4 Ch. 4 Biological Foundations of Crime

Ch. 4

Biological Foundations of Criminal Behavior

Dr. Shereen Hassan and Dan Lett, MA

https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/introcrim/part/6-biological-influences-on-criminal-behaviour/

Introduction to Criminology Copyright © 2023 by Dr. Shereen Hassan and Dan Lett, MA is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Genetics

It is a common misconception that the link between biology and crime is primarily genetic, yet there is much more to biology than the study of genes. However, our genes do have a profound influence on us, and a great deal of research has been conducted on the genetics of behavior. As behavior is highly complex, in almost all cases, any behavioral trait will be influenced by a large number of genes, not just two or three. Therefore, “a gene for crime” or for any complex behavior cannot exist. Most behavior is governed by thousands of genes, with each contributing a small amount towards a person exhibiting that behavior.

Most behaviors are not criminogenic on their own, but under the right circumstances could lead to a person offending. For example, impulsivity is a behavior that could potentially lead to a criminal event, such as not considering the consequences of stealing a car for a joy ride. Of course, impulsivity could equally result in buying way too many red shoes! How such a behavior is enacted is greatly influenced by many other factors including socioeconomic status (SES), education, and peers. Therefore, any relationship between genes and behavior is modulated by myriad genes and the number of genes a person has that influences that behavior will increase their likelihood of exhibiting that behavior.

Heritability Studies

A great deal of genetic and environmental research has been conducted using twin and adoption studies. These studies compare the impacts of genes and the environment on behavior.

Twins are a perfect study group as there are two types of twins: monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ). MZ (“identical”) twins began as a single zygote (one egg and one sperm) that, very shortly after fertilization, divide into two, resulting in two genetically identical babies, aside from small early mutations that may occur (Jonsson et al., 2021). DZ twins result from two zygotes and only share 50% of their genes (actually, we share 99% of our DNA with every other human being, but of the 1% that is different between all people, siblings share 50%). DZ twins in general share 100% of their environment and 50% of their genes, whereas MZ twins, in general, share 100% of both their environment and genes. Comparing behaviors between DZ and MZ twins helps us understand whether environment or genes has a greater influence on a behavioral trait. As both types of twins share the same environment, any differences relate to genetics. A great many twin studies have been conducted globally over the last 100 years and have consistently shown both a heritable component to criminogenic behavior and an environmental component (e.g., Anderson, 2020a; Kendler et al., 2015).

One problem with twin studies is the assumption that each set of twins share the same environment, but MZ twins, who look identical, may share more of their environment than DZ twins, who look less similar and may be different sexes. Such factors would impact the results (Burt & Simons, 2014). Adoption studies offer a much more powerful method of separating the effects of genes and the environment by comparing adopted children with their adopted and biological families. In such situations, biological parents can only contribute biological effects, and adoptive parents can only contribute environmental effects on the behavior of adopted children, as the studies focus on children adopted by non-relatives, neatly separating biological and environmental effects. Many large studies conducted worldwide have shown that a child is much more likely to offend if their biological rather than adoptive parents were offenders, and even more likely if both are offenders (Mednick et al., 1987). These findings show both a heritable relationship and the impact of the environment.

https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/identical-twins

From author Jeff Bry:

Take a look at the material for the documentary Three Identical Strangers. This documentary explored three identical triplets who (in a designed study) were separated at birth and raised in three distinct environments, one upper class, one middle class, one working class. While this is an interesting piece of research and documentary, the moral and ethical violations are evident. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Identical_Strangers

Gene X Environment Interactions (GxE)

