Genetic Explanations For Offending Behaviour AO1 Flashcards
What does genetic explanations for crime suggest
That criminals inherit a gene that predisposes them to commit crime
Christiansen’s (1977) twin study and results?
Christiansen (1977) studied 3500 twins in Denmark and found
higher concordance rates for offender behaviour in MZ twin
males (35%) than DZ twin males (13%). Female twins were
slightly lower.
What did Christiansen’s study suggest
That behaviour and underlying predisposing traits are inherited
What was crowe’s (1972) adoption study results
Crowe (1972) found that adopted children whose biological
mother had a criminal record were 50% more likely to have a
criminal record themselves by the age of 18, compared to the
control group (5%).
What was Tiihonen et al. (2015) candidate gene study and what did it suggest
Genetic analysis of 800 offenders
suggested that two genes (MAOA and
CDH13) may be implicated in violent crime in their study of 800
Finnish offenders:
What are the two candidate genes
MAOA
CDH13
What is CDH13 linked to
CDH13 has been linked to substance abuse and ADHD
What does MAOA regulate
MAOA regulates serotonin in the brain and has been linked to
aggressive behaviour
What did Tiihonen et al. (2015) suggest/find out?
Their research suggested that 5-10% of all severe violent crime
in Finland could be attributed to these genotypes.
What does the diathesis stress model propose
This model proposes that offender
behaviour is also partially moderated
by our environment.
What does the diathesis stress model propose and give an example
This model proposes that offender
behaviour is also partially moderated
by our environment.
For example, someone may have a
genetic predisposition for offender
behaviour, but never commit violent
crime.
• But someone else with the same
genetic predisposition might – abut
they endured a high level of childhood
trauma,
