Same-Sex Relationships and Criminal Behavior: A Total Population Study in The Netherlands.

Sexual minority groups experience elevated risk across a range of adverse outcomes. Previous studies from the USA showed that these risks include contact with the criminal justice system for sexual minority females but not for males. This study examined whether this relationship between sexual minority status and criminal behavior was also found in a more secular country like the Netherlands with more progressive attitudes toward sexual minorities. Furthermore, the study aimed to examine whether this relationship applied to various types of crime and could be explained by unmeasured familial factors. Longitudinal data from the Dutch national population, including 75,362 individuals in a same-sex relationship and 3,464,906 individuals in opposite-sex relationships, were used to compare the risk of crime among males and females in same-sex and opposite-sex unions. Discordant sibling models were included to increase control over possible sources of confounding from shared familial factors. Analyses were repeated for six types of crime, including property offenses, violence, vandalism, and public order offenses, traffic offenses, drugs offenses, and other offenses. The results showed that the direction of the associations between same-sex relationships and offending differed for men and women. In general, men in same-sex relationships were less likely to be a suspect of crime compared to those in opposite-sex relationships [odds ratio (OR) = 0.685; p < .001]. Women in same-sex relationships exhibited higher risk than those in opposite-sex unions (OR = 1.560; p < .001). Similar patterns emerged for most crime types and the discordant sibling models yielded conclusions that were substantively similar to those among the total population.

Direct and Indirect Genetic Effects on Aggression.

Background: Family members resemble each other in their propensity for aggression. In twin studies, approximately 50% of the variance in aggression can be explained by genetic influences. However, if there are genotype-environment correlation mechanisms, such as environmental manifestations of parental and sibling genotypes, genetic influences may partly reflect environmental influences. In this study, we investigated the importance of indirect polygenic score (PGS) effects on aggression. Methods: We modeled the effect of PGSs based on 3 genome-wide association studies: early-life aggression, educational attainment, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The associations with aggression were tested in a within- and between-family design (37,796 measures from 7740 individuals, ages 3-86 years [mean = 14.20 years, SE = 12.03], from 3107 families, 55% female) and in a transmitted/nontransmitted PGS design (42,649 measures from 6653 individuals, ages 3-61 years [mean = 11.81 years, SE = 8.68], from 3024 families, 55% female). All participants are enrolled in the Netherlands Twin Register. Results: We found no evidence for contributions of indirect PGS effects on aggression in either a within- and between-family design or a transmitted/nontransmitted PGS design. Results indicate significant direct effects on aggression for the PGSs based on early-life aggression, educational attainment, and ADHD, although explained variance was low (within- and between-family: early-life aggression R2 = 0.3%, early-life ADHD R2 = 0.6%, educational attainment R2 = 0.7%; transmitted/nontransmitted PGSs: early-life aggression R2 = 0.2%, early-life ADHD R2 = 0.9%, educational attainment R2 = 0.5%). Conclusions: PGSs included in the current study had a direct (but no indirect) effect on aggression, consistent with results of previous twin and family studies. Further research involving other PGSs for aggression and related phenotypes is needed to determine whether this conclusion generalizes to overall genetic influences on aggression.

The Co-Twin Control Design: Implementation and Methodological Considerations.

Establishing causal relationships in observational studies is an important step in research and policy decision making. The association between an exposure and an outcome can be confounded by multiple factors, often making it hard to draw causal conclusions. The co-twin control design (CTCD) is a powerful approach that allows for the investigation of causal effects while controlling for genetic and shared environmental confounding factors. This article introduces the CTCD and offers an overview of analysis methods for binary and continuous outcome and exposure variables. Tools for data simulation are provided, along with practical guidance and accompanying scripts for implementing the CTCD in R, SPSS, and Stata. While the CTCD offers valuable insights into causal inference, it depends on several assumptions that are important when interpreting CTCD results. By presenting a broad overview of the CTCD, this article aims to equip researchers with actionable recommendations and a comprehensive understanding of the design's strengths and limitations.

