Journal of abnormal psychology
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Sex differences in the etiology of youth antisocial behavior are an intuitively appealing hypothesis given the consistently higher prevalence of antisocial behavior in boys versus girls. Although a few early studies supported this possibility, reporting stronger genetic influences in females and stronger environmental influences in males, subsequent meta-analyses found that antisocial behavior was equally heritable in males and females. Critically however, none of the meta-analyses evaluated whether sex differences in etiology might be enhanced in particular subpopulations or contexts. ⋯ Critically, these findings were confirmed when we reanalyzed meta-analytic data from Burt (2009a) separately by informant. Such findings suggest that, at least in school contexts, the etiology of antisocial behavior does indeed vary across sex. Implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record