About:

Dr. Jacobson received her PhD from the department of Human Development and Family Studies at the Pennsylvania State University . She first became interested in behavioral genetic research while working with Dr. David C. Rowe at the University of Arizona , and later did her Post Doctoral work with Dr. Kenneth S. Kendler, at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric & Behavioral Genetics at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond , Virginia .

Dr. Jacobson was faculty at the Virginia Commonwealth University from 2001-2005. She was recruited to the department of Psychiatry as Associate Director of Twin Studies, and is assisting Dr. Coccaro in the administration of the Pennsylvania Twin Project at the University of Chicago . She is also working on developing her own twin-family project using families from the Chicago area. In addition, Dr. Jacobson has access to data from a number of outstanding twin and family studies, and collaborates with other twin researchers around the world, including investigators from the University of Southern California , the Virginia Commonwealth University , the University of California at San Diego , Boston University , and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Although her primary interests are in how biology, genes, and environments interact in the development of antisocial behavior, Dr. Jacobson is also actively involved in studies investigating genetic and environmental influences on substance use disorders, personality disorders, and health, cognition and aging. Her research is supported largely through grants from the NIH, including a Mentored Scientist Career Development award from NIMH.

Selected Publications:

Jacobson, K.C., & Rowe , D.C. (1999). Genetic and environmental influences on the relationships between family connectedness, school connectedness, and adolescent depressed mood: Sex differences. Developmental Psychology, 35 , 926-939.

Rowe , D.C. , Almeida, D.M., & Jacobson, K.C. (1999). School context and genetic influences on aggression in adolescence. Psychological Science, 10 , 277-280.

Rowe , D.C. , Jacobson, K.C., & Van den Oord, E. J. C. G. (1999). Genetic and environmental influences on vocabulary IQ: Parental education as moderator. Child Development, 70 , 1151-1162.

Jacobson, K.C., & Crockett, L. J. (2000). Parental monitoring and adolescent adjustment: An ecological approach. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 10 , 65-97.

Jacobson, K.C., Prescott , C.A. , Neale, M. C., & Kendler, K.S. (2000). Cohort differences in genetic and environmental influences on retrospective reports of conduct disorder among adult male twins. Psychological Medicine, 30 , 775-787.

Jacobson, K.C., & Rowe , D.C. (2000). Nature, nurture, and the development of criminality. In J. F. Sheley (Ed.) Criminology: A contemporary handbook (3 rd Edition) . Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Jacobson, K.C., Prescott , C.A. , & Kendler, K.S. (2002). Sex differences in genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behavior from childhood to adulthood. Development and Psychopathology, 14 , 395-416.

Kendler, K.S., Jacobson, K.C., Prescott , C.A. , & Neale, M.C. (2003). The specificity of genetic and environmental risk factors in men for the illicit use and abuse/dependence of cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens, sedatives, stimulants, and opiates. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160 , 687-695.

Jacobson, K.C. (2005). Genetic influence on the development of antisocial behavior. In New Directions for Psychiatric Genetics . K. Kendler & L. Eaves (Eds). Washington , DC : American Psychiatric Press, Incorporated.

Jacobson, K.C. (2005). The genetic basis of substance use and abuse. In R. Stohler & W. Rossler (Eds.) Bibliotheca Psychiatrica, Vol. No. 171, Special Issue: Dual Diagnosis (pp.15-30). Basel , Switzerland : Karger Publications.