Use of Genetically Informed Evidence‐Based Prevention Science to Understand and Prevent Crime and Related Behavioral Disorders

• Author: Kevin M. Beaver,Abigail A. Fagan,Jamie M. Gajos
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12214
• Published date: 01 August 2016
• Date: 01 August 2016

RESEARCH ARTICLE

GENETICALLY INFORMED PREVENTION

SCIENCE

Use of Genetically Informed Evidence-Based

Prevention Science to Understand and

Prevent Crime and Related Behavioral

Disorders

Jamie M. Gajos

Florida State University

Abigail A. Fagan

University of Florida

Kevin M. Beaver

Florida State University and King Abdulaziz University

Research Summary

In this article, we outline the potential ways that genetic research can be used to inform

the development, testing, and dissemination of preventative interventions. Weconclude

by drawing attention to how the incorporation of genetic variables into prevention

designs could help identify individual variability in program effectiveness and thereby

increase program success rates.

Policy Implications

Evidence-based prevention science seeking to reduce crime and other relatedbehavioral

disorders has made significant progressin the identification of risk factors involved in the

development of antisocial behavior,as well as in the creation and testing of such programs

intended to target these risk factors. Nonetheless, issues of program effectiveness remain

as individual responsivity to prevention interventions is often overlooked. Paralleling

the movement toward evidence-based prevention science, but largely isolated from such

efforts, has been an area of research devoted toward identifying how genetic factors

interact with social environments to influence behavioral outcomes. By joining these

Direct correspondence to Jamie M. Gajos, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State

University, 145 Convocation Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1273 (e-mail: jmg09m@my.fsu.edu).

DOI:10.1111/1745-9133.12214 C2016 American Society of Criminology 683

Criminology & Public Policy rVolume 15 rIssue 3

Research Article Genetically Informed Prevention Science

two fields, genetically informed prevention interventions have the potential to increase

our understanding of the causes of crime and other problem behaviors, as well as to

help identify individual variability in program effectiveness.

There is considerable interest in how to prevent crime, as well as related mental,

emotional, and behavioral disorders (Farrington and Welsh, 2007; O’Connell,

Boat, and Warner, 2009). Federal agencies such as the Centers for Disease Con-

trol and Prevention, National Institute of Justice, and National Institutes of Health have

underscored the need for evidence-based programs, policies, and practices to reduce these

diverse negative outcomes. The need for prevention strategies implemented early in the

life course has been particularly emphasized (Haegerlich et al., 2014; National Prevention

Council, 2011; National Research Council, 2012). Prevention science research, conducted

across diverse disciplines including criminology, public health, medicine, psychology, and

social work, has made significant progress both in the identification of factors that affect

the development of problems (i.e., risk and protective factors; Farrington, 2000; Hawkins,

Catalano, and Miller, 1992; Lipsey and Derzon, 1998) and in the creation and testing of

interventions intended to manipulate these factors (Coie et al., 1993; Farrington, 2013;

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001).

An expanding body of research has indicated that certain interventions, when imple-

mented appropriately, can preventor reduce the occurrence of crime and related behavioral

problems (Elliott, 2013; O’Connell et al., 2009). Nonetheless, some key issues regarding

intervention effectiveness remain. Evaluations of preventive interventions often fail to iden-

tify the mechanism(s) or key components that produce behavioral changes, and the degree

to which overall effects are generalizable across diverse populations are often not established

(Flay et al., 2005; Sampson, Winship, and Knight, 2013). In particular, limited research

has evaluated whether biological or genetic predispositions condition program effectiveness

(Brody et al., 2013; Rocque, Welsh, and Raine, 2012). This omission is particularly salient

given the rise in research indicating that genetic factors often interact with social environ-

ments to influence behavioral outcomes (Barnes and Jacobs, 2013; Beaver, 2008; Beaver,

DeLisi, Vaughn,and Barnes, 2010; Beaver, Ratchford, and Ferguson, 2009; Cadoret, Yates,

Troughton, Woodworth, and Stewart, 1995; Jaffee et al., 2005; Kim-Cohen et al., 2006).

Although important in broadening the etiology of behavior, biosocial research has largely

left unexplored the degree to which individual responsivity to prevention interventions

may be affected by gene–environment interactions (but see Bakermans-Kranenburg, van

IJzendoorn, Pijlman, Mesman, and Juffer, 2008; Moffitt, Caspi, and Rutter, 2006).

This article seeks to integrate biosocial and prevention research to illustrate the potential

for genetic research to inform the development, testing, and dissemination of preventive in-

terventions (Howe, Beach, and Brody, 2010). In doing so, we seek to mitigate the skepticism

and fear that often surrounds policy implications of biosocial research (Barnes, 2014; Rose,

684 Criminology & Public Policy