Gene-Environment Interactions: The Relationship between MAOA polymorphism, Peer Affiliation, and Antisocial Behavior

• In Event: Biosocial Explanations of Antisocial Behaviors

Abstract

Meta-analytic studies have found the low-activity MAOA-uVNTR polymorphism to be associated with antisocial behavior from early childhood through adulthood, and that MAOA-uVNTR and environmental adversities interact to predict a variety of maladaptive behaviors. Some studies, however, have found that the interaction between the high-activity MAOA-uVNTR and environmental conditions, such as deviant peer affiliation, significantly associate with antisocial behavior (Lee, 2011). Given Lee’s (2011) unexpected findings, and his limited sample of Caucasian males, it is necessary to re-examine the interaction between MAOA-uVNTR and deviant peer affiliation in an ethnically diverse sample of male and female undergraduate students. Results will be discussed from a biosocial perspective that incorporates the interaction between MAOA-uVNTR and deviant peer affiliation on antisocial behavior.

Authors

• Eric Cooke, Sam Houston State University

• Todd Armstrong, University of Nebraska at Omaha

• Jessica Wells, Sam Houston State University

• Danielle Boisvert, Sam Houston State University

• Richard Lewis, Sam Houston State University

• Matthias Woeckener, Sam Houston State University