Intergenerational transmission of antisocial behaviour in childhood

This chapter presents information on the Family Transitions Project (FTP); a longitudinal, intergenerational study of families originally from rural areas of Iowa. The chapter also provides an overview of key findings from the FTP on the intergenerational transmission of antisocial behaviour and aggression. When the FTP began in 1989, it included families with a target child in the seventh grade. These targets have been followed for over 25 years and now have families and children of their own. The study includes information on three generations of study participants: the second generation target and their similarly aged sibling (G2), their first generation mother and father (G1), and the G2 target’s third generation child (G3). The initial years (1989-1994) of the study focused on the target’s family of origin. Beginning in 1995 (the first year the targets were out of high school), the focus of the study shifted to the target’s adult development, and data were collected on the G2 targets, their romantic partners, and their oldest biological G3 child (beginning in 1997). Findings from the FTP suggest that the intergenerational transmission of aggression and antisocial behaviours involves transactional processes that occur over time and across generations. For instance, parents’ aggression appears to negatively impact family socioeconomic status (SES), leading to fewer parenting and material investments in the next generation adolescent. In turn, fewer investments in the next generation adolescent are associated with higher levels of adolescent aggression, which then negatively impacts the next generation’s SES during adulthood as these processes repeat across generations.