Genetics and epigenetics of human aggression.

There is substantial variation between humans in aggressive behavior, with its biological etiology and molecular genetic basis mostly unknown. This review chapter offers an overview of genomic and omics studies revealing the genetic contribution to aggression and first insights into associations with epigenetic and other omics (e.g., metabolomics) profiles. We allowed for a broad phenotype definition including studies on "aggression," "aggressive behavior," or "aggression-related traits," "antisocial behavior," "conduct disorder," and "oppositional defiant disorder." Heritability estimates based on family and twin studies in children and adults of this broadly defined phenotype of aggression are around 50%, with relatively small fluctuations around this estimate. Next, we review the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) which search for associations with alleles and also allow for gene-based tests and epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) which seek to identify associations with differently methylated regions across the genome. Both GWAS and EWAS allow for construction of Polygenic and DNA methylation scores at an individual level. Currently, these predict a small percentage of variance in aggression. We expect that increases in sample size will lead to additional discoveries in GWAS and EWAS, and that multiomics approaches will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular underpinnings of aggression.

Stay Home, Stay Safe? The Impact of the COVID-19 Restrictions on the Prevalence, Nature, and Type of Reporter of Domestic Violence in the Netherlands.

Purpose: Insecurities and social isolation resulting from the COVID-19 restrictions, may have elevated tensions at home, consequently increasing the risk of domestic violence. The present study aims to examine changes in the prevalence, nature, and type of reporter of domestic violence following the various restrictions implemented to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the Netherlands. Methods: All official domestic violence reports recorded by the 26 Dutch domestic violence agencies in 2019 and 2020 were collected and analyzed. Time-series forecasting analyses, using a SARIMAX model, were conducted to predict the trend of domestic violence reports during the first lockdown and to compare the predicted trend with the observed trend. Results: The observed trend of the registered prevalence of domestic violence did not substantially differ from the predicted trend based on pre-pandemic data. Similarly, findings regarding the nature of domestic violence suggest no clear divergence of pre-pandemic trends during the lockdown period. Nonetheless, a shift was found from professional reporters (e.g., the police) to non-professional reporters (e.g., neighbors). Conclusions: The prevalence of domestic violence reports in the Netherlands did not increase. However, the COVID-19 restrictions may have led citizens, especially neighbors, to detect domestic violence more often.

Intergenerational continuity of crime: A comparison between children of discordant siblings.

BACKGROUND: Various studies have shown that fathers and children show similarities in criminal behaviour, but little is known about the nature of this relationship. By using a family-based research design, this study controls for familial confounders and gives a better estimate of the extent to which paternal crime has a direct effect on offspring offending. AIMS: To test the extent of any relationship between paternal offending during the childhood of offspring and adolescent offending by those offspring and to examine the effect of potential confounders of this relationship. METHODS: Data were from records held by Statistics Netherlands for 1,155,771 individuals born in the Netherlands between 1996 and 2001. Police data were used to measure paternal offending during the childhood (age 0-11) of this cohort and their adolescent offending (age 12-18). Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the bivariate relationship between paternal and offspring offending, as well as this relationship after controlling for various demographic and socio-economic variables. Conditional logistic regression analyses were used to compare children of discordant brothers (N = 9232). By comparing within families rather than between unrelated individuals, all unmeasured familial factors that are shared between these cousins were controlled for. RESULTS: Offending during adolescence was about three times as likely among offspring whose fathers had offended while they were 11 years old or younger than among adolescents with no such paternal problem (OR: 3.21, CI 3.17-3.26). This relationship was attenuated after controlling for measured confounders (OR: 1.78, CI 1.75-1.81) and for unmeasured familial confounders (OR: 1.47, CI 1.36-1.59), but remained significant. CONCLUSIONS: Paternal offending has an association with offspring offending, but this is small after controlling for measured socio-economic and unmeasured familial confounders. Previous studies that did not control for unmeasured familial confounders seem likely to have overestimated the effect of paternal crime on their offspring's offending. This has implications for interventions for the offspring. If confined to mitigating the negative consequences of paternal offending, they are likely to have limited effectiveness.

