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The role of cortisol and psychopathy in the cycle of violence.

ABSTRACT: Child abuse and neglect are universal risk factors for delinquency, violence, and aggression; this phenomenon is known as the cycle of violence. Additional factors-psychopathy, impulsiveness, and disruptions in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis-play a role in aggressive behavior but have rarely been examined in the same conceptual and experimental framework.We sought to examine the above-mentioned risk factors for aggression in a prospective study employing psychopharmacologic and psychometric techniques.Sixty-seven adult participants were given an acute dose of 20 mg cortisol in a placebo-controlled, within-subject, counter-balanced dosing design. Salivary cortisol was measured at baseline and at regular intervals across a 5 h testing period. Following dosing, state-aggressive behavior was measured by a laboratory task, the Point-Subtraction Aggression Paradigm. History of child abuse/neglect, psychopathy, impulsivity, and a trait measure of aggression were assessed through self-report questionnaires.Using multiple regression, a model including abuse/neglect, psychopathy, impulsivity, and baseline cortisol explained 58 % of the variance in trait aggression and 26 % of the variance in state aggression. Abuse/neglect predicted diminished HPA-axis reactivity and HPA-axis reactivity showed a trend toward predicting state and trait aggression, although it was not a significant mediating variable between abuse/neglect and aggression.The results indicate that child maltreatment, psychopathy and HPA-axis reactivity interact to provide a confluence over aggressive behavior, and intervention efforts need to consider all these factors.

SUBMITTER: Gowin JL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5481784 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The role of cortisol and psychopathy in the cycle of violence.

Gowin Joshua L JL Green Charles E CE Alcorn Joseph L JL Swann Alan C AC Moeller F Gerard FG Lane Scott D SD

Psychopharmacology 20130201 4

<h4>Rationale</h4>Child abuse and neglect are universal risk factors for delinquency, violence, and aggression; this phenomenon is known as the cycle of violence. Additional factors-psychopathy, impulsiveness, and disruptions in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis-play a role in aggressive behavior but have rarely been examined in the same conceptual and experimental framework.<h4>Objectives</h4>We sought to examine the above-mentioned risk factors for aggression in a prospective study ...[more]

PMID: 23371492

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Project description:(1) Study Objectives: By investigating the change of cortisol levels during shift cycles among professional firefighters in Korea, this study aims to evaluate the difference between individuals' stress response and the recovery of their circadian rhythm after working night shifts. (2) Methods: A total of 325 shift firefighters, who were working in 3, 6, 9, or 21 day cycles, participated in the study. Their urinary and serum cortisol levels were measured during the day (09-18), during the night (18-09), and every 24 h (09-09) per shift cycle, and adjustments were made for confounding factors. (3) Results: Serum cortisol levels were significantly increased after working during the night or for 24 h compared with that of working throughout the day. However, whether working night or 24 h shifts, the serum cortisol levels were undoubtedly different based on the 3, 6, 9, or 21 day cycles. In all shift cycles, the urinary cortisol level decreased during the night or throughout the 24 h shifts compared with sleeping during this time, but this was considered to be significantly applicable only to those working in 21 day cycles. Additionally, in serial measurements, the recovery of urinary cortisol secretion after a night or 24 h shift was successful for individuals working in 9 day cycles, but the recovery was delayed for those working in 6 or 21 day cycles. (4) Conclusions: After analyzing the urine cortisol levels, the study indicates that only subjects working in 9 day cycles fully recovered their circadian rhythm while those working in 6 day or 21 day cycles did not completely recover. Therefore, it is important to recognize how stressful night shifts can be, and it is crucial to enhance firefighters' current shift cycles in order to allow sufficient recovery of their circadian rhythm as well as the prevention of disrupting their circadian rhythm after working at night. Further research is necessary to take into account the amount of work load, the challenges of being sleep deprived, and the individual's capacity to overcome sleepiness.

Project description:This study examined the associations between psychopathy dimensions (triarchic phenotypes and classical factors), empathy domains (cognitive and affective), and interoception (interoceptive attention and accuracy) while accounting for the putative role of alexithymia. A community sample (n = 515) completed an online survey encompassing: Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (boldness, meanness, disinhibition); Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (primary and secondary psychopathy); Body Perception Questionnaire (interoceptive attention); Interoceptive Accuracy Scale; Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Hierarchical linear regression models were implemented for hypothesis-driven analyses examining the associations between psychopathy, empathy, and interoception while controlling for sex, age, and alexithymia. Exploratory path models were employed to investigate alexithymia and/or cognitive empathy as mediators between interoception and psychopathy. Our results largely confirmed the postulated empathy profiles across psychopathy dimensions, as meanness and primary psychopathy displayed a broad empathy impairment, while disinhibition and secondary psychopathy were only associated with diminished cognitive empathy. Importantly, boldness displayed a unique pattern (enhanced cognitive empathy and reduced affective empathy), further reinforcing its importance within the constellation of psychopathy traits. Contrary to our hypotheses, self-perceived interoceptive attention and accuracy were not associated with either psychopathy dimension after controlling for alexithymia. However, interoceptive accuracy and alexithymia were associated with cognitive empathy, while alexithymia was also positively related to all psychopathy dimensions (as expected), despite the unexpected strong and negative association with boldness. Exploratory analyses suggested significant indirect effects (mediation) between interoceptive accuracy and psychopathy via alexithymia and/or cognitive empathy. These mediating effects must be interpreted with caution and future studies should be designed to formally test this model.

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The role of cortisol and psychopathy in the cycle of violence.

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The role of cortisol and psychopathy in the cycle of violence.

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