8b required reading

Title: The Effects of Genetics, the Environment, and Low Self-Control on Perceived Maternal and Paternal Socialization

Abstract

  • Central Thesis: The association between parental socialization and antisocial behavior is central to criminological theory and research.

  • Perspective Shift: Traditional criminological theories view parental socialization as a purely social process, largely uninfluenced by genetic factors. New behavioral genetic research suggests otherwise.

  • Study Focus: The current study investigates the genetic and environmental influences on perceived paternal and maternal parenting using data from twins in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

  • Key Findings:

    • Genetic factors accounted for 16% to 31% of variances in maternal parenting perceptions (attachment, involvement, disengagement, negativity).

    • Genetic factors accounted for 46% to 63% of variances in paternal parenting perceptions.

  • Implications: These findings carry significant implications for criminological theory regarding parenting influences.

Keywords

  • Add Health

  • Genetics

  • Low self-control

  • Parenting

Introduction

  • Research Context: Extensive empirical investigations have shown the influence of parental socialization on child development.

  • Established Associations: Research indicates consistent links between parental measures and various negative outcomes (e.g., depression, teenage pregnancy, substance use, delinquency).

    • Examples:

    • Parental negativity correlates with mental health issues (Shah and Waller, 2000).

    • Parenting is posited to shape behavioral patterns and personality traits.

  • Alternative Explanations: Some behavioral geneticists suggest that genetic factors might explain variations in parenting techniques, leading to differing parenting styles influenced by shared genetic traits.

Importance of Parental Socialization to Criminology

  • Criminological Focus: Most criminological research identifies factors influencing crime and delinquency, focusing on correlating parenting with antisocial behaviors.

  • Defining Criteria for Criminogenic Risk Factors:

    • Must have empirical links to antisocial behaviors.

    • Should be embedded in criminological theories.

    • Should inform prevention and intervention programs.

  • Parental Socialization as a Risk Factor:

    • Strong connections found between parental socialization patterns and antisocial behavior (Cullen et al., 2008).

    • Few studies have investigated the origin of variations in parental socialization, despite its key role in criminology.

    • Critiques of past research argue for focusing on family interaction patterns as outcomes.

Genetic Influences on the Environment

  • Behavioral Genetics Overview: Behavioral geneticists decompose the variance in phenotypes into three components:

    • Heritability Component: Measures individual differences caused by genetic variance.

    • Shared Environmental Factors: Environmental factors shared by siblings.

    • Nonshared Environmental Effects: Factors that create differences between siblings.

  • Methodologies: Twin-based analyses compare monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins to estimate the proportion of variance attributed to these components.

  • Common Findings: Across studies, genetic effects are present in nearly all examined human phenotypes, with family environments having modest effects and nonshared environments exerting strong effects (Turkheimer, 2000).

  • Nature of Nurture: Investigation into how genetic influences extend to environmental shaping (Plomin et al., 1994).

Gene-Environment Correlations

  • Definition: Gene-environment correlations explain how genetic differences influence and shape environmental experiences (Jaffee and Price, 2007).

  • Types of Gene-Environment Correlations:

    1. Passive Gene-Environment Correlation: Parents provide both genes and rearing environments simultaneously, which can be correlated.

    • Example: Aggressive parents may produce aggressive children and rearing environments that are abusive.

    1. Evocative Gene-Environment Correlation: Genetic traits evoke responses from the environment leading to correlated treatment by parents.

    • Example: A child’s behavior, shaped by genetic predispositions, prompts specific parenting responses (e.g., stricter discipline for behavioral disorder).

Current Study Overview

  • Study Design: The research investigates the twin-based variances in perceived parental socialization, analyzing dimensions of parenting independently for both mothers and fathers.

  • Sample Source: Utilizes twin pairs from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, ensuring a comprehensive analysis through graphical statistical techniques.

Methods
Data Collection

  • Source: National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health)

    • First wave (1994-1995): School surveys with over 90,000 adolescents.

    • Follow-up interviews (home assessments) for sensitive topics with over 20,000 participants.

    • Subsequent stages (waves 2 and 3) detailed changing adolescent experiences into adulthood.

    • Oversampling of twins and siblings to ensure adequate statistical representativeness.

Measures

  1. Parenting Scales:

    • Maternal Attachment:

      • Measures closeness and perception of maternal care using a 5-point Likert scale, sum total indicating attachment level (alpha = .53).

    • Maternal Involvement:

      • Assesses recent activities with mothers across ten items (e.g., outings, projects), responses coded dichotomously (alpha = .53).

    • Maternal Disengagement:

      • Evaluates maternal warmth, communication satisfaction through seven questions, with sum score indicating disengagement (alpha = .86).

    • Paternal Parenting Measures:

      • Similar scales created for paternal involvement, attachment, and negativity reflecting the same opportunities and measures of maternal interactions.

Analysis Plan

  • Initial Step: Estimate twin correlations to assess genetic and environmental influences on parenting measures, comparing correlations between MZ and DZ twins.

  • DeFries-Fulker Analysis:

    • Regression analysis to provide estimates of genetic and environmental contributions to perceived parenting measures.

    • Adjust models to control for low self-control and delinquency as nonshared influences.

Results

  • Twin Correlations: Demonstrating significant differences between MZ and DZ twins across perceived parental scales.

  • DF Model Findings: Different proportions of variance across measures of perceived maternal and paternal parenting with breakdowns on genetic factors, shared and nonshared environmental influences, and adjusted effects for low self-control and delinquency.

Discussion

  • Main Findings: Genetic factors significantly influence perceptions of both maternal and paternal parenting. The results emphasize the complexity of parenting as influenced by both genetic predispositions and environmental interactions.

  • Implications for Criminology:

    • Suggests that traditional criminology must adapt to include genetic influences in understanding parenting correlations to antisocial behaviors.

    • Points to the need for genetically-informed research and updates to existing criminological theories.

Acknowledgments

  • This study utilized data from Add Health, directed by Kathleen Mullan Harris and associated with multiple federal funding sources.

References

  • Full citations listed in the document, reflecting a blend of foundational articles concerning parental socialization, genetics, and criminological studies.

Appendix

  • Detailed listings of scales and measures used in the analyses, including specific items included in low self-control and delinquency scales.