The etiology of the association between parental nurturance and youth antisocial behavior: Evidence from a twin differences study
Abstract Background Lower parental nurturance is consistently associated with higher levels of youth antisocial behavior (ASB), but the etiology of this association remains unclear. To fill this gap, we employed a twin differences approach to illuminate the environmental and genetic origins of the a...
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Wiley
2025-06-01
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| Series: | JCPP Advances |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12269 |
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| author | Alaina M. Di Dio Elizabeth A. Shewark Daniel Thaler S. Alexandra Burt |
| author_facet | Alaina M. Di Dio Elizabeth A. Shewark Daniel Thaler S. Alexandra Burt |
| author_sort | Alaina M. Di Dio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Lower parental nurturance is consistently associated with higher levels of youth antisocial behavior (ASB), but the etiology of this association remains unclear. To fill this gap, we employed a twin differences approach to illuminate the environmental and genetic origins of the association between parental nurturance and children's ASB. Methods Participants were 2060 twins (49% female) ages 6–10 from the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Parental nurturance and youth ASB were assessed using multiple measures (e.g., questionnaires, interviews) and informant reports (e.g., twins, parents, teachers). Co‐twin difference‐score correlations were analyzed separately by zygosity using specification curve analysis, an exhaustive modeling approach that examined associations across all possible specifications of the nurturance and ASB data. Results Parental nurturance demonstrated clear, negatively signed associations with youth ASB at the individual level. However, these associations generally did not persist within twin pairs. We observed no significant twin difference correlations within monozygotic (MZ) pairs and only a handful of significant twin difference correlations among dizygotic (DZ) pairs, in which the DZ co‐twin who experienced more nurturance exhibited less ASB. Post‐hoc analyses in these data revealed that these associations differed markedly from those with harsh parenting that suggested environmental influences on youth ASB. Conclusions These results strongly argue against a causal influence of low parental nurturance on youth ASB, and instead suggest that genetic influences and shared environmental confounds underlie their association. Further, findings strongly suggest that different parenting behaviors are associated with child ASB via different etiologic mechanisms. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c36c2a8dcc30462aa1a8b3b828ee2a01 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2692-9384 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | JCPP Advances |
| spelling | doaj-art-c36c2a8dcc30462aa1a8b3b828ee2a012025-08-20T02:22:16ZengWileyJCPP Advances2692-93842025-06-0152n/an/a10.1002/jcv2.12269The etiology of the association between parental nurturance and youth antisocial behavior: Evidence from a twin differences studyAlaina M. Di Dio0Elizabeth A. Shewark1Daniel Thaler2S. Alexandra Burt3Oberlin College Oberlin Ohio USAMichigan State University East Lansing Michigan USAMichigan State University East Lansing Michigan USAMichigan State University East Lansing Michigan USAAbstract Background Lower parental nurturance is consistently associated with higher levels of youth antisocial behavior (ASB), but the etiology of this association remains unclear. To fill this gap, we employed a twin differences approach to illuminate the environmental and genetic origins of the association between parental nurturance and children's ASB. Methods Participants were 2060 twins (49% female) ages 6–10 from the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Parental nurturance and youth ASB were assessed using multiple measures (e.g., questionnaires, interviews) and informant reports (e.g., twins, parents, teachers). Co‐twin difference‐score correlations were analyzed separately by zygosity using specification curve analysis, an exhaustive modeling approach that examined associations across all possible specifications of the nurturance and ASB data. Results Parental nurturance demonstrated clear, negatively signed associations with youth ASB at the individual level. However, these associations generally did not persist within twin pairs. We observed no significant twin difference correlations within monozygotic (MZ) pairs and only a handful of significant twin difference correlations among dizygotic (DZ) pairs, in which the DZ co‐twin who experienced more nurturance exhibited less ASB. Post‐hoc analyses in these data revealed that these associations differed markedly from those with harsh parenting that suggested environmental influences on youth ASB. Conclusions These results strongly argue against a causal influence of low parental nurturance on youth ASB, and instead suggest that genetic influences and shared environmental confounds underlie their association. Further, findings strongly suggest that different parenting behaviors are associated with child ASB via different etiologic mechanisms.https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12269antisocial behaviorgenotype‐environment correlationparentingtwin differences |
| spellingShingle | Alaina M. Di Dio Elizabeth A. Shewark Daniel Thaler S. Alexandra Burt The etiology of the association between parental nurturance and youth antisocial behavior: Evidence from a twin differences study JCPP Advances antisocial behavior genotype‐environment correlation parenting twin differences |
| title | The etiology of the association between parental nurturance and youth antisocial behavior: Evidence from a twin differences study |
| title_full | The etiology of the association between parental nurturance and youth antisocial behavior: Evidence from a twin differences study |
| title_fullStr | The etiology of the association between parental nurturance and youth antisocial behavior: Evidence from a twin differences study |
| title_full_unstemmed | The etiology of the association between parental nurturance and youth antisocial behavior: Evidence from a twin differences study |
| title_short | The etiology of the association between parental nurturance and youth antisocial behavior: Evidence from a twin differences study |
| title_sort | etiology of the association between parental nurturance and youth antisocial behavior evidence from a twin differences study |
| topic | antisocial behavior genotype‐environment correlation parenting twin differences |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12269 |
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