People with different genetic backgrounds may react differently to the same environment. We know many risk factors influence the likelihood of committing a crime—such as child abuse, low SES, and peer pressure, but most people who experience these environmental factors do not turn to crime and may be exemplary members of society. Likewise, privileged, wealthy people with supportive peers and abuse-free childhoods may still commit many crimes. We now understand that persons with certain genetic backgrounds are more sensitive to specific environmental triggers than others (Mullineaux & DiLalla, 2015). Someone without a predisposition for criminal behavior may never offend, irrespective of an adverse environment, and a person with a predisposition for criminal behavior may never offend if they do not experience adversity. Adversity may be any form of hardship, which includes trauma, physical, sexual or emotional abuse, starvation, or any form of severe suffering. For example, as we will discuss later, males with a certain form of a gene for a neurotransmitter or chemical messenger have a higher predisposition for aggressive behavior only if they are severely physically abused as a child. If they are not abused, that is, they are never exposed to this trigger, they are no more likely to be aggressive than any other male (Caspi et al., 2002). A predisposition together with an adverse environment increases risk but still does not guarantee a criminal outcome because gradients in each either increase or decrease risk (Gajos et al., 2016). Several models predict these variations, such as the diathesis stress model, which suggests that a genotype has a number of different alleles or different gene variants, and each adds a tiny bit of risk (Bersted & DiLalla, 2016). If the person is exposed to a bad environment, then they are very likely to be antisocial, but if they are exposed to a good environment, they may not show any antisocial behavior at all. So, this model predicts that the basic causes of antisocial behavior are triggers in the environment interacting with the person’s genotype (Boardman et al., 2014). For example, it has been shown that children with certain risk factors are at greater risk of antisocial behavior if they experience parental conflict (Feinberg et al., 2007). These findings help identify not only environmental triggers but protective factors that can ameliorate or even eliminate risk.

Epigenetics

The genome is a person’s complete set of genetic instructions or blueprint (the DNA sequence), and it is controlled by the epigenome, an array of chemicals that tell the genome which genes should be turned on (expressed) and which should be turned off. The epigenome can also change in response to experiences, altering the way a gene is expressed—that is, what the gene actually does—without changing the DNA sequence. Therefore, a person’s genome remains the same, but its functions may change in response to experiences (DeLisi & Vaughn, 2015). For example, astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly are MZ twins, but only Scott spent a year in space. See the NASA twins study revealing that space flight can cause genetic changes. Studies of their DNA before and after the space travel showed that, although their DNA remained identical, stressors experienced on the flight had changed Scott’s DNA expression (Garrett-Bakelman et al., 2019).

Interestingly, although only the expression of the genes changes and not the DNA sequence, these epigenetic changes can be passed on to the next generation, so they are heritable (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2016). This very exciting new area is only just being explored, primarily as it relates to healthcare, but some work has been done on criminogenic behavior that helps explain GxE interactions. The epigenome is changed by the environment to allow the body to respond; changes may occur in neural development or in neurotransmitter or hormonal function, which could impact behavior. Studies on rodents show that maternal care could result in gene expression changes in the first week of life, with increased maternal care resulting in calmer offspring that exhibit less stress to new environments than those with low maternal care (Weaver et al., 2004). When rat pups were abused for 30 minutes a day during their first week of life, the brain changes lasted a lifetime, resulting in rats that abused their own offspring (Roth & Sweatt, 2011). In both studies, the changes could be reversed with medication.

Image of transfer of neurotransmitters between the neurons source pixabay.com

Many studies on children have shown that early life adversity and parenting decisions have an epigenetic effect on a child’s developing brain that can impact their future behavior, mental abilities, reaction to stress, and resilience to further adversity, making them less able to cope, and such changes can be transgenerational (DeLisi & Vaughn, 2015). This is a very new understanding and means that the experiences of your parents can epigenetically affect their DNA, which will impact the way your genes and even your children’s genes will be expressed. In other words, a person’s ancestor’s experiences can genetically impact later generations. Studies show that this epigenetic effect can increase antisocial behavior and callous unemotional aggression, reduce empathy, increase depression and reduce normal stress responses, resulting in a lack of fear of danger or consequences (DeLisi & Vaughn, 2015; Rutter, 2012).

When the communist government of Romania fell in 1989, the world was horrified to see images of hundreds of thousands of children abandoned and warehoused in appalling conditions, without the most basic necessities of life, and no human contact except abuse. This lack of basic care and human contact together with extreme deprivation and institutionalization meant many of these children exhibited cognitive problems. What 100,000+ Children Taught Us About Neglect in Early Childhood describes some of these issues. Imaging studies showed that these children had less total grey and white matter in the brain and an enlarged amygdala—a part of the brain responsible for dealing with emotions (Mehta et al., 2009). These findings may be a result of developing epigenetic coping mechanisms and reduced responses to extreme institutionalization. See Romania’s Abandoned Children about the impacts of institutionalization. In other studies of abused children, epigenetic changes increased their likelihood of developing post-traumatic stress disorder in response to adversity experienced in their adult lives (Mehta et al., 2013). Kayla Bourque is a Vancouver example of a high-risk violent offender with a history of animal abuse who was adopted from a Romanian orphanage. See B.C. animal killer called ‘psychopathic’ for more on Kayla Bourque.

It has long been accepted that experiencing an abusive childhood increases risk for later offending. These studies not only show the environmental impacts of such abuse but now also a major biological impact on a child’s developing brain, making them more susceptible to later environmental triggers, potentially resulting in antisocial behavior, an inability to deal with stressors, as well as a lack of parenting skills. Moreover, these changes can be transgenerational.

Residential Schools

Epigenetic studies help us understand why atrocities such as residential schools not only had major and long-lasting impacts on the Indigenous children who were abused, but also how the effect of this abuse is magnified as it is perpetuated biologically through the next generations, as discussed in Can Trauma Be Inherited?. Also, when child abuse causes a child to shut down, become socially withdrawn, become unreactive to normal pleasurable experiences and have reduced responses, it has long-term effects on their own relationships with their children, as a Residential school survivor explains the impact on her family.

These intergenerational impacts, although considered here in a scientific context, clearly illustrate the connections between the many aspects of knowledge, including the cognitive, spiritual, emotional and physical elements, which are all parts of Indigenous epistemologies (Doetzel, 2018; Simpson, 2011; Smith, 2012). In many cases, the disruption of these interconnections has also prevented the passage of traditional, ancestral knowledge to subsequent generations (Monchalin, 2016).

Picture source pixabay.com

In a Student’s Own Words:

Question: What do you think about biology and inheritance when it comes to crime?

While I think some people might be “born bad,” I don’t think you can tell simply by looking at someone’s features. It’s actually kind of humorous that someone would think that is true. Although some features might be caused by different illnesses or diseases, which may play a factor. Contrary to Lombroso’s beliefs, I don’t think criminal behavior can be predicted, unless the person has offended previously, then maybe you could predict what someone might do based on their past offenses.

Social Implications

When considering any heritable factor that impacts a physical characteristic with social implications, it must be separated from the social effect. When certain heritable characteristics such as skin color or ancestry put a person at a social disadvantage—for example, by making them more likely to experience poverty, a lack of education, starvation or abuse—their lack of success, or increased risk, is blamed on the inherited factor. In reality, this is a social construct and a result of systemic discrimination. Possessing that heritable characteristic greatly reduced that person’s chances of success in that particular society, and it is purely the environmental disadvantages that caused the outcome, not genetics or physical differences themselves. This discrimination, rather than ancestry, in part explains the disproportionate number of Indigenous persons who are incarcerated in Canada as well as African-Americans incarcerated in the United States.

Brain Chemistry

Neurochemistry is not often covered in criminology texts as it is highly specialized, yet some of the most exciting discoveries within biosocial criminology result from our rapidly increasing understanding of brain chemistry and its interactions with the environment. The brain controls all behavior, and we are beginning to understand how imbalances in certain brain chemicals can affect health and behavior. Neurotransmitters are chemicals involved in communication between nerve cells. Neurotransmitters are synthesized by the catalysis of an amino acid precursor. Once released, they bind to a receptor cell to transmit a message, then break down into their metabolites. Each of these stages is under genetic control and involves many genes. Imbalances and interactions between these neurotransmitters and our environment can have profound effects on our behavior.

Picture source pixabay.com

Serotonin

Low levels of serotonin, a behavioral inhibitor, have been linked to impulsive-aggressive behavior in extensive research conducted globally over six decades. A great deal of evidence shows that serotonin plays a role in impulsive-aggressive behavior, which makes sense because serotonin regulates the stress response in the brain, meaning that it impacts the way we handle and react to stress, in general having a calming effect.

Many studies have shown that dysfunction at any stage of the serotonergic system can reduce levels of serotonin, and alleles have been linked to increased levels of suicide (Antypa et al., 2013). For example, one such gene has two alleles referred to as S and L. We all have two alleles for every gene, so a person could have SS, SL or LL. The S allele makes a person more sensitive to stress, and the L allele makes them more resistant. In a seminal, long-term study of almost 900 people, Caspi and colleagues looked at 21- to 26-year-olds who had suffered multiple stressors (Caspi et al., 2003). They found that almost half of those with SS developed depression, and 11% attempted suicide as opposed to only 17% of those with LL who developed depression and 4% who attempted suicide (Caspi et al., 2003). This early study has been repeated many times around the world and again highlights the link between a person’s genetic background and their environment. Numerous studies have also linked low serotonin levels with aggressive behaviour (Brown et al., 1979; Glick, 2015), psychopathy (Glenn, 2011), impulsivity (Linnoila et al., 1983), and an inability to learn from negative experiences (Helmbold et al., 2015).

