Objectives : This study was carried out to explore the relationship between the impulsiveness and aggressiveness in adolescent prisoners and a polymorphism of the promoter region of the 5-HTT gene (5HTTLPR).
Methods : 198 adolescent prisoner volunleers and 68 male medical students as a normal control group were included in this study. The characteristics of adolescent prisoners and control subjects were assessed by using Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and Achenbach´s Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Genotypes of 5-HTTLPR were analysed with the primers flanking the regulatory region from genomic DNA.
Results : Adolescent prisoners were significantly more aggressive (t=4.780, df=248, p<0.001), impulsive (t=5.220, df= 248, p<0.001), and delinquent (t=12.299, df=173.554, p<0.001) than control group. There were no statistically significant differences in genotype frequencies of 5-HTbetween adolescent prisoners and control group ( X 2=2.378, df=6, p=0.882). There were no statistically significant differences in allelic frequencies of 5-1-1717 between adolescent prisoners and control group ( X 2=2.027, df=4, p=0.731).
Conclusion : In view of the negative results in the association of the promoter region polymorphism of serotonin transporter and the characteristics of adolescent prisoner, the promoter region polymorphism dose not appear to be a candidate gene for the characteristics of adolescent prisoner group. Further systematic researches including varying variables of phenotype would be required. (J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc 2004;43 (2) :183-188)
|