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Psychiatr Q (2014) 85:257265
DOI 10.1007/s11126-013-9287-x
ORIGINAL PAPER
Kevin M. Beaver J. C. Barnes Brian B. Boutwell
Published online: 11 December 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
Abstract There has been a great deal of research examining the link between a polymorphism in the promoter region of the MAOA gene and antisocial phenotypes. The results of these studies have consistently revealed that low activity MAOA alleles are related to antisocial behaviors for males who were maltreated as children. Recently, though, some evidence has emerged indicating that a rare allele of the MAOA genethat is, the 2-repeat allelemay have effects on violence that are independent of the environment. The current study builds on this research and examines the association between the 2-repeat allele and shooting and stabbing behaviors in a sample of males drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Analyses revealed that African-American males who carry the 2-repeat allele are signicantly more likely than all other genotypes to engage in shooting and stabbing behaviors and to report having multiple shooting and stabbing victims. The limitations of the study are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.
Keywords Add Health MAOA Shooting Stabbing
K. M. Beaver (&)
College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University, 634 W. Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1127, USAe-mail: [email protected]
K. M. Beaver
Center for Social and Humanities Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
J. C. Barnes
School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
B. B. Boutwell
College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77341-2296, USA
The 2-Repeat Allele of the MAOA Gene Confersan Increased Risk for Shooting and Stabbing Behaviors
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Introduction
Serious violent crime represents a pressing public health and safety concern to citizens in the United States and around the world. To illustrate, there are approximately 5 million violent victimization events that occur annually in the United States and a large percentage of these crimes involve the use of lethal weapons, such as guns and knives [29]. Although statistically rare, murder remains one of the leading causes of death for adolescents and young adults [13] and the commission of a violent act that does not culminate...