In the current study, we leveraged differences within twin pairs to examine whether harsh parenting is associated with children’s antisocial behavior via environmental (vs. genetic) transmission. We examined two independent samples from the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Our primary sample contained 1,030 families (2,060 twin children; 49% female; 6–10 years old) oversampled for exposure to disadvantage. Our replication sample included 240 families (480 twin children; 50% female; 6–15 years old). Co-twin control analyses were conducted using a specification-curve framework, an exhaustive modeling approach in which all reasonable analytic specifications of the data are interrogated. Results revealed that, regardless of zygosity, the twin experiencing harsher parenting exhibited more antisocial behavior. These effects were robust across multiple operationalizations and informant reports of both harsh parenting and antisocial behavior with only a few exceptions. Results indicate that the association between harsh parenting and children’s antisocial behavior is, to a large degree, environmental in origin.

在目前的研究中，我们利用双胞胎之间的差异来检查严厉的养育方式是否与儿童通过环境（与遗传）传播的反社会行为有关。我们检查了来自密歇根州立大学双胞胎登记处的两个独立样本。我们的主要样本包含 1,030 个家庭（2,060 个双胞胎孩子；49% 为女性；6-10 岁），因处于不利地位而被过度抽样。我们的复制样本包括 240 个家庭（480 个双胞胎儿童；50% 为女性；6-15 岁）。使用规范曲线框架进行双胞胎控制分析，这是一种详尽的建模方法，其中询问所有合理的数据分析规范。结果显示，无论接合性如何，经历过严厉教养的双胞胎都表现出更多的反社会行为。除了少数例外，这些影响在多个操作化和关于严厉育儿和反社会行为的知情报告中都是稳健的。结果表明，严厉的养育方式与儿童的反社会行为之间的关联在很大程度上源于环境。