Nonshared environmental influences on adolescent delinquent involvement and adult criminal behavior

Findings gleaned from behavioral genetic research have revealed that nonshared environments are particularly important sources of behavioral variation. Surprisingly little criminological research has examined directly the effects of the nonshared environment on adolescent delinquent involvement and adult criminal behavior. The current study addressed this gap in the literature by calculating difference scores in a sample of 289 monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs to examine the effects of the nonshared familial environment on delinquent involvement, adult criminal behavior, levels of self-control, and contact with antisocial peers. Analysis of MZ twin pairs from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) revealed that one nonshared family environment-maternal disengagement-was associated with delinquent involvement and the development of self-control. The remaining nonshared familial, environments, however, were not associated with antisocial outcomes. Implications of the findings are discussed.