TY - JOUR
T1 - The complex associations between early childhood adversity, heart rate variability, cluster B personality disorders, and aggression
AU - Jankovic, Marija
AU - Bogaerts, Stefan
AU - Klein Tuente, Stéphanie
AU - Garofalo, Carlo
AU - Veiling, Wim
AU - van Boxtel, Geert
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The study is funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, as part of the research program “Geweld tegen psychatrisch patienten” (Violence against psychiatric patients; NWO grant number 432–13-802).
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - aggression
KW - cluster B personality disorders
KW - early childhood adversity
KW - forensic patients
KW - heart rate variability
KW - structural equation modeling
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099034877&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0306624X20986537
DO - 10.1177/0306624X20986537
M3 - Article
SN - 0306-624X
VL - 65
SP - 899
EP - 915
JO - International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
JF - International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
IS - 8
ER -