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Handbook of Life-Course Criminology pp 21–42Cite as

The Biology of Childhood Crime and Antisocial Behavior

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Abstract

Research into the biological underpinnings of antisocial behavior has not only been increasingly integrated into criminological research, but has also expanded its scope to focus on antisocial behavior that develops during childhood. Many of the biological risk factors that are associated with antisocial behavior during adulthood have also been found to characterize young antisocials. Structural and functional brain imaging studies have implicated several brain regions in the development of antisocial behavior in children, including the amygdala, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and the temporal region. Neuropsychological studies indicate that antisocial children display multiple behavioral indices of brain dysfunction, including executive dysfunction and IQ deficits. Psychophysiological studies have revealed that antisocial children are characterized by underarousal and diminished responses to stimuli and stressors. Early health factors, including minor physical anomalies and prenatal nicotine exposure, both independently and in interaction with social risk factors are associated with antisocial behavior in children. Future research should focus on incorporating a life-course criminological perspective into the study of the biology of childhood crime and antisocial behavior. Longitudinal studies that measure both biological and social risk factors over time will be critical to advancing our understanding of the development of antisocial behavior both during childhood and throughout the life-course.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Jill Portnoy

  2. Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, 11210, USA

    Yu Gao

  3. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore, 168937, Singapore

    Andrea L. Glenn

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA

    Sharon Niv

  5. Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Melissa Peskin & Anna Rudo-Hutt

  6. Department of Criminal Justice, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, 90840, USA

    Robert A. Schug

  7. Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA

    Yaling Yang

  8. Departments of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Adrian Raine

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  1. Jill Portnoy
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  9. Adrian Raine
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Correspondence to Jill Portnoy .

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  1. , Department of Criminology, University of Florida, Turlington Hall 3219, Gainsville, 32611-7330, Florida, USA

    Chris L. Gibson

  2. Dept. Sociology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

    Marvin D. Krohn

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Portnoy, J. et al. (2013). The Biology of Childhood Crime and Antisocial Behavior. In: Gibson, C., Krohn, M. (eds) Handbook of Life-Course Criminology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5113-6_2

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