Research on Antisocial Behavior

Research Focus

Antisocial behavior in adulthood is usually preceded by antisocial behavior in childhood. Antisocial behavior in adolescence may or may not have been preceded by antisocial behavior in childhood, and it may or may not continue into adulthood. Indeed, there is a robust link between onset of antisocial behavior and its subsequent course (e.g., severity, persistence). So why does one person exhibit antisocial behavior at an early age while others show behavior problems only during adolescence? What types of factors influence the onset and course of antisocial behavior? Understanding the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors to individual differences in antisocial behavior has been the main focus of Dr. Taylor’s line of research on antisocial behavior. Our lab’s current study on substance abuse is aimed at understanding the extent to which physiological and cognitive risk factors are associated with not only substance abuse but with problems associated with substance abuse, such as antisocial personality disorder.

Our research on antisocial behavior is guided by the notion that antisocial behavior arises from both genetic and environmental sources of variation. Dr. Taylor’s work suggests that genetic factors account for around 30% of the variance in adolescent delinquency. Much of the remaining variance in adolescent delinquency is associated with non-shared environmental factors – those factors that make family members different from each other. Dr. Taylor’s work also suggests that there is a greater genetic influence on antisocial behavior that begins early (before age 12) than on antisocial behavior that begins in adolescence.

Current Research

Dr. Taylor has an ongoing role on the research team for the Arthur G. Dozier School, a high risk residential facility for adolescent boys adjudicated on one or more felony offenses in Florida. Preparations are underway for new data collection out at Dozier aimed at examining cortisol levels in response to a performance stressor and how reactivity interacts with impulsivity to provide risk for psychopathy, aggression, substance use disorders, suicidal behavior, anxiety, and depression. A separate project will get underway soon in Dr. Taylor’s lab examining emotional processing deficits at they relate to symptoms of histrionic personality disorder in order to better understand that disorder and its association with psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder.