School Context and Genetic Influences on Aggression in Adolescence

Citation

Rowe, D. C.; Almeida, D.; & Jacobson, K. (1999). School Context and Genetic Influences on Aggression in Adolescence. Psychological Science. vol. 10 (3) pp. 277-280

Abstract

Genetic and environmental contributions to variation in aggression were examined using adolescents' self-reports of aggressive behavior. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health provided a sample of 1,515 pairs of adolescents in five genetically informative groups (i.e., monozygotic twins, dizygotic twins, full siblings, half siblings, and unrelated siblings reared together). The analysis, a DeFries-Fulker regression within a hierarchical linear model, yielded findings on individual-level heritability (h2), shared environmental effects (c2), school-level effects, and school-level moderation of h2 and c2. The estimate of h2 for aggression in the full sample was .32, and c2 was .05. In the moderating effect, h2 increased and c2 decreased with greater school-level family warmth. Two effects on school means were found: Those schools with greater ethnic-racial heterogeneity had higher mean levels of aggression, and schools where students perceived greater family warmth had lower mean levels of aggression.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00150

Keyword(s)

Genetics

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Psychological Science

Author(s)

Rowe, D. C.
Almeida, D.
Jacobson, K.

Year Published

1999

Volume Number

Issue Number

Pages

277-280

DOI

10.1111/1467-9280.00150