Anxiety, Antisocial Behavior, and Heart Rate Regulation in Adolescent Males

Mezzacappa, Enrico; Tremblay, Richard E.; Kindlon, Daniel; Saul, J. Philip; Arseneault, Louise; Séguin, Jean R.; Pihl, Robert O.; Earls, Felton J.

doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01531.x

Cited by 190 publications

(160 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Yet reduced RSA is also observed consistently among externalizing children and adolescents (Beauchaine et al, , 2007Mezzacappa et al, 1997). Thus, replication of this finding is especially important before any claims of specificity to depressive symptoms are offered.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Dissociation of sad facial expressions and autonomic nervous system responding in boys with disruptive behavior disorders

2007

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Although deficiencies in emotional responding have been linked to externalizing behaviors in children, little is known about how discrete response systems (e.g., expressive, physiological) are coordinated during emotional challenge among these youth. We examined time-linked correspondence of sad facial expressions and autonomic reactivity during an empathy-eliciting task among boys with disruptive behavior disorders (n = 31) and controls (n = 23). For controls, sad facial expressions were associated with reduced sympathetic (lower skin conductance level, lengthened cardiac preejection period [PEP]) and increased parasympathetic (higher respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) activity. In contrast, no correspondence between facial expressions and autonomic reactivity was observed among boys with conduct problems. Furthermore, low correspondence between facial expressions and PEP predicted externalizing symptom severity, whereas low correspondence between facial expressions and RSA predicted internalizing symptom severity. KeywordsConduct problems; Disruptive behavior; Facial expression; Sadness; Autonomic reactivity Conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), jointly labeled as disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) in the DSM-IV-TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), are among the most common mental health problems facing youth (Achenbach & Howell, 1993;Knitzer, Steinberg, & Fleisch, 1991). There is now a growing body of literature suggesting that children and adolescents with DBDs have difficulties with several domains of empathic responding, including emotional processing and self-appraisals of emotional experiences (de Wied, Goudena, & Matthys, 2005;Douglas & Strayer, 1996;Herpertz et al., 2005;Strand & Nowicki, 1999). However, other components of empathic responding such as displays of sad facial expressions and autonomic reactivity have only begun to receive empirical attention (Blair, 1999;de Wied et al., 2005;Douglas & Strayer, 1996;Herpertz et al., 2005).Functionalist theories of emotion suggests that the synchronization of emotional response systems plays a critical role in emotional health and that desynchronization contributes to the emergence and maintenance of psychopathology (see Ekman, 1992;Kring, Kerr, Smith, & Neale, 1993;Levenson, 1994;Mauss, Levenson, McCarter, Wilhelm, & Gross, 2005;Sloan, Strauss, Quirk, & Sajatovic, 1997). According to this perspective, as emotions unfold over time, the coordination of emotional appraisal, expressive behavior, and physiological responses should improve the reliability and precision of emotion cues and promote efficient behavioral and social responses (Levenson, 1994 (Feldman-Barrett, 2006), with some authors finding low to moderate correlations between experiential, behavioral, and physiological response domains (Buck, 1977;Gross & Levenson, 1993,1997Kettunen, Ravaja, Näätänen, Keltikangas-Jarvinen, 2000;Lanzetta, Cartwright-Smith, & Kleck, 1976;Mauss et al., 2005), others reporting discrepancies in the direction of effects (Notar...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Dissociation of sad facial expressions and autonomic nervous system responding in boys with disruptive behavior disorders

2007

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“…There is increasing evidence that children with disruptive behavior problems, and particularly those who show persistent antisocial behavior, are characterized by neurobiological deficits (Raine, 2002). In this respect, stress regulating mechanisms, for example, the HPA axis, have drawn much attention (Kruesi et al, 1989;Raine, 2002;Vanyukov et al, 1993;Kerr et al, 1997;Mezzacappa et al, 1997). A primary focus in this field of research has been cortisol, which is the final product of the HPA axis and the primary stress hormone in humans.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Diurnal Cortisol Cycle in Delinquent Male Adolescents and Normal Controls

Popma

Doreleijers

Jansen

et al. 2007

Neuropsychopharmacol

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Patterns of low hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity have been observed in antisocial groups. As conflicting results have been reported in children and adolescents, the aim of this study was to further investigate HPA activity in antisocial behavior by studying the relationship between the diurnal cortisol cycle, as well as the cortisol awakening response (CAR), and antisocial behavior in male adolescents. The diurnal cortisol cycle and the CAR during the first hour after awakening were compared between 12-to 14-year-old boys who attended a delinquency diversion program (DP), with and without a disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) (respectively DP + ; n ¼ 24 and DPÀ; n ¼ 65), and matched normal controls (NC; n ¼ 32). The DP + group, but not the DPÀ group, showed a significantly slower decrease of cortisol during the diurnal cycle than the NC group. Furthermore, the DP + group had significantly lower cortisol levels in the first hour after awakening as compared with the NC group. The results indicate altered HPA activity in delinquent boys with a DBD. Etiological mechanisms, directions for future research, and clinical implications are discussed.

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“…Research has associated increased HRV with emotional reactivity in infants (see Beauchaine, 2001), social competence in young children (Doussard-Roosevelt, Porges, Alemi, & Scanlon, 1997), lowered aggression in adolescents (Mezzacappa et al, 1997) and lowered hostility in young adults (Sloan et al, 1994). Decreased HRV has been associated with both panic disorder and depression (Yeragani et al, 1993;Yeragani et al, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%