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Parental rejection and antisocial behavior: the moderating role of testosterone

Matthias Woeckener (Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas, USA)
Danielle L. Boisvert (Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas, USA)
Eric M. Cooke (Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas, USA)
Nicholas Kavish (Department of Psychology and Philosophy, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas, USA)
Richard H. Lewis (Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR, USA)
Jessica Wells (Department of Criminal Justice, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, USA)
Todd A. Armstrong (College of Public Affairs and Community Service, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska, USA)
Eric J. Connolly (Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas, USA)
James M. Harper (Department of Biological Sciences, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas, USA)

Journal of Criminal Psychology

ISSN: 2009-3829

Article publication date: 12 October 2018

Issue publication date: 28 November 2018

205

Abstract

Purpose

Research reports a positive relationship between parental rejection and antisocial behavior in adolescents and young adults. Studies also report a positive association between testosterone and antisocial behavior. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether testosterone moderates the influence of parental rejection on antisocial behavior in a sample of young adults.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study analyzed a sample of undergraduate students (N=322) to examine the interaction between testosterone and parental rejection in the prediction of antisocial behavior. Multivariate ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used to explore this association.

Findings

Results from OLS regression models revealed that parental rejection and testosterone were independently associated with antisocial behavior and that the effect of parental rejection on antisocial behavior was stronger at higher levels of testosterone.

Originality/value

This current study is the first to examine how testosterone conditions the influence of parental rejection on antisocial behavior in young adults. Findings from the study add to the growing body of literature examining the interplay between biological and environmental factors.

Keywords

Citation

Woeckener, M., Boisvert, D.L., Cooke, E.M., Kavish, N., Lewis, R.H., Wells, J., Armstrong, T.A., Connolly, E.J. and Harper, J.M. (2018), "Parental rejection and antisocial behavior: the moderating role of testosterone", Journal of Criminal Psychology, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 302-313. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCP-04-2018-0016

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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