Aggression, Impulsivity, Plasma Sex Hormones, and Biogenic Amine Turnover in a Forensic Population of Rapists

Giotakos, Orestis; Markianos, Manolis; Vaidakis, Nikolaos; Christodoulou, George N.

doi:10.1080/00926230390155113

Cited by 55 publications

(22 citation statements)

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“…Aromaki et al [11], in their study on rapists and child molesters, reported no difference in the average level of testosterone but observed that the antisocial personality disorder index was directly correlated with the testosterone level, and sexual activity (masturbation and intercourse) was directly correlated with the testosterone level in the rapists and child molesters but not in the control subjects. Giotakos et al reported higher levels of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the rapists [22]. Given that CAG repeats inversely correlate with AR activity, shorter CAG repeats may produce effects equivalent to high testosterone levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Reduced CAG repeats length in androgen receptor gene is associated with violent criminal behavior

Rajender

Pandu²,

Sharma

et al. 2008

Int J Legal Med

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Androgens mediate their functions through androgen receptors (AR). The two triplet repeats in the AR gene (CAG and GGN) are highly polymorphic among various populations and have been extensively studied in diverse clinical conditions and antisocial personality disorders. Several studies have reported either higher levels of testosterone among rapists or the correlation of shorter CAG repeats with criminal activities. However, to date, no study has analyzed AR gene in rapists worldwide, and no study has been conducted on criminals from Indian subcontinent. Therefore, we have analyzed the AR-CAG repeat length in 645 men, of which 241 were convicted for rape, 107 for murder, 26 for both murder and rape, and 271 were control males. The aim was to explore if there was any correlation between CAG repeat length and criminal behavior. The study revealed significantly shorter CAG repeats in the rapists (mean 18.44 repeats) and murderers (mean 17.59 repeats) compared to the control men (mean 21.19 repeats). The criminals who committed murder after rape had a far shorter mean repeat length (mean 17.31 repeats) in comparison to the controls or those convicted of rape or murder alone. In short, our study suggests that the reduced CAG repeats in the AR gene are associated with criminal behavior. This, along with other studies, would help in understanding the biological factors associated with the antisocial or criminal activities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Reduced CAG repeats length in androgen receptor gene is associated with violent criminal behavior

Rajender

Pandu²,

Sharma

et al. 2008

Int J Legal Med

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“…In male suicide attempters, aggressiveness has been associated with low testosterone levels [17] , but this finding has not been replicated [18,19] . Gustavsson et al [20] did not find any significant association between testosterone levels and suicidal behaviors or aggressive-impulsive temperament.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Lack of Association between Testosterone and Suicide Attempts

et al. 2010

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Objective: To determine whether testosterone levels differ in male suicide attempters versus healthy controls and to explore the associations between testosterone levels and time of blood collection, and between testosterone levels and characteristics of suicide attempts. Method: A sample of 112 male suicide attempters was studied. Thirty-seven male blood donors were recruited as controls. Results: The mean testosterone levels were 5.1 ± 2.9 ng/ml in male attempters and 4.6 ± 1.6 ng/ml in controls. Group differences in testosterone levels were not significant when we studied the interaction with time of extraction (F = 0.37; d.f. = 2; p = 0.70) or when matched by age and time of extraction (t = –0.74; d.f. = 26; p = 0.47). When partial correlations were performed correcting for the effect of time of extraction, significant partial correlations were found in testosterone levels with history of aggressive behavior and lethality of the attempt. Conclusions: When circadian variation and age were considered, we found no support for the putative role of testosterone as a biological marker of suicidal behavior. Further research should consider: (1) testosterone and neurosteroids; (2) serial determinations with a minimal time gap between the attempt and the blood extraction; (3) controls within the same time periods, and (4) other variables that may affect testosterone levels, such as body mass index, physical activity and sleep disturbances.

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“…In general, researchers agree about the existence of moderate relations between testosterone and competitive behaviour, including aggressiveness [2]. Testosterone has also been related to violent behaviour [3], impulsiveness [4], extraversion [5], venturesomeness [6], dominance and social disinhibition [7], and sensation seeking in normal and criminal subjects [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%