Human Quantitative Genetics of Aggression

This chapter presents an overview of human quantitative genetic studies of aggression and violence, including twin, adoption, and molecular genetic designs from both the child and adult literature. It begins with the behavioral genetic literature on aggression in childhood and early adolescence. It highlights systematic differences across studies based on the method of assessing aggression, as well as presents evidence for both distinct and common etiologies that link aggression with other childhood behavioral problems. It then considers relevant behavioral genetic investigations of aggression in adulthood. The chapter discusses predominant theories and empirical findings from longitudinal studies of aggression during both childhood and adulthood, as well as highlighting various moderating effects on the etiology of these behaviors (i.e., gender differences and geneenvironment interactions). Finally, future directions for behavioral genetic research on aggression are discussed and important domains that have received comparatively less attention in this literature are underscored.