a r e n t s
Criminal Biological P a r e n t s
High SES
n=545
Adoptive Parents' Socio-economic Status
It may be argued that within the adoption design, the observed genetic
heritability o f severe alcohol-related problems and criminal behavior may be
influenced by the presence o f these characteristics among the adoptive parents.
Analyses were conducted in which adoptive parents who had registrations for crime,
alcohol or both were removed in order to select male adoptees who were reared in
alcohol and criminal-free homes. The findings replicated the results from hypotheses
one and two. The data suggest that a genetic vulnerability exists despite the absence
o f criminal and alcohol registrations among the adoptive parents.
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30
Discussion
The measures used in this study to identify subjects with criminal and
alcohol registrations may have impacted our findings. Criminal data were ascertained
from court conviction data. A potential confound is that it may be possible that we
have criminals in the control group who were undetected by law enforcement, or
were arrested and not convicted for a criminal offense.
Furthermore, there are central public registers in Denmark to identify criminals
whereas no such central register exists for alcohol disorders. This may potentially
result in a failure to identify all individuals who have alcohol-related problems, and
only select those who come to the attention of law enforcement agencies and/or
psychiatric institutions. The measures are a conservative estimate o f criminal
offending and alcohol-related problems. Documentation o f these measures via court
and psychiatric records, however, may circumvent the biases that are inherent in self-
report data. In addition, it should be made clear that these are life time cumulative
registers.
Criminal activity is a more common outcome than alcohol-related problems in
our sample (as well as among the general population as a whole). This occurrence
may help us to understand why an association has been observed between alcohol
problems in the biological parents and crime in the adoptees but not the reverse. The
alcohol to crime mode o f transmission may provide us with a sufficient number of
adoptee criminals with which to test our hypotheses. The reverse pathway (crime in
the biological parents relating to alcohol-related problems in the adoptees) is difficult
to test because o f the small number o f adoptees evidencing severe alcohol-related
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problems in our sample (i.e. only 2.1% o f the male adoptees are classified with severe
alcohol-related problems among our sample). Therefore, severe alcohol-related
problems presents as a dependent variable with weaker power as compared to
criminal behavior.
The data replicate several findings reported by previous adoption studies.
First, a high degree o f co-morbidity between criminal behavior and alcohol problems
was found. Criminals are significantly more likely to evidence severe alcohol-related
problems that non-criminals.
The data suggest that a genetic link exists between severe alcohol-related problems
among biological parents and criminality among adopted-away sons. A combination
o f criminal and alcohol registrations in the biological parents as opposed to only
alcohol registrations in the biological parents was associated with a significant
increase in criminal outcome in the male adoptees. This is consistent with prior
findings presented by Bohman et al. ( 1978) and Cloninger (1985).
As anticipated, there was no evidence that criminal convictions in the biological
parents elevates risk for severe alcohol-related problems in male adoptees, a finding
which was also observed among the Swedish adoptees (Bohman et al., 1982).
Criminality alone in the parents does not appear to pose a risk for alcohol problems in
the offspring. A combined effect o f crime and alcohol registrations in the biological
parents, however, significantly increases the rate o f alcohol-related problems among
the male adoptees in our sample. Bohman (1982) reported that a trend was observed
between a combination o f criminal and alcohol registrations in the biological parents
and alcoholism in the adoptees, however, the findings were not statistically significant
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32
(p=.09), The findings are in the predicted direction, and suggest that the risk o f
developing alcoholism may be significantly elevated among individuals whose
biological parents are both criminal and alcoholic.
Biological parents with both criminal and alcohol registrations may genetically
predispose their male offspring towards a combination o f criminal behavior and
alcohol problems. Cloninger concluded from the Swedish Adoption Study that
biological parents who were both criminal and alcoholic (Type II) were more likely to
have male offspring who were both criminal and alcoholic (Type II). The findings
presented here and Cloninger’s Type II conceptualization suggest a distinct form of
genetic heritability that increases the risk o f criminal behavior and alcohol-related
problems within the same individual.
As suggested by previous adoption studies, adoptive parent convictions and
alcohol registrations were not associated with a significant increment in the son’s
alcohol and criminal status. The adoptive parents had a low frequency o f court
convictions and alcohol registration. We are, however, assured by the results o f other
adoption studies which failed to find cross- associations between the adoptive parents
and sons on alcohol and crime variables.
Within the context o f the Swedish Adoption Study, Bohman et al. (1978)
suggested that the transmission o f negative outcomes such as criminal offending and
alcoholism was counterbalanced by the positive effects o f adoption. We suggest that
the genetic vulnerability for severe alcohol-related problems and criminal behavior
may be markedly reduced in cases where the male adoptee was reared in middle to
high SES homes.
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33
Perinatal Factors
The biological fathers could have only influenced the adopted-away sons
genetically. Their influence may be complete at conception. The biological mothers,
however, continue to exert influence via their intrauterine environment. Prenatal and
perinatal factors, such as poor nutrition, drug and alcohol abuse may predispose an
exposed fetus to a variety o f negative outcomes. It is conceivable that the observed
genetic relationship may be due, in part, to a confluence o f perinatal factors. It is
beyond the scope o f this study directly to test the impact of perinatal factors on the
development o f adverse outcomes in our sample.
