Perinatal risk factors in the development of aggression and violence

Abstract

Over the past several decades, the relative contribution of both environmental and genetic influences in the development of aggression and violence has been explored extensively. Only fairly recently, however, has it become increasingly evident that early perinatal life events may substantially increase the vulnerability toward the development of violent and aggressive behaviors in offspring across the lifespan. Early life risk factors, such as pregnancy and birth complications and intrauterine exposure to environmental toxins, appear to have a profound and enduring impact on the neuroregulatory systems mediating violence and aggression, yet the emergence of later adverse behavioral outcomes appears to be both complex and multidimensional. The present chapter reviews available experimental and clinical findings to provide a framework on perinatal risk factors that are associated with altered developmental trajectories leading to violence and aggression, and also highlights the genetic contributions in the expression of these behaviors.