NCJ Number
139711
Journal
Criminology Volume: 30 Issue: 4 Dated: (November 1992) Pages: 595-613
Date Published
1992
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Meta-analysis was used to examine the putative association between heredity and crime, using data from 54 effect sizes obtained from 38 family, twin, and adoption studies on crime. Mitigating variables considered here included gender, sample nationality, date of publication, and quality of the research design.
Abstract
The analysis revealed a consistent and statistically significant association between various indices of heredity and crime, lending tentative support to a genetic interpretation of certain facets of criminal behavior. However, the author notes that the actual magnitude of the association was modest. Studies published after 1974 and featuring higher quality designs provided less support for the gene-crime relationship. The mean effect size of adoption studies, considered by some to be the strongest of the three primary strategies used to investigate genetically influenced behaviors, was less favorable to the hypothesis than were family and twin studies. 5 tables and 63 references