Overall, the studies on serotonin indicate that any sort of dysfunction in the serotonergic system has an adverse effect on behavior. However, in many cases, we can reverse the effects. Neurotransmitters are synthesized from building blocks or precursors of basic amino acids, and the precursor for serotonin is tryptophan. This amino acid can be obtained through diet. Even people with perfectly normal serotonin systems may get edgy or upset if their tryptophan levels drop. In contrast, increasing a person’s tryptophan levels often results in a feeling of peace and general well-being. One source of tryptophan is turkey, and this may account for the overall general feeling of benevolence often felt after eating a large turkey dinner. Therefore, such chemical imbalances may be successfully treated, often with something as simple as a change in diet.

Dopamine

Dopamine is often considered a pleasure or reward neurotransmitter as it produces many positive feelings in response to the normal pleasures in life, such as love, sex, and food. Many drugs target the dopamine system, causing a rapid increase in dopamine levels, resulting in euphoria (Volkow et al., 2003). In some cases, increases in dopamine can increase aggression, particularly in people with deficits in the normal reward system who do not gain pleasure from normal pleasurable activities and need greater stimulation (Blum et al., 2015). This means that such people are not happy with the usual simple pleasures like sex, chocolate or the company of friends, for example, so they need to push for greater excitement. A number of alleles within the dopamine system have been linked to increased risk for anti-social behavior (Blum et al., 2015; Young et al., 2002; Yun et al., 2015), but remember again that each allele only contributes a very small increased risk.

Monoamine Oxidase (MAO)

MAO is an enzyme responsible for breaking down several neurotransmitters, including serotonin and dopamine, so although not a neurotransmitter itself, it still impacts neurotransmitter levels. Many studies have linked low MAO levels to a variety of antisocial behaviors, including aggression (Antypa et al., 2013); however, perhaps the most interesting studies on MAO are those that show a distinct GxE interaction. The two MAO enzymes, A and B, are the result of two different genes on the X chromosome, making them sex-linked. Sex-linked traits are mostly expressed by males, as females have two X chromosomes. If one X has a deleterious allele of a gene, it is usually masked by the presence of a normal X. Males, however, only have a single X and a Y chromosome, so any genes on the X chromosome will be expressed.

The MAOA gene has several different alleles, with some resulting in normal levels of MAOA (MAOA-H) and others producing low levels (MAOA-L). In one of the first studies to find a GxE interaction, Caspi and colleagues considered a cohort of 442 male adults, identifying 154 who had been abused as children, 33 severely (Caspi et al., 2002). Each was evaluated for MAOA-H or MAOA-L and assessed for antisocial behavior based on convictions for violent crime or exhibited antisocial behavior. Only 12% of the entire cohort had MAOA-L, yet they accounted for 44% of violent crime convictions. A significant relationship was found between MAOA-L, child abuse and criminal convictions. Of the severely abused, 85% exhibited antisocial behavior. Men with the normal MAOA-H alleles rarely exhibited violent behavior, even if they had been severely abused as children (Caspi et al., 2002). It is important to understand that the risk of violent behavior only occurred when the genotype was combined with child abuse (Caspi et al., 2002). This is fascinating as people have often looked at a violent criminal and said, “Well, what did you expect, when he had such a violent upbringing?” Immediately, however, someone else will say, “My best friend was brutally abused as a child, and he’s not at all violent.” This seminal work was the first to demonstrate at least one pathway to explain why an abusive childhood may lead some to violence and not others, and it shows protective factors—a safe, stable home life in childhood can ameliorate such risk factors.

Brain Damage

The brain is the seat of all behavior, so obviously damage to the brain is likely to impact behavior, including, potentially, antisocial behavior. By design, the brain physically changes with experience and is another complicated mix of genetics and environment.

Head Injuries

Most behaviors are controlled by complex connections within the brain and not by one part alone. However, the frontal lobe, found from the forehead region above the eyes to the midway of the skull, is heavily involved in inhibiting inappropriate behavior, aggression and impulsivity. This area is at the front of the head so it is more likely to be injured in an accident or assault. People with a frontal lobe injury often lose their social graces, self-control, and patience, and may experience personality changes, develop anxiety or depression, demand instant gratification, or have poor planning skills (Lane et al., 2017). In 1848, Phineas Gage was a railroad construction supervisor when an accident drove a metal bar through his cheek and up through the top of his head, destroying his frontal lobe. Miraculously he survived, but his kind, polite, gentle personality was gone, and he became violent, irritable, and irresponsible. His friends said he was “no longer Gage” (Damasio et al., 1994, p1102). His memory and ability to do his job, however, had not changed. Similar changes have been seen in modern patients with frontal lobe damage (Damasio et al., 1994), and we are only just beginning to understand the impacts of repeated concussions in professional athletes, chronic traumatic encephalopathy and the relationship to antisocial behavior (Stern et al., 2011).

The brain is not fully developed at birth but continues to develop for many years, influenced by experience. Most brain development is completed around the mid-twenties, which is important as the law considers an accused to be an “adult” and entirely responsible for their actions by the age of eighteen or even younger, yet the brain is still developing at this age. In particular, the prefrontal region, the last to mature, is especially important in developing social behavior, appropriate responses, cognition, abstract thought, and inhibiting inappropriate behavior (Arain et al., 2013). Damage to the developing brain is, therefore, particularly harmful, as children and youth have not yet developed the inner control mechanisms or socially acceptable behavior of adulthood (Anderson, 2020b).

Child abuse commonly results in brain injury as even a single blow can cause damage. Even a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) can have major effects, particularly on social and emotional maturity and reduced cognition, which can lead to poor social interactions and peer relationships and long-term risk (Mychasiuk et al., 2014). Child abuse, therefore, not only creates a dysfunctional social environment but may result in lasting behavioral damage.

Many studies have shown that incarcerated youth have much higher rates of TBI than non-incarcerated youth (Gordon et al., 2017; Hughes et al., 2015), recidivism is increased in youth with TBIs (Williams et al., 2010), and in most cases the TBI predates the offence (Lewis et al., 1988). Not only can such an injury result in a youth being more likely to commit a crime, but TBI-related cognitive impairment, language deficits, comprehension, and social skills mean that the youth is also at a greater disadvantage when trying to navigate the highly complex legal system, which requires excellent communication skills and a clear understanding of all proceedings, rights, and legal advice, putting them at even greater risk (Wszalek & Turkstra, 2015).

TBI in adults has also been frequently linked with violence and crime, with some TBI sufferers exhibiting a loss of control, temper, increased physical and verbal violence, agitation and frustration (Bannon et al., 2015). In a meta-analysis of studies of incarcerated men and women in US prisons, 60% had suffered at least one TBI (Shiroma et al., 2010), with one study reporting 88% (Diamond et al., 2007). In a meta-analysis of studies from the US, the UK and Australia, prevalence ranged from 9.6 to 100%, with an average of 46% (Durand et al., 2017). In Canada, the prevalence of TBIs was over 50% in incarcerated men and 38% in incarcerated women, with many reporting multiple TBIs (Colantonio et al., 2014). Higher recidivism rates are also seen in adult offenders with TBIs as well as an earlier age of first offence, faster re-arrests, greater violence, increased sentences, and infractions while incarcerated (Ramos et al., 2018; Ray & Richardson, 2017).

Brain Disorders

Brain damage can also result from disease or toxins. Stroke, brain tumors, meningitis, alcoholism, and cannabis use can all damage or cause changes in the brain (e.g., Arain et al., 2013; Burns & Swerdlow, 2003). For example, a happily married, middle-aged schoolteacher suddenly developed an obsession with child pornography, was inappropriately sexual with children, and eventually sexually assaulted his own young stepdaughter. He was convicted and ordered to enter a treatment program from which he was expelled due to inappropriate sexual behavior towards other patients and the instructor. His inability to complete treatment resulted in an order to serve time, but before being sent to prison he complained of violent headaches and said he was scared he might rape someone. An MRI scan showed a large tumor in the orbito-frontal region of the frontal lobe of his brain, the area responsible for judgement, appropriate social behavior and self-control (Burns & Swerdlow, 2003). The tumor was removed, and his behavior returned to normal. He successfully completed treatment and returned home to his wife and stepdaughter. Sometime later, he began secretly collecting child pornography again. A scan revealed that the tumor had returned; it was removed, and his behavior returned to normal. This case indicates a major ethical dilemma—was he responsible for his actions? It seems clear that his criminal behavior was directly related to a medical condition over which he had no control. However, he later stated that “somewhere deep, deep, deep in the back of my head, there was a little voice saying ‘you shouldn’t do this’” (Glenn & Raine, 2014, p.58). This indicates that even at his worst, he was still able to form mens rea or the ability to understand that his actions were criminal.

Picture source pixabay.com

Diet

A healthy diet, with essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, is vital for brain development, and an inadequate diet in childhood can result in neural deficits leading to antisocial behavior, including aggression and reduced self-control (Jackson, 2016), and to many health issues. As many neurotransmitter precursors come from diet, a poor-quality diet may affect neural function simply by a lack of precursors.

Low SES is a known risk factor for antisocial behavior, as it includes many overall risk factors such as poverty, reduced education and job opportunities, together with the discrimination that often follows. Poverty in general reduces a developing child’s access to nutritious, fresh food, so the effects of low SES are likely to be exacerbated by a poor diet, with its resultant health issues, and also by its impact on neural development.

Supplementing diet has been understood as a way to improve health and behavior since Lombroso (Bohannon, 2009), and many large-scale studies on dietary supplementation for malnourished children have shown extraordinary improvements in behavior (Liu, 2004; Raine et al., 2003). A poor-quality diet does not necessarily mean starvation. A large global study of approximately 200,000 children from forty-one countries showed a 123% increase in bullying behavior in children eating poor-quality rather than nutritious food (Jackson, 2017). Such information opens the door to intervention strategies that can increase health and reduce antisocial behaviour with supplementation and education. A good example of such an intervention is the Breakfast Club of Canada, which provides children with nutritious breakfasts.

We have seen that direct abuse has both sociological and biological impacts on a child’s well-being and behavior throughout the life course and even transgenerationally. But institutionalization and residential schools have other insidious effects. As well as being physically, emotionally and sexually abused, residential school children were underfed, given poor-quality food, and frequently starved, as discussed in Hunger experienced in residential schools linked to present-day health problems. Aside from the obvious torture of such treatment at the time, the effects of poor diet and starvation can have long-lasting impacts on a person’s biology, health, and behavior. Colonization and residential schools deprived Indigenous Peoples of their traditional food sources and their knowledge of ways to harvest wild animals and plants to maintain a healthy diet. Once lost, these skills cannot be passed to future generations, leading to increased diet-related health issues. These issues are not just historical but persist today as many Indigenous Peoples have lost pre-colonial connections to the land and suffer ongoing biological consequences (Monchalin, 2016).

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

Some clearly environmental factors that impact behavior can also have biological effects. It is well known that alcohol usage is involved in a vast number of crimes, as it increases impulsivity and violence and reduces self-control. But alcohol usage during pregnancy can have much more insidious impacts on the developing child, resulting in a wide range of health and behavior problems. Prenatal alcohol exposure affects the developing brain as well as the serotonergic system, the dopamine system, hormonal systems, the immune system, and other aspects of neural development. These effects can result in children developing cognition, attention, communication, and perceptual deficits; hyperactivity; an inability to understand consequences; and poor peer relationships (CanFASD, 2018).

Alcohol use and abuse, which relates to residential school abuses and other systemic racism and discrimination, has historically disproportionately affected Indigenous Peoples (Johnson, 2016). Although such abuse is usually considered in a sociological context, it also has a biological basis. The effect of alcohol on an individual, such as how intoxicated they become, and how fast they process the alcohol, depends on many features such as whether they had eaten first, the speed at which they consumed the drink, and the alcohol content of the drink, but also the person’s biology. Alcohol is broken down by alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase enzymes, which are controlled by several genes. Different ancestral groups have different alleles for these genes, impacting their alcohol metabolism and thus their ability to tolerate the effects of alcohol (Wall et al., 2016).

Colonialism, intergenerational abuse, and residential schools have greatly increased maladaptive coping mechanisms such as alcohol usage among Indigenous women, resulting in much higher rates (38 times) of FASD than in the general population (Popova et al., 2017). In Canada, youth with FASD are 19–40 times more likely to be incarcerated than non-FASD youth (Malbin, 2004; Popova et al., 2011). This is a vicious circle as incarceration exacerbates the effects of FASD as such people are highly suggestible, form poor peer relationships and are frequently victimised, increasing their recidivism (Brown et al., 2014).

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Introduction to Criminology Copyright © 2023 by Dr. Shereen Hassan and Dan Lett, MA is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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