Continuity of Genetic Risk for Aggressive Behavior Across the Life-Course.

We test whether genetic influences that explain individual differences in aggression in early life also explain individual differences across the life-course. In two cohorts from The Netherlands (N = 13,471) and Australia (N = 5628), polygenic scores (PGSs) were computed based on a genome-wide meta-analysis of childhood/adolescence aggression. In a novel analytic approach, we ran a mixed effects model for each age (Netherlands: 12-70 years, Australia: 16-73 years), with observations at the focus age weighted as 1, and decaying weights for ages further away. We call this approach a 'rolling weights' model. In The Netherlands, the estimated effect of the PGS was relatively similar from age 12 to age 41, and decreased from age 41-70. In Australia, there was a peak in the effect of the PGS around age 40 years. These results are a first indication from a molecular genetics perspective that genetic influences on aggressive behavior that are expressed in childhood continue to play a role later in life.

Family member incarceration and physical health problems: A longitudinal study among Australian households.

This study examines the relationship between poor physical health and exposure to family member incarceration. Longitudinal data (2001-2015) from an Australian nationally representative household-based panel study was used (177,312 observations within 26,572 respondents). Hybrid random-effects models showed a strong correlation between poor physical health and family member imprisonment. However, this strong association can be explained for a large part by differences between individuals, since the association of physical health with within-individual changes in family member imprisonment was considerably lower. Nevertheless, the within-individual analyses showed that male sample members were significantly more likely to experience physical health problems in years in which they experienced family member imprisonment, compared to years in which they did not. This association was not found among females. Moreover, no effect of parental imprisonment on the physical health of young sample members was found.

Big Five Personality Traits of Cybercrime Victims.

The prevalence of cybercrime has increased rapidly over the last decades and has become part of the everyday life of citizens. It is, therefore, of great importance to gain more knowledge on the factors related to an increased or decreased likelihood of becoming a cybercrime victim. The current study adds to the existing body of knowledge using a large representative sample of Dutch individuals (N = 3,648) to study the relationship between cybercrime victimization and the key traits from the Big Five model of personality (i.e., extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience). First, multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between the personality traits and three victim groups, that is, cybercrime victims versus nonvictims, traditional crime victims versus nonvictims, and cybercrime victims versus traditional crime victims. Next, logistic regression analyses were performed to predict victimization of cyber-dependent crimes (i.e., hacking and virus infection) and cyber-enabled crimes (i.e., online intimidation, online consumer fraud, and theft from bank account). The analyses show that personality traits are not specifically associated with cybercrime victimization, but rather with victimization in general. Only those with higher scores on emotional stability were less likely to become a victim of cybercrime than traditional crime. Furthermore, the results indicate that there are little differences between personality traits related to victimization of cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent crimes. Only individuals with higher scores on openness to experience have higher odds of becoming a victim of cyber-enabled crimes.

An Exploration of Mate Similarity for Criminal Offending Behaviors: Results from a Multi-Generation Sample of Dutch Spouses.

There has been a growing body of research examining mate and spousal similarity on antisocial behaviors. The results of these studies have shown varying degrees of similarity between mates and spouses, but the precise mechanisms accounting for such similarity have remained somewhat elusive. The current study builds off this line of research and examines spousal similarity on criminal offending behaviors. Moreover, we also examine the potential factors that might account for spousal similarity. This study analyzed data drawn from two generations of Dutch spouses. The analyses revealed statistically significant associations between mates on criminal offending prior to marriage, a finding that is directly in line with an assortative mating explanation of spousal similarity. In addition, the analyses also revealed that criminal offending between spouses becomes even more similar after marriage, a finding that is line with a behavioral contagion explanation of spousal similarity. We conclude by discussing the limitations of the study along with the implications that these findings have for criminological research.