To Örebro University

Biopsychosocial criminological theories suggest that it is important to consider interactions between risk factors from different domains in the prediction of externalizing behavior. Lower resting heart rate is considered the best replicated biological risk factor for externalizing behavior. The psychological construct of empathy has also shown to be predictive of such behavior, but little is known about the potential interaction between these two different risk factors in predicting externalizing behavior. We examined the moderating role of empathy on the association between resting heart rate in childhood and adolescence with externalizing behavior by young adulthood using two subsets of participants from the Longitudinal Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior project: Subsample 1 (n = 697) at ages 9–10 and 19–20 years and Subsample 2 (n = 394) at ages 14–15 and 19–20 years. Linear and logistic regressions showed that empathy moderated the association between resting heart rate in adolescence and externalizing behavior by young adulthood. Among individuals with low but not high levels of empathy, increased resting heart rate predicted lower levels of externalizing behavior. Interventions enhancing empathic skills in individuals with psychophysiological risk profiles could be beneficial.

BACKGROUND: Lower autonomic arousal is a well-known correlate of criminal offending and other risk-taking behaviors in men, but few studies have investigated this association in women.

AIM: To test associations between autonomic arousal and criminal offending as well as unintentional injuries among female conscripts.

METHODS: All women born 1958-1994 in Sweden who participated in voluntary military conscription (n = 12,499) were identified by linking Swedish population-based registers. Predictors were resting heart rate (RHR) and systolic blood pressure (SBP). Covariates were height, weight, and physical energy capacity. Main outcomes were criminal convictions (any, violent, and non-violent) from the National Crime Register. Secondary outcome was unintentional injuries requiring medical treatment or causing death. We used survival analyses to test for associations between predictors and outcomes.

RESULTS: Low RHR, relative to high RHR, was associated with an increased risk of any criminal conviction, non-violent criminal convictions, and unintentional injuries. Low SBP, relative to high SBP, was associated with an increased risk of violent criminal convictions.

CONCLUSIONS: Results support lower autonomic arousal, particularly lower RHR, as a correlate of criminal offending among women that warrants further examination, as the reported findings have potential implications for the prediction of future female crime.

The association between lower resting heart rate and antisocial behavior has been suggested to be mediated by sensation-seeking. However, other theoretical models suggest that sensation-seeking has a moderating influence. This study sought to investigate the interplay between resting heart rate, sensation-seeking and antisocial behavior. Two subsets of participants from the Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior (RFAB) project (n = 690, n = 391) were used. We conducted mediation analyses and logistic regression analyses to test for mediating and moderating effects of sensation-seeking on the association between resting heart rate and antisocial behavior by young adulthood. In general, sensation-seeking partially mediated the association between resting heart rate in childhood as well as adolescence and antisocial behavior by young adulthood. Resting heart rate in childhood and adolescence also interacted with sensation-seeking to predict antisocial behavior by young adulthood, such that a lower resting heart rate increased the odds of antisocial behavior among individuals with higher but not lower levels of sensation-seeking. Our results on a theoretical level suggest that sensation-seeking is important to understand the association between resting heart rate and antisocial behavior. Results further suggest that encouraging prosocial behaviors as a means of fulfilling the need for stimulation in individuals with a psychophysiological risk profile could serve as an effective approach in redirecting their behaviors towards positive outcomes.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are associated with myriad adverse outcomes, including interpersonal difficulties, but factors that moderate the developmental course and functional impact of ADHD over time are not well understood. The present study evaluated developmental contributions of the triarchic neurobehavioral traits (boldness, meanness, and disinhibition) to ADHD symptomatology and its subdimensions from adolescence to young adulthood. Participants were twins and triplets assessed at ages 14, 17, and 19 (initial N = 1,185, 51.2% female). Path analyses using negative binomial regression revealed that boldness at age 14 was associated with more ADHD symptoms cross-sectionally (especially hyperactivity/impulsivity), but fewer symptoms (especially inattention) at age 19 in the prospective analysis. Notably, inclusion of interpersonal problems at ages 14 and 17 as covariates reduced the latter effect to nonsignificant. Disinhibition concurrently and prospectively predicted higher levels of ADHD symptoms, including both subdimensions, and the prospective effects were partially mediated by greater social impairment at age 17. Meanness prospectively (but not concurrently) predicted higher levels of hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms. Sex moderated certain associations of meanness and disinhibition with ADHD symptoms. These findings highlight how fundamental neurobehavioral traits shape both psychopathology and adaptive outcomes in the developmental course of ADHD.

