The developmental course of antisocial behavior is often described in terms of qualitatively distinct trajectories. However, the genetic etiology of various trajectories is not well understood. We examined heterogeneity in the development of delinquent and aggressive behavior in 1532 twin youth using four waves of data collection, spanning ages 9–10 to 16–18. A latent class growth analysis was used to uncover relevant subgroups. For delinquent behavior, three latent classes emerged: Non-Delinquent, Low-Level Delinquent, and Persistent Delinquent. Liability for persistent delinquency had a substantial genetic origin (heritability = 67%), whereas genetic influences were negligible for lower-risk subgroups. Three classes of aggressive behavior were identified: Non-Aggressive, Moderate, and High. Moderate heritability spanned the entire continuum of risk for aggressive behavior. Thus, there are differences between aggressive behavior and non-aggressive delinquency with respect to heterogeneity of etiology. We conclude that persistent delinquency represents an etiologically distinct class of rule-breaking with strong genetic roots.

反社会行为的发展过程通常用性质不同的轨迹来描述。然而，各种轨迹的遗传病因学尚不清楚。我们使用跨越 9-10 岁到 16-18 岁的四波数据收集，检查了 1532 名双胞胎青少年不良行为和攻击行为发展的异质性。潜在类别增长分析用于发现相关的子组。对于违法行为，出现了三个潜在类别：非违法行为、低级违法行为和持续违法行为。持续犯罪的责任有很大的遗传起源（遗传率 = 67%），而遗传影响对于低风险亚群可以忽略不计。确定了三类攻击性行为：非攻击性、中等和高。适度的遗传力涵盖攻击行为风险的整个连续体。因此，就病因的异质性而言，攻击性行为和非攻击性犯罪之间存在差异。我们的结论是，持续犯罪代表了一种在病因学上截然不同的违规行为，具有很强的遗传根源。