Assessing the Relationship Between Childhood, Adolescent, and Concurrent Victimization with Handgun Ownership in Adulthood: A Genetically Sensitive Longitudinal Analysis

• In Event: Early Life Adversity as a Potent Source of Developmental Risk

Abstract

Victimization experiences during childhood and adolescence have often been illustrated to have long-term influences on a wide range of behavioral and psychological outcomes. In addition to variables such as fear of crime or perceptions of safety, early life victimizations have also been linked to firearm ownership. Recent analyses conducted by behavioral geneticists and biosocial criminologists, however, have cast doubt on the long-term effects of victimization on behavioral and personality profiles. Additionally, recent research has illustrated a non-zero influence of genetic factors on firearm ownership. Thus, the potential for genetic confounding in the observed association between victimization experiences and firearm ownership is a valid methodological concern. The current paper addresses this concern with a genetically-sensitive analysis of the long-term and concurrent influence of victimization experiences on handgun ownership. Using a sibling subsample of a large dataset of American youth, initial multivariate analyses lacking genetic sensitivity illustrated a consistent association between victimization and handgun ownership. However, genetically sensitive models employing sibling pair discordance produced mixed findings with the most stringent models (monozygotic twin discordance) resulting in a lack of any long-term association but an illustration of an association between concurrent victimization and handgun ownership. Implications for theory and research are discussed.

Author

• Joseph L Nedelec, University of Cincinnati