The Complex Associations Between Early Childhood Adversity, Heart Rate Variability, Cluster B Personality Disorders, and Aggression

Early childhood adversity can cause an imbalance in the autonomic function, which may in turn lead to the development of trauma-spectrum disorders and aggressive behavior later in life. In the present study, we investigated the complex associations between early adversity, heart rate variability (HR...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Jankovic, Marija (Author) ; Bogaerts, Stefan 1964- (Author) ; Klein Tuente, Stéphanie (Author) ; Garofalo, Carlo (Author) ; Veling, Wim (Author) ; Boxtel, Geert van (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2021
In: International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology
Year: 2021, Volume: 65, Issue: 8, Pages: 899-915
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
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Keywords:
Structural Equation Modeling
Heart rate variability
cluster B personality disorders
early childhood adversity
Aggression
forensic patients
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Summary:Early childhood adversity can cause an imbalance in the autonomic function, which may in turn lead to the development of trauma-spectrum disorders and aggressive behavior later in life. In the present study, we investigated the complex associations between early adversity, heart rate variability (HRV), cluster B personality disorders, and self-reported aggressive behavior in a group of 50 male forensic inpatients (M age = 41.16; SD = 10.72). Structural Equation Modeling analysis revealed that patients with cluster B personality disorders were more likely to have adverse early childhood experiences and reduced sympathetic dominance in response to a threat than patients without cluster B personality disorders. In addition, HRV and cluster B personality disorders did not significantly mediate the association between early childhood adversity and self-reported aggressive behavior. These findings are important for clinical practice to facilitate specific treatment programs for those affected.
ISSN:1552-6933
DOI:10.1177/0306624X20986537