A Behavioral Genetic Test of the Evolutionary Taxonomy

Abstract

Life-course-persistent (LCP) offending has been intensely studied over the last several decades resulting in an impressive amount of evidence linking chronic offending with a host of negative outcomes including violence, impulsiveness, and sexual promiscuity. Although much evidence also exists regarding the origins of LCP offending, emergent work is attempting to unify this knowledge under the umbrella of evolutionary biology using life history theory. The current study draws on this work—specifically, the Evolutionary Taxonomy—in order to further probe the etiology of chronic antisocial behavior. Using quantitative genetic methods and data from a national sample of twins, the current study examines whether LCP offending and the life history trait of sexual promiscuity might be linked at an underlying genetic level. Analyses of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) data suggest that a shared genetic scaffold might be responsible for some of the covariation of LCP offending with the life history trait of sexual promiscuity. Specifically, the current analyses revealed evidence that overlapping genetic factors influenced both sexual involvement and LCP offender classification. Our results offer insight regarding the evolution of the traits that distinguish LCP offenders from the rest of the population. LCP offending may represent a set of life history traits that, over the course of human evolution, clustered together in small segments of the population. The findings lend support for the Evolutionary Taxonomy proposed to explain the ultimate origins of criminal offending.