Paternal antisocial behavior and sons' cognitive ability: a population-based quasiexperimental study
Antti Latvala1, Ralf Kuja-Halkola2, Niklas Långström2
1Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki antti.latvala@helsinki.fi.
Psychological Science
|November 27, 2014
Summary
Fathers' criminal behavior is linked to lower son cognitive ability, but this association is not causal. Underlying genetic factors, not family environment, explain the observed differences in cognitive skills.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Genetics
- Developmental Psychology
- Forensic Psychiatry
Background:
- Parental antisocial behavior presents developmental risks for offspring.
- The impact of parental antisocial behavior on children's cognitive development remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between fathers' criminal convictions and sons' cognitive ability.
- To elucidate the underlying genetic and environmental mechanisms influencing this association.
Main Methods:
- Utilized linked Swedish register data from a large cohort of adolescent men (N = 1,177,173).
- Employed children-of-siblings models and quantitative genetic models to disentangle genetic and environmental influences.
- Assessed sons' cognitive ability via compulsory military conscription evaluations.
Main Results:
- Sons of fathers with criminal convictions exhibited lower cognitive ability (Cohen's d = -0.28 for any crime; -0.49 for violent crime).
- The association diminished significantly and was eliminated as genetic factors were accounted for in the models.
- Nuclear-family environmental factors did not mediate the observed association.
Conclusions:
- The link between fathers' antisocial behavior and sons' cognitive ability is primarily attributable to shared genetic factors.
- This suggests the association is not causal, highlighting the significant role of heritability in cognitive outcomes.
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