Abstract
Several prospective multigenerational studies have shown that crime runs in the family, while empirical research on the biological causes of crime has also established that low heart rate is related to antisocial behavior. This study examines whether the intergenerational transmission of crime is moderated or mediated by a low heart rate of the son. Prospectively collected conviction data on 794 men from three consecutive generations of the Dutch Transfive dataset is used. Heart rates were measured around age 18, during the medical examination prior to the mandatory military service in the Dutch army. All analyses were conducted separately for violent and non-violent crime. Both paternal violence and low heart rate levels are associated with increased violent offending. Intergenerational transmission of violence was only found among families in which the son had a low heart rate, although the degree of transmission did not differ significantly from families in which the son had a high heart rate. No support was found for a mediating influence of low heart rates of criminals’ offspring on the intergenerational transmission of crime and violence. The results from this study underline the importance to focus on the interaction between biological risk factors and psychosocial risk factors for criminal behavior.
Highlights
Ever since the late 19th century and the early 20th century, when [1] and Henry H
The odds ratio of violent crime (2.192) is larger than the odds ratio of non-violent crime (1.512) which suggests that the intergenerational transmission of violent crime is larger than the intergenerational transmission of non-violent crime
Data on 794 Dutch conscripts were used to examine the associations of paternal crime and low resting heart rates with criminal behavior of Dutch adults
Summary
Ever since the late 19th century and the early 20th century, when [1] and Henry H. Published their studies on the Jukes family and the Kallikak family, respectively, scientists have studied family influences on antisocial and criminal behavior. These studies, and the methods they used, are outdated. Empirical research on the biological causes of crime has established that low heart rate is related to antisocial behavior [6]. An increasing body of research shows that psychosocial (e.g., parental crime) and biological (e.g., low heart rate) risk factors interact in predisposing to criminal behavior (see e.g., [7]). In this study we will further explore such biosocial interactions by examining whether the intergenerational transmission of crime is moderated or mediated by a low heart rate
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