Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior in Juveniles: a Multidisciplinary Perspective
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University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2015 Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior in Juveniles: A Multidisciplinary Perspective Jill Portnoy University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Criminology Commons, and the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons Recommended Citation Portnoy, Jill, "Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior in Juveniles: A Multidisciplinary Perspective" (2015). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 1119. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1119 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1119 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior in Juveniles: A Multidisciplinary Perspective Abstract In order to understand the etiology of childhood and adolescent delinquency, researchers now recognize the need to identify risk factors for antisocial behavior across multiple disciplinary domains. Relative to psychological and social factors, biological factors have been the focus of little criminological research. This dissertation addresses this limitation by examining biological risk factors for antisocial behavior in children and adolescents. This dissertation consists of three papers that examine heart rate and hormones in relation to aggression and other antisocial behavior problems in youth. The first paper examines the relationship between reduced heart rate and antisocial behavior. Although low heart rate is a well-replicated biological correlate of antisocial behavior, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains largely unknown. This study addressed this limitation by examining possible mediators of the relationship between heart rate and antisocial behavior in a community sample of adolescent boys. This paper is the first ot show that impulsive sensation seeking underlies the relationship between aggression and heart rate. The second paper examines the interaction between heart rate reactivity to stress and neighborhood disadvantage in a community sample of male and female young adolescents. Heart rate reactivity to stress interacted with neighborhood disadvantage to predict antisocial behavior, with a stronger association between neighborhood disadvantage and antisocial behavior amongst subjects with low heart rate reactivity. The third paper examines whether interactions between biological systems predict antisocial behavior in male and female young adolescents. In males, low cortisol reactivity was associated with higher levels of aggression and rule-breaking behavior, but only among subjects with low 2D:4D (i.e., high prenatal testosterone). Together, the papers in this dissertation advance our understanding of the development of antisocial behavior in youth by identifying how biological factors both in interaction with the social environment and in interaction with one another contribute to the etiology of delinquency. At a theoretical level, findings highlight the need for esearr ch that examines variables across multiple disciplines in order to understand the development of antisocial behavior. At an intervention level, findings suggest that biological factors could be potential targets for behavioral change. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Criminology First Advisor Adrian Raine Keywords Aggression, Cortisol, Delinquency, Heart Rate, Neighborhood, Testosterone Subject Categories Criminology | Criminology and Criminal Justice This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1119 RISK FACTORS FOR ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN JUVENILES: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE Jill Portnoy A DISSERTATION in Criminology Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2015 Supervisor of Dissertation Graduate Group Chairperson _______________ __________________ Adrian Raine, D.Phil. Charles Loeffler, Ph.D. Richard Perry University Professor, Jerry Lee Assistant Professor of Departments of Criminology, Criminology Psychology, and Psychiatry Dissertation Committee Sara Jaffee Associate Professor, Department of Psychology John MacDonald Associate Professor, Departments of Criminology and Sociology Adrian Raine Richard Perry University Professor, Departments of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology ACKNOWLEDGMENT Thank you first and foremost to my advisor, Adrian Raine. I am incredibly grateful for your support and am so appreciative of all the time you have taken to help me grow as a researcher. I cannot begin to express how much I appreciate all of your advice, guidance, and support through this process. Thank you also to John MacDonald and Sara Jaffee. I appreciate you both taking the time to be a part of my committee. Your advice on both my research and my career plans has been invaluable. Thank you to Frances Chen and Anna Rudo-Hutt. I could not have finished this dissertation without your advice, words of encouragement, or our many tea and cake breaks! Thank you to all the past and current members of the Raine Lab and the Penn criminology PhD students. It was wonderful to go through the program with all of you! I am very indebted to Knakiya Hagans and Addie Métivier- I would be lost without you both. Finally, thank you to my friends, family, and especially Hank for supporting me these past four years. Several individuals contributed to versions of the papers in this dissertation. I would like to acknowledge and thank Adrian Raine, Frances Chen, Dustin Pardini, Rolf Loeber, Richard Jennings, Anna Rudo-Hutt, Yu Gao, Liana Soyfer, Andrea Glenn, Olivia Choy, and Douglas Granger for their contributions to these papers. ii ABSTRACT RISK FACTORS FOR ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN JUVENILES: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE Jill Portnoy Adrian Raine In order to understand the etiology of childhood and adolescent delinquency, researchers now recognize the need to identify risk factors for antisocial behavior across multiple disciplinary domains. Relative to psychological and social factors, biological factors have been the focus of little criminological research. This dissertation addresses this limitation by examining biological risk factors for antisocial behavior in children and adolescents. This dissertation consists of three papers that examine heart rate and hormones in relation to aggression and other antisocial behavior problems in youth. The first paper examines the relationship between reduced heart rate and antisocial behavior. Although low heart rate is a well-replicated biological correlate of antisocial behavior, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains largely unknown. This study addressed this limitation by examining possible mediators of the relationship between heart rate and antisocial behavior in a community sample of adolescent boys. This paper is the first to show that impulsive sensation seeking underlies the relationship between aggression and heart rate. The second paper examines the interaction between heart rate reactivity to stress and neighborhood disadvantage in a community sample of male and female young adolescents. Heart rate reactivity to stress interacted with neighborhood iii disadvantage to predict antisocial behavior, with a stronger association between neighborhood disadvantage and antisocial behavior amongst subjects with low heart rate reactivity. The third paper examines whether interactions between biological systems predict antisocial behavior in male and female young adolescents. In males, low cortisol reactivity was associated with higher levels of aggression and rule-breaking behavior, but only among subjects with low 2D:4D (i.e., high prenatal testosterone). Together, the papers in this dissertation advance our understanding of the development of antisocial behavior in youth by identifying how biological factors both in interaction with the social environment and in interaction with one another contribute to the etiology of delinquency. At a theoretical level, findings highlight the need for research that examines variables across multiple disciplines in order to understand the development of antisocial behavior. At an intervention level, findings suggest that biological factors could be potential targets for behavioral change. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENT .......................................................................................................... II ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... III LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. VII LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .............................................................................................. VIII GENERAL INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 Paper 1 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 3 Paper 2 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 5 Paper 3 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 6 PAPER 1. HEART