Abstract
Behavioral genetics has contributed to the study of psychopathology in three ways: (1) It has provided a theory of the genetic and environmental origins of individual differences in behavioral pathology, (2) devised methods that can disentangle the influence of nature and nurture, and (3) produced data that converge on the conclusion that hereditary influences are important in psychopathology. The new subdiscipline of developmental behavioral genetics is particularly relevant to the field of developmental psychopathology because its focus is on genetic change as well as continuity during development (Plomin, 1986a). The purpose of this chapter is to introduce developmental behavioral genetics, using aggressive behavior in childhood as an example of this approach.
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