An essay on the Modern Perspective of the Interaction Between Genetic and Environmental Factors on Crime

Subject Areas : genetics

hossein Pourbagher ¹ , Ali Najafi Tavana ²

1 - PhD Student, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, Theology, and Political Science, Science and Research Branch
2 - Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, Theology, and Political Science, Science and Research Branch

Received: 2025-02-26 Accepted : 2025-04-12 Published : 2025-04-17

Keywords: Behavioral Genetics, Gene×Envionment Interplay, Gene-Environment Correlation,

Abstract :

 

The role of causes and factors influencing the commission of crimes is a complex and multifaceted issue that has always been a source of debate among academics and other researchers. In this context, the age-old debate of nature versus nurture has been the central theme in understanding the causes of crime. Meanwhile, the age-old debate of nature versus nurture has been the central theme in understanding the causes of crime. The nature perspective argues that individuals are born with inherent genetic predispositions that make them more prone to criminal behavior. On the other hand, the nurture perspective emphasizes the role of environmental factors in shaping an individual's propensity for criminality. However, with advancements in related sciences and the new perspective of biosocial criminology, which posits that all behaviors, characteristics, and symptoms exhibited by humans are always the result of a complex interaction between genes and the environment, a new perspective has formed both genetic and environmental factors work together to create almost all human traits, and it is the combination of all the internal and environmental factors of individuals that can influence an individual's behavior and lead to a criminal act.

References:

1. Beaver, K.M. Biosocial Criminology: A Primer, 2nd edition, Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. 2013; 978-1-4652-1881-0.
2. Anderson, G. Biological Influences on Criminal Behavior (2nd ed.). CRC Press. 2020.
3. Barnes, J. C., & Jacobs, B. A. Genetic Risk for Violent Behavior and Environment Exposure to Disadvantage and Violent Crime: The Case for Gene–Environment Interaction. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2013: 28(1), 92-120.
4. Beaver, K. M., Gibson, C. L., DeLisi, M., Vaughn, M. G., & Wright, J. P. "The Interaction Between Neighborhood Disadvantage and Genetic Factors in the Prediction of Antisocial Outcomes", Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 2012;10(1), 25-40.
5. Baker, L., Tuvblad, C., & Raine, A. "Genetics and crime", In the SAGE Handbook of Criminological Theory. 2010; 21-39.
6. Bornstein M.H., Neiderhiser J.M., Liu C, Griffin A.M. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Lifespan Human Development, Five volume set, 2018.
7. Coyne M. A., Wright J. P. "Biosocial Approaches: Crime", International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (2nd Edition), Elsevier, 2015; 670-675.
8. Walsh, A. Sexuality and Crime: A Neo-Darwinian Perspective (1sted.), Routledge pub. 2023.
9. Coyne M. A., Wright J. P. "Biosocial Approaches: Crime", International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (2nd Edition), Elsevier, 2015;670-675.
10. Beaver, K. M. Genetics and Crime. The Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment, 1st Edition. 2016;1-5.
11. Padar P. Understanding the role of genetics in criminality, Addict Criminol journal. 2023; 4;6(4):165.
12. Köle O.E. Crime and Genetics. Journal of Experimental and Basic Medical Sciences; 2020; 1(1):10-13.
13. Nolen-Hoeksema S., Fredrickson B. L., Loftus G.R. and Wagenaar W. A. Atkinson & Hilgard’s Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. 2009.
14. Moffitt, T. E. Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children. Science, 2002, 297(5582), 851-854.
15. Stochholm, K., et al. Criminality in men with Klinefelter's syndrome and XYY syndrome: a cohort study. BMJ Open, 2012; 2(1), e000650.
16. Sloneem, J., et al. Smith-Magenis syndrome: A review of behavioral and sleep disorders. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 2011; 53(10), 892-898.
17. Walsh, A. Biosociology: Bridging the Biology-Sociology Divide (1sted.). Routledge. 2017.
18. McFadden DE, Friedman JM. Chromosome abnormalities in human beings. Mutat Res. 1997 12;396(1-2):129-40.
19. Ling, S., Umbach, R., & Raine, A. "Biological explanations of criminal behavior". Psychology, Crime & Law, 2019. 25(6), 626–640.