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Biosocial studies of antisocial and violent behavior in children and adults: a review - 1

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, August, 2002 by Adrian Raine

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Theoretical perspectives are needed to help guide future research on biosocial interaction effects. Moffitt (1993) has argued that life-course persistent offending is a product of early interactions between neuropsychological and family factors and as such would predict early biosocial interaction effects in relation to life-course persistent offending, a prediction that seems to be generally supported by the data. In addition, the social push perspective argues that the link between antisocial behavior and biological risk factors will be weaker in adverse homes because the social predispositions to crime camouflage the biological contribution. In contrast, in benign home environments the role of biological predispositions can be more easily detected. The prefrontal dysfunction- executive overload theory outlined above is more specific in specifying conditions under which antisocial behavior will result as a function of the interplay between an immature prefrontal cortex and psychosocial demands. Ultimately, biosocial perspectives of antisocial behavior will be maximally helpful when a complementary and balanced theoretical-empirical approach is developed.

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In analyzing the pattern of interaction effects observed above, there are two main conclusions that can be drawn and that can guide future hypothesis-testing. When the biological and social factors are the grouping variable and antisocial behavior is the outcome, then the presence of both risk factors appears to increase rates of antisocial and violent behavior. When social and antisocial variables are the grouping variables and biological functioning is the outcome, then the social variable invariably (but not always) moderates the antisocial--biology relationship such that these relationships are strongest in those from benign home backgrounds. A question for future biosocial studies is whether these two patterns of findings, which ask different questions, can be substantiated, or whether different patterns emerge. In addition, studies conducted to date are relatively simplistic, and the question of whether these biosocial interactions are carried by conditions comorbid with antisocial behavior such as hype ractivity need to resolved (Hinshaw, Lahey, & Hart, 1993).

There are also statistical as well as theoretical difficulties facing future research into the biosocial bases of antisocial behavior. Statistically speaking, interactions and moderator effects are notoriously difficult to obtain due to problems of measurement error (McClelland & Judd, 1993), with power in the type of studies reviewed above being less than 20% of experimental studies. As such, Type II error is frequently more of a problem than Type I error in biosocial studies. Even where no statistically significant effect is observed, it would be advisable for researchers to report the means and standard deviations for groups on the biological variable broken down by the social variable (e.g., high vs. low social class) and compute effect sizes so that future meta-analyses can be conducted with the ensuing benefit of increased power.

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Biosocial studies of antisocial and violent behavior in children and adults: a review - 1

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, August, 2002 by Adrian Raine

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