One indirect method o f examining whether perinatal factors may have influenced
our findings is to test the contribution o f the biological mother as compared to the
biological father on alcohol and criminal risk status o f the male adoptees. We
observed that the risk o f criminal behavior among male adoptees doubles if the
biological mother evidences severe alcohol-related problems as compared to if the
biological father evidences severe alcohol-related problems. Specifically, among male
adoptees whose biological fathers evidenced severe alcohol-related problems, 16.4%
became criminal. Conversely, 33.3% o f male adoptees whose biological mothers
evidenced severe alcohol-related problems became criminal.
A plausible explanation for this finding is that the biological mothers with
severe alcohol-related problems may have abused alcohol during the pregnancy, thus
increasing the fetus’ risk for negative outcomes. It is thus possible that the
relationship between severe alcohol-related problems in the biological mothers and
criminal behavior in the male adoptees may be due, in part, to prenatal exposure to
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34
alcohol. The effects o f prenatal exposure to alcohol may lead to devastating results.
Alcohol use during pregnancy may lead to cognitive deficits and increased
aggressiveness in offspring (Volavka, 1995).
Disturbances in neurotransmitter systems among individuals prenatally exposed to
alcohol have been implicated in the development of certain behavior disorders.
Studies suggest that deficits in serotonergic functions are observed among alcoholics
(Roy et al., 1990) and among hyperactive and aggressive individuals (Brase and Loh,
1975). The mechanisms by which fetal alcohol exposure influence later behavior,
however, are unclear. Volavka (1995) posits that delineating genetic from prenatal
and perinatal influences on human development is an essential step in identifying the
causal mechanisms which underlie the transmission o f behavioral disorders.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
1. The primary advantage o f using an adoption design to answer questions about the
bases o f human characteristics is the capability o f separating genetic from
environmental contributions.
2. The large scope o f this adoption project (N = 14,427 adoptions, 6667 male
adoptees) provides us improved statistical power with which to test our hypotheses.
3. Denmark, the site o f our adoption study, is relatively socially homogenous. An
environment with low variability permits clearer expression o f existing genetic
tendencies. It is possible that the homogeneity o f the sample may make it difficult to
generalize our findings towards more culturally diverse nations. Our findings,
however, support the general conclusions from adoption studies conducted in Sweden
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and Iowa (Bohman et al., 1982; Crowe, 1975; Cadoret, 1978), suggesting that our
results may be generalizable beyond Denmark.
Weaknesses
1. Our criteria for severe alcohol-related problems is stringent and only encompasses
those who had an alcohol-related criminal conviction or received a psychiatric
diagnosis o f primary or secondary alcoholism. A broader criterion such as self-
reported alcohol-related behaviors (i.e. measuring the quantity and frequency o f
drinking) may provide a wider continuum of alcohol-related problems in which the
degree and severity o f alcohol abuse may be taken into account.
2. Environmental effects might be minimized because prospective adoptive parents
were carefully screened so as to eliminate adverse effects. However, even with these
limitations, the adoption design remains a powerful approach to studying the nature-
nurture question.
Conclusions: Evidence for a Common Etiological Link
Criminal behavior may be a consequence or a precursor to the development of
alcohol abuse. The primary direction o f causality cannot be determined from this data.
The biological parents and male adoptees in our study were heavily criminal.
Criminals are known to begin drinking earlier in life than non-criminals, potentially
resulting in the shaping, progression and maintenance o f antisocial behaviors.
Schuckit (1973) proposed three possible etiological links between alcoholism
and antisocial personality: (1) that alcohol abuse is a symptom o f antisocial behavior,
(2) that alcohol abuse leads to antisocial behavior, (3) that a common etiologic factor
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36
underlies both alcoholism and antisocial behavior. Our findings, suggest that the
spectrum o f alcohol-related problems (including alcoholism, problem drinking, etc.)
and criminal offending may be genetically linked, supporting Schuckit’s third
proposed etiological link.
The underlying mechanism for expression o f these outcomes remains to be
identified, although many have speculated as to the nature of this relationship. Some
researchers have suggested that hyperactivity or minimal brain damage (MBD) may
be the common thread linking these two disorders. Several studies have noted the
tendency for hyperactivity in childhood and sociopathy and alcoholism in adulthood
to occur together in the same families (Tarter et al. 1977; Morrison & Stewart, 1971).
Another plausible hypothesis contends that certain personality variables may
increase the risk for both criminal behavior and alcohol abuse in an individual. Several
o f the heritable personality correlates of alcohol dependence are also correlates o f
antisocial behavior (i.e. aggression, social alienation, sensation seeking behaviors and
impulsivity (Sher and Trull, 1994). In addition, many o f the verbal language deficits
observed in delinquents are also found among individuals who suffer from alcohol
abuse (Sher et al., 1991).
Studies suggest that alcohol-related problems and criminal offending share
some type o f characteristic which increase the risk o f cross-transmission in addition to
increasing the risk that both outcomes will be expressed within the same individual. It
is hypothesized that a biological characteristic(s) is transmitted from parent to
offspring which may increase the risk of cross-transmission. The gene(s) which
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37
increase the risk o f expression o f both negative outcomes remains yet to be
determined.
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Creator Tehrani, Jasmine Arianna (author)

Core Title Genetic cross-relationships between criminal behavior and severe alcohol-related problems

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Clinical Psychology

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,psychology, clinical,sociology, criminology and penology

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