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Assortative mating for antisocial behavior: developmental and methodological implications.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Krueger, RF; Moffitt, TE; Caspi, A; Bleske, A; Silva, PA
Published in: Behavior genetics
May 1998

Do people mate assortatively for antisocial behavior? If so, what are the implications for the development and persistence of antisocial behavior? We investigated assortative mating for antisocial behavior and its correlates in a sample of 360 couples from Dunedin, New Zealand. We found substantial assortative mating for self-reports of antisocial behavior per se and for self-reports of couple members' tendencies to associate with antisocial peers (0.54 on average). Perceptions about the likelihood of social sanctions for antisocial behavior (e.g., being caught by the authorities or losing the respect of one's family) showed moderate assortative mating (0.32 on average). However, assortative mating for personality traits related to antisocial behavior was low (0.15 on average). These findings suggest that, whereas assortative mating for many individual-difference variables (such as personality traits) is low, assortative mating for actual antisocial behaviors is substantial. We conclude that future family studies of antisocial behavior should endeavor to measure and understand the influence of assortative mating. In addition, we outline a testable behavior-genetic model for the development of antisocial behavior, in which genes and environments promoting or discouraging antisocial behavior become concentrated within families (due to assortative mating), giving rise to widely varying individual developmental trajectories that are, nevertheless, similar within families.

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Published In

Behavior genetics

DOI

EISSN

1573-3297

ISSN

0001-8244

Publication Date

May 1998

Volume

28

Issue

3

Start / End Page

173 / 186

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Behavior
  • Sexual Partners
  • Personality
  • Netherlands
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Models, Genetic
  • Male
  • Likelihood Functions
  • Least-Squares Analysis
  • Humans
 

Citation

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Krueger, R. F., Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Bleske, A., & Silva, P. A. (1998). Assortative mating for antisocial behavior: developmental and methodological implications. Behavior Genetics, 28(3), 173–186. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1021419013124
Krueger, R. F., T. E. Moffitt, A. Caspi, A. Bleske, and P. A. Silva. “Assortative mating for antisocial behavior: developmental and methodological implications.Behavior Genetics 28, no. 3 (May 1998): 173–86. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1021419013124.
Krueger RF, Moffitt TE, Caspi A, Bleske A, Silva PA. Assortative mating for antisocial behavior: developmental and methodological implications. Behavior genetics. 1998 May;28(3):173–86.
Krueger, R. F., et al. “Assortative mating for antisocial behavior: developmental and methodological implications.Behavior Genetics, vol. 28, no. 3, May 1998, pp. 173–86. Epmc, doi:10.1023/a:1021419013124.
Krueger RF, Moffitt TE, Caspi A, Bleske A, Silva PA. Assortative mating for antisocial behavior: developmental and methodological implications. Behavior genetics. 1998 May;28(3):173–186.
Journal cover image

Published In

Behavior genetics

DOI

EISSN

1573-3297

ISSN

0001-8244

Publication Date

May 1998

Volume

28

Issue

3

Start / End Page

173 / 186

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Behavior
  • Sexual Partners
  • Personality
  • Netherlands
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Models, Genetic
  • Male
  • Likelihood Functions
  • Least-Squares Analysis
  • Humans