"Using the hi-tech tools of a new field called neurogenetics and a few simple questions for parents, a University of Michigan researcher is beginning to understand which boys are simply being boys and which may be headed for trouble.
"When young children lie or cheat or steal, parents naturally wonder if they'll grow out of it," says Luke Hyde, a U-M psychologist who is studying the development and treatment of antisocial behavior....
"The lifetime prevalence of conduct disorder is around 10 percent, and even higher in males and low-income populations," says Hyde. "The total cost to society is enormous, since these behaviors are often chronic, lasting through adulthood."...
"...He is using the techniques of a new field called neurogenetics, which combines genetics, neuroscience and psychology, to learn how genes and neural processes interact with harsh environments, including dangerous neighborhoods and harsh parents, and with a child's own levels of empathy and personality traits, to increase the risk of antisocial behavior....
"There is good news, though. Kids who scored high on this test benefitted just as much as other kids from interventions, according to Hyde. These interventions, often called parent management training, focus on giving parents better skills to manage child behavior problems, including training parents to spend more positive time with their kids, use time-outs instead of physical punishments, and reward good behavior by giving out stickers...."
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-11-bad-boys-itor.html
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