The effect of the maturity gap on delinquency and drug use over the life course: A genetically sensitive longitudinal design

• In Event: The Continued Expansion of Biosocial Criminology

Abstract

Despite numerous examinations of the construct validity of Moffitt’s taxonomic theory, relatively fewer studies have assessed her claims regarding the etiology of the offending groups. This gap in the literature is especially evident regarding adolescence-limited (AL) offending. Moffitt suggested that AL offending results from frustration due to a maturity gap – the disjunction between biological and social maturity during adolescence. While preliminary support for the maturity gap hypothesis has been provided, mixed findings exist in the relatively scant literature. Additionally, given the swath of empirical literature indicating the influence of genetic factors on antisocial behavior and other phenotypes of relevance to AL offending analyses of the effects of the maturity gap on delinquency requires a genetically-sensitive methodology. To date, however, no such analysis has been conducted. Using a sample of monozygotic (MZ) twins (N = 524) the current study sought to address these gaps in the literature by assessing the influence of the maturity gap, parental conflict, and other theoretically relevant variables on delinquency and substance use in a sex-differentiated longitudinal analysis of MZ difference scores. Findings illustrated minimal influence of the maturity gap, parental conflict, and low self-control on delinquency and substance use in adolescence and adulthood. However, discordance in exposure to delinquent peers was associated with delinquency and substance use in adolescence but with little long-term effect. Overall, the findings provide mixed support for Moffitt’s ideas and illustrate the confounding effects of genetic factors in assessments of the etiology of antisocial behavior and tests of criminological theory.

Authors

• Joseph L. Nedelec, University of Cincinnati

• Insun Park, University of Cincinnati

• Ian A. Silver, University of Cincinnati