MEN with gene variations linked to aggression are more likely to join a gang.
About one-third of men have the low-activity version of the gene MAOA. This has previously been shown to increase aggression in men who were abused as children.
Kevin Beaver, a criminologist at Florida State University in Tallahassee, and colleagues looked at the version of MAOA present in about 2000 people, and asked about their involvement with gangs. They found that men with low-activity MAOA were twice as likely to have joined a gang as those with the normal version. Among gang members, men with low-activity …
