Role of Genotype in the Cycle of Violence in Maltreated Children

2002/08/02 by Avshalom Caspi, Joseph L. McClay, Terrie E. Moffitt +5 · 19 citations
Medicine · Neuroscience · Psychology · #Biology #Child Abuse and Trauma #Child abuse #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Clinical psychology #Cycle of violence #Developmental psychology #Domestic violence #Environmental health #Enzyme #Gene #Genetics #Genotype #Injury prevention #Medicine #Monoamine oxidase #Monoamine oxidase A #Neuroscience #Neurotransmitter systems #Poison control #Psychology #Stress Responses and Cortisol

paper · doi:10.1126/science.1072290

openalex publication_date 2002/08/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

We studied a large sample of male children from birth to adulthood to determine why some children who are maltreated grow up to develop antisocial behavior, whereas others do not. A functional polymorphism in the gene encoding the neurotransmitter-metabolizing enzyme monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) was found to moderate the effect of maltreatment. Maltreated children with a genotype conferring high levels of MAOA expression were less likely to develop antisocial problems. These findings may partly explain why not all victims of maltreatment grow up to victimize others, and they provide epidemiological evidence that genotypes can moderate children's sensitivity to environmental insults.

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