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Peer-reviewedCC BYDevelopment and psychopathology

Genetic and contextual risks and developmental mechanisms underlying childhood aggression and young adult justice system involvement

  • Savannah G. Ostner1
  • Jenn-Yun Tein1
  • Daniel S. Shaw2
  • Erika Westling3
  • Jazmin Brown-Iannuzzi4
  • Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant1
4 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, USA
  2. 2Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, USA
  3. 3Oregon Research Institute, USA
  4. 4Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, USA
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Abstract

Aggressive behavior, shaped by genetics and environmental or contextual influences, is expressed differently across development and may lead to criminal justice involvement through arrests and incarceration for some individuals. This study examined the differential impacts of early childhood contextual risk and polygenic risk on a developmental cascade from middle childhood physical aggression and dysregulation to adolescent antisocial behavior, to criminal justice system involvement by age 19, and whether these risks were mitigated by random assignment to the Family Check-Up (FCU) prevention program. The sample included high-risk toddler (N = 731; Mage = 28.2 months, SD = 3.28; 49.5% female, 50% White, 28% Black, 13% Hispanic) and parent dyads involved in a randomized-controlled trial of the FCU and followed longitudinally across 11 waves from ages 2 to 19. Results supported a developmental cascade from middle childhood physical aggression (parent reported) to self-reported legal system involvement at age 19. Early cumulative contextual risk predicted arrests (b = 0.35, p = .001), while a risk tolerance polygenic score predicted self-reported adolescent antisocial behavior (b = 0.51, p = .005). Further, the FCU attenuated the genetic effects on antisocial behavior in adolescence. Findings highlight the value of early prevention for reducing the impact of genetic and contextual risk on rates of justice system involvement by young adulthood.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{ostner2026genetic,
  title = {{Genetic and contextual risks and developmental mechanisms underlying childhood aggression and young adult justice system involvement}},
  author = {Savannah G. Ostner and Jenn-Yun Tein and Daniel S. Shaw and Erika Westling and Jazmin Brown-Iannuzzi and Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant},
  journal = {Development and psychopathology},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1017/s0954579426101898},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13727081},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Genetic and contextual risks and developmental mechanisms underlying childhood aggression and young adult justice system involvement
AU  - Savannah G. Ostner
AU  - Jenn-Yun Tein
AU  - Daniel S. Shaw
AU  - Erika Westling
AU  - Jazmin Brown-Iannuzzi
AU  - Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/23
JO  - Development and psychopathology
DO  - 10.1017/s0954579426101898
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13727081
AB  - Aggressive behavior, shaped by genetics and environmental or contextual influences, is expressed differently across development and may lead to criminal justice involvement through arrests and incarceration for some individuals. This study examined the differential impacts of early childhood contextual risk and polygenic risk on a developmental cascade from middle childhood physical aggression and dysregulation to adolescent antisocial behavior, to criminal justice system involvement by age 19, and whether these risks were mitigated by random assignment to the Family Check-Up (FCU) prevention program. The sample included high-risk toddler (N = 731; Mage = 28.2 months, SD = 3.28; 49.5% female, 50% White, 28% Black, 13% Hispanic) and parent dyads involved in a randomized-controlled trial of the FCU and followed longitudinally across 11 waves from ages 2 to 19. Results supported a developmental cascade from middle childhood physical aggression (parent reported) to self-reported legal system involvement at age 19. Early cumulative contextual risk predicted arrests (b = 0.35, p = .001), while a risk tolerance polygenic score predicted self-reported adolescent antisocial behavior (b = 0.51, p = .005). Further, the FCU attenuated the genetic effects on antisocial behavior in adolescence. Findings highlight the value of early prevention for reducing the impact of genetic and contextual risk on rates of justice system involvement by young adulthood.
SN  - 0954-5794
SN  - 1469-2198
ER  -