5-HTTLPR, Strain, Depression, and Criminal Behavior During Adolescence

• In Event: Biosocial Criminology: Juvenile Delinquency and Families

Abstract

Strain has been shown to be predictive of both negative emotions and crime during adolescence, but little research to date has examined the role that biological factors play in moderating the strain-negative emotions-crime relationship. Using a sample of adolescent males drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (N = 3,584), I explore whether the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) interacts with suicidal behavior by friends and family to affect depression and self-reported crime. Results of OLS and Negative Binomial regressions reveal that this particular strain interacts with 5-HTTLPR to increase both depression and crime, net of controls. Thus, 5-HTTLPR may be implicated in shaping negative emotions and antisocial behavior during adolescence by moderating the effects of stressful life events. Implications for theory are discussed.

Author

• Stephen Watts, University of Memphis