The Influence Of Dopaminergic Genes,Environment In Different Domains On Adolescent Antisocial Behavior And Its Underlying Mechanism:Differences Between Aggression And Rule-breaking

Adolescence is a critical period for the onset and development of antisocial behavior.Antisocial behavior in adolescents can lead to a range of negative consequences.At the same time,antisocial behavior in adolescents can result in a significant socio-economic and mental health care burden.It is therefore a major and urgent task to investigate and uncover the factors that influence antisocial behavior in adolescence and the mechanisms by which it occurs.Antisocial behavior has an important genetic basis and is influenced by environmental factors as well as individual cognitive and control factors.Over the last two decades,researchers have conducted a great deal of research on the factors that influence antisocial behavior and the mechanisms by which it occurs.However,the following key issues have not yet been fully elucidated in this field: First,the existing studies at home and abroad have seldom systematically investigated the mechanisms of the occurrence and development of antisocial behavior under the framework of “neurobiological models”,and it is difficult to establish an integrated model of the mechanisms of the occurrence and development of antisocial behavior at multiple levels,from the molecular level to the behavioral level.It is not possible to effectively reveal the complex mechanisms underlying the emergence of antisocial behavior.Secondly,although the existing studies that use the many dopaminergic system genes associated with antisocial,aggressive or rule-breaking behaviors as genetic indicators suggest that there are gene-environment interactions,these studies tend to ignore the nonlinear relationship between the function of these dopaminergic system genes and antisocial behavior.Third,both theoretical and empirical studies have shown variability in subtypes of antisocial behavior.Although a considerable degree of research has been conducted to explore the variability of antisocial behavior subtypes,these studies are currently relatively fragmented and lack integration to fully reveal the variability of antisocial behavior subtypes and their onset and developmental mechanisms,which may obscure the etiology of different antisocial behavior types.In summary,this study will build on the international frontiers of antisocial behavior research,adopt a longitudinal follow-up design and a multi-gene-environment design,and introduce endophenotypic variables(effortful control)to examine in greater depth the factors and mechanisms that influence subtypes of antisocial behavior(aggression and rule-breaking behavior)in adolescents.This study aims to elucidate the following three questions:(1)to examine the nonlinear relationship between dopaminergic system genes and adolescent aggression and rule-breaking;(2)to reveal the interaction between dopaminergic system genes and environmental factors(maternal parenting behavior,peer relationships)on adolescent aggression and rule-breaking and the differences in the mechanisms of occurrence;(3)to reveal the “gene-endophenotype-behavior” mechanism of effortful control in the influence of dopaminergic genes and environment on adolescent aggression and rule-breaking behavior and the differences between them.Participants with gene data were 1044 Chinese adolescents(mean age 13.32 ± 0.49 years old at Time 1,50.2% females)from a longitudinal study of Chinese Children and Adolescents(LSCCA).The present reseach is the first to investigate the roles of dopaminergic system genes,maternal parenting behavior,peer relationshipsand effortful control on adolescents aggressive behavior and rule-breaking,and its underlying differences by adopting the approach of multilocus genetic profile score(MGPS).The main findings of this study are as follows:1.In terms of negative environment,both maternal negative parenting and peer rejection significantly and positively predicted adolescent aggression and rule-breaking behavior,but peer rejection was a significantly greater predictor of adolescent aggression than rule-breaking behavior.In contrast,in terms of positive environment,maternal positive parenting was not a significant predictor of adolescent aggression and rule-breaking behavior,but peer acceptance was a significant negative predictor of adolescent aggression and rule-breaking behavior.2.Neither the MGPS nor it interaction with the environment factors were significant predictors of rule-breaking behavior in adolescents.Unlike rule-breaking behavior,There was a U-shaped relationship between dopaminergic system genes and adolescent aggressive behavior only at age 14,that is,adolescents carrying more or less alleles associated with low dopamine activity exhibited high levels of aggressive behavior.In addition,both maternal negative parenting and peer rejection moderated the nonlinear relationship between dopaminergic system genes and adolescent aggression.Specifically,the relationship between dopaminergic system genes and adolescent aggressive behavior were U-shaped at higher levels of maternal negative parenting,with adolescents carrying more or fewer alleles associated with low dopamine activity exhibiting high levels of aggression;this relationship did not hold at lower levels of maternal negative parenting.In contrast to maternal negative parenting,the relationship between dopaminergic system genes and adolescent aggression was U-shaped at low levels of peer rejection,with adolescents carrying more or less low dopamine activity-related alleles exhibiting high levels of aggression;this relationship did not hold at high levels of peer rejection.In contrast,neither maternal positive parenting nor peer acceptance significantly moderated the relationship between dopaminergic system genes and adolescent aggressive and rule-breaking behavior in positive environments.3.The mediating role of effortful control between the interaction of dopaminergic system genes with all environmental variables and adolescent aggression was not significant.The mediated moderating model was hold that dopaminergic system genes interact with maternal positive parenting to influence adolescent effortful control and,in turn,effortful control further influences rule-breaking.This result supports and extends the neurobiological model of antisocial behavior.A further exploration showed that there was a inverted U-shaped relationship between dopaminergic system genes and effortful control,with adolescents carrying more or fewer alleles associated with low dopamine activity exhibited lower levels of effortful control when experiencing higher levels of maternal positive parenting;No significant effect of dopaminergic system genes on adolescent effortful control when experiencing lower levels of maternal positive parenting.Overall,this study used a longitudinal study design and a multilocus genetic profile score approach,the present study investigated the influence of dopaminergic system genes on adolescent aggression and rule-breaking behavior and the mediating role of effortful control in different domain environments.Firstly,this study supports and extends the neurobiological model of antisocial behavior and provides empirical support for the domain-specific of individual sensitivity to the environment.Secondly,this study provides new evidence not only for a polygenic underpinnings of antisocial behavior,but more importantly,for a nonlinear relationship between dopaminergic system genes and antisocial behavior.Importantly,this study has revealed substantial differences in the factors and mechanisms that influence aggressive and rule-breaking behavior from early to mi-adolescence,and has improved the understanding of the heterogeneity of antisocial behavior in adolescence and the mechanisms by which it occurs.Although the underlying mechanisms involved need to be further explored in future studies,the findings of this study provide important that can expand and deepen the study of the pathology of adolescent antisocial behaviour,deepen the understanding of the heterogeneity of antisocial behaviour and its mechanisms,and provide important useful information for the interpretation of the genetic and environmental underpinnings of adolescent aggression and rule-breaking behavior and their mechanisms of action.It will also provide a more reliable theoretical basis for the scientific diagnosis,effective prevention and intervention of adolescent antisocial behaviour,and provide important insights for prevention and targeted intervention programmes aimed at reducing the risk of adolescent aggression and disciplinary behaviour.