Urinary free cortisol secretion in habitually violent offenders

Abstract

Male violent offenders (n = 90) and residivious arsonists (n = 10) were investigated by urinary (24 h) free cortisol measurements at mental examination on a psychiatric department. The measurements were made with competitive protein-binding radioassay. Only among the habitually violent offenders with antisocial personality were the values low when compared with other violent offenders, antisocial personality without the habitually violent tendency, and male clinic personnel. Poor motivation already in school, truancy, attention deficit and undersocialized aggressive conduct disorder problems seemed to be connected with the low cortisol levels.

Lower Baseline Plasma Cortisol and Prolactin together with Increased Body Temperature and Higher mCPP-Induced Cortisol Responses in Men with Pedophilia

“…As far as pedophilia is related to the violence/aggression dimension, our findings extend those of previous reports showing an inverse relationship between HPA-axis activity and aggression/violence (Virkkunen 1985;Virkkunen et al 1994). A reduction in plasma cortisol in alcohol dependent patients as a function of a history of repeated episodes of domestic violence has been reported (Bergman and Brismar 1994).…”

“…Thus, aggressive antisocial subjects had a significantly lower excretion of urinary free cortisol and lower CSF adrenocorticotropin hormone concentrations (ACTH) than controls (Virkkunen 1985;Virkkunen et al 1994).…”

The Role of Alcohol and Steroid Hormones in Human Aggression

“…Increased cortisol levels have also been found in men with violent and suicidal behavior (van Heeringen et al, 2000) and in alcoholic men with a history of aggressive behavior (Buydens-Branchey and Branchey, 1992). However, lower levels of cortisol have also been reported in abusive and suicidal alcoholics (Bergman and Brismar, 1994b), in men with aggressive and antisocial behavior Virkkunen, 1985), and in boys referred for disruptive behavior (McBurnett et al, 2000). In Banks and Dabbs (1996) study, the cortisol level did not differ between men and women of delinquent and violent nature in comparison to college students of same age.…”

The Diurnal Cortisol Cycle in Delinquent Male Adolescents and Normal Controls

“…Although these findings are quite robust in adults (Virkkunen, 1985), findings in children and adolescents have been less consistent (Van Goozen et al, 2000). Notwithstanding the value of the existing studies in minors, methodological limitations must be recognized, for example, not taking into account the circadian rhythm of the HPA axis.…”

“…While an association between low cortisol levels and antisocial behavior has consistently been found in adults (Virkkunen, 1985;King et al, 2001;Woodman et al, 1978), findings in children and adolescents are less clear. Some studies in minors demonstrated low cortisol levels in resting conditions to be associated with antisocial behavior (Pajer et al, 2001;McBurnett et al, 2000;Tennes et al, 1986;Tennes and Kreye, 1985), whereas others did not report a significant relationship (Azar et al, 2004;Schulz et al, 1997;Kruesi et al, 1989;Scerbo and Kolko, 1994;Klimes-Dougan et al, 2001;Stoff et al, 1992).…”