Cardiovascular Correlates of Misconduct in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Prior literature reviews addressing cardiovascular correlates of misconduct have focused on resting heart rate (HR) and skin conductance (SC). The present paper is a quantitative review of studies that tested the relationship between child/adolescent misconduct and cardiovascular regulation. An additional selection criterion for the present review was that the study examined physiological variables beyond resting HR and SC (e.g., cardiovascular reactivity). Misconduct was related to low HR reactivity, low resting parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) control, and less withdrawal of PNS control during mental challenge. These findings expand on prior reviews that indicated resting sympathetic nervous system underarousal is associated with antisocial behavior/misconduct. Cardiovascular reactivity to stress and PNS control may also be important correlates of misconduct.

Gender differences in the association between cardiovascular reactivity and aggressive conduct☆

“…For example, although systolic BP reactivity was positively associated with relational aggression for girls, HR reactivity was negatively related to physical aggression for boys. These results are consistent with previous research suggesting that BP reactivity predicts heightened aggression (e.g., Gump et al, 1999) whereas HR reactivity is sometimes related to low levels of aggression (e.g., Kibler et al, 2004). In addition, although systolic BP reactivity was associated with relational aggression among girls, diastolic BP and HR reactivity did not predict relationally aggressive behaviors in males or females.…”

“…In one study, HR reactivity during a game in which a confederate cheats was negatively related to teacher-reported reactive aggression (Hubbard et al, 2002). In addition, in their meta-analysis of cardiovascular correlates of misconduct (e.g., externalizing or aggressive behavior), Kibler et al (2004) found that HR reactivity was negatively associated with behavior problems in children and adolescents. Overall, then, some research has provided support for the hypothesis that heightened HR reactivity is associated with aggression whereas other research has found that low levels of reactivity predict aggression.…”

“…Individuals experiencing such chronic underarousal may engage in antisocial or delinquent behavior as a means of increasing their arousal to a more comfortable level. Although research assessing the relation between chronic underarousal and aggression has primarily focused on resting arousal rather than reactivity (e.g., Herpertz et al, 2003;Kindlon et al, 1995), recently researchers have used this theory to suggest that relatively low levels of cardiovascular reactivity to stress or provocation will predict aggression (e.g., Kibler et al, 2004;Schneider et al, 2002).…”

Individual Differences in Behavioral, Physiological, and Genetic Sensitivities to Contexts: Implications for Development and Adaptation

“…In community samples of kindergarten children, higher RSA reactivity has been associated with some positive indices of adaptation, such as sociability, attention, and capacity for work [48,49] . However, high RSA reactivity has been also linked to high levels of internalizing symptoms and cooccurring internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems [34,45,50,51] . In addition, high RSA reactivity has been observed in children with clinical levels of behavior problems [35,52] .…”

Neuroendocrine regulation and physical and relational aggression: The moderating roles of child maltreatment and gender.

“…Mounting evidence suggests that a number of biological processes, including resting heart rate, heart rate variability, blood pressure, and skin conductance are implicated in the development of aggressive and antisocial behavior (e.g., Kibler, Prosser, & Ma, 2004; Murray-Close & Crick, 2007; Scarpa, Fikretoglu, & Luscher, 2000; Scarpa & Raine, 1997; Susman, 2006). Researchers have extended studies assessing biological underpinnings of aggression to examine the role of the stress hormone cortisol (e.g., McBurnett, Lahey, Rathouz, & Loeber, 2000).…”