Background: Youth offenders have a high risk of being injured or dying prematurely. However, few studies have considered the role of imprisonment and potential childhood risk factors for these high rates.

Aim: To examine the risk of unintentional injury and premature death in non-imprisoned and imprisoned youth offenders, and to examine the role of parental criminal convictions and psychiatric disorders and own childhood psychiatric disorders.

Methods: All individuals (N = 1,839,711) born in Sweden between 1978 and 1996 were identified using Swedish population-based registers. The exposure was criminal conviction between ages 15-20 years of age.

Results: Imprisoned youth offenders had the highest risk for unintentional injury (HR = 2.29 [2.19-2.40]) and premature death (HR = 10.76 [9.52-12.16]), followed by nonimprisoned youth offenders, compared to non -convicted youth. All childhood risk factors increased the risk for these outcomes among non-imprisoned youth offenders. Among imprisoned youth offenders, parental criminal convictions and parental psychiatric disorders increased the risk for unintentional injury, and parental psychiatric disorders and own childhood psychiatric disorders increased the risk for premature death.

Conclusions: Our study shows there are robust modifiable childhood risk factors for injury and mortality among youth offenders. However, the importance of them to assess risk may differ between non-imprisoned and imprisoned youth offenders.

Background: We examined associations of adverse perinatal events with offspring violent and non-violent criminal convictions in men and women.

Methods: All singleton births between 1973 and 1995 (n = 1,146,570 men, n = 1,085,217 women) were identified through Swedish population-based registers. Information about adverse perinatal events was retrieved from the Medical Birth Register. Outcomes were criminal convictions collected from the National Crime Register. We estimated absolute and relative risks of being convicted of criminal convictions using the Kaplan-Meier method and survival analyses for men and women separately. We also tested for differences in magnitudes of associations for men versus women.

Results: Several adverse perinatal events were associated with an increased risk of violent and non–violent criminal convictions in both men and women. Associations between low birth weight, small nessrelative to gestational age and preterm birth with non–violent criminal convictions were statistically significantly higher for men than for women. There was a dose–dependent association between adverse perinatal events with violent and non–violent criminal convictions for both men and women, indicated by the strengthened magnitude of HR estimates with exposure to an increasing number of adverse perinatal events.

Conclusions: Adverse perinatal events are associated with violent and non-violent criminal convictions in men and women, with some differences in risk estimates between sexes. Findings are compatible with theoretical accounts implicating disruption of the neurodevelopment during the perinatal period.

Background: Psychiatric diagnoses are important risk factors for criminal convictions, but few longitudinal studies have examined comorbidity patterns in relation to youth criminal convictions.

Aim: To explore associations between specific psychiatric diagnoses (substance use disorder (SUD), ADHD, depression, PTSD, intellectual disabilities (ID), and autism spectrum disorders (ASD)) and comorbidities of internalizing, externalizing, or neurodevelopmental diagnoses (NDD) in relation to risk of non-violent or violent criminal convictions in youth, including potential sex differences.

Methods: Data on 1,411,538 individuals born in Sweden (1985–1998) were obtained from national population-based registers. Exposure was psychiatric diagnoses and outcome was criminal convictions between ages 15 and 20.

Results: 17% of individuals had a psychiatric diagnosis, of whom 20% were convicted of a crime. All diagnoses, except ID and ASD, increased the risk of non-violent and violent crimes. Comorbidities of externalizing and internalizing diagnoses heightened the risk compared to single diagