Citation

Retz W, Retz-Junginger P, Supprian T, Thome J, Rösler M. Behav. Sci. Law 2004; 22(3): 415-425.

Affiliation

Institute for Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry, University of the Saarland, Homburg/Saar, Germany. wolfgang.retz@uniklinik-saarland.de

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/bsl.589

PMID

15211560

Abstract

There is evidence that disturbances in central serotonin (5-HT) function have a role in impulsive aggression, violence, and criminality. A deletion/insertion polymorphism within the 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) promoter gene (5-HTT gene-linked polymorphic region, 5-HTTLPR) is thought to be associated with several psychopathological phenotypes related to disturbed impulse control, anxiety and depression. This study examined the association of the 5-HTTLPR with violent behavior in a sample of 153 male Caucasians referred for a forensic psychiatric examination. We found a significant excess of the short (s) allele and the s/s genotype in patients characterized by recurrent and overt physical violent behavior. This genetic variance explained 5% of the variance of violent behavior. When controlled for the impact of several psychopathologies related to violent behavior, this association was observed in individuals with a history of childhood attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-related symptoms, but not presenting with personality disorder or increased impulsiveness. In conclusion, the results (i). suggest an association between serotonergic dysfunction and violent behavior, (ii). provide evidence for an-at least partial-genetic regulation of violent behavior in a subgroup of male offenders, and (iii). suggest a significant role for 5-HT transporter functionality for violent behavior.

Language: en