Psychophysiology of Aggression, Psychopathy, and Conduct Problems: A Meta-Analysis

A meta-analysis of 95 studies was conducted to investigate the relations of heart rate (HR) and electrodermal activity (EDA) with aggression, psychopathy, and conduct problems. Analyses revealed a complex constellation of interactive effects, with a failure in some cases of autonomic patterns to gen...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPsychological bulletin Vol. 130; no. 4; pp. 531 - 551
Main Author Lorber, Michael F
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Psychological Association 01.07.2004
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Age
Aggression
Aggression - psychology
Antisocial Behavior
Antisocial Personality Disorder - psychology
Behavior Problems
Child
Conduct Disorder - psychology
Female
Humans
Male
Meta Analysis
Metabolism
Psychophysiology
Therapy
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:A meta-analysis of 95 studies was conducted to investigate the relations of heart rate (HR) and electrodermal activity (EDA) with aggression, psychopathy, and conduct problems. Analyses revealed a complex constellation of interactive effects, with a failure in some cases of autonomic patterns to generalize across antisocial spectrum behavior constructs. Low resting EDA and low task EDA were associated with psychopathy/sociopathy and conduct problems. However, EDA reactivity was positively associated with aggression and negatively associated with psychopathy/sociopathy. Low resting HR and high HR reactivity were associated with aggression and conduct problems. Physiology-behavior relations varied with age and stimulus valence in several cases. Empirical and clinical implications are discussed.
ISSN:0033-2909
DOI:10.1037/0033-2909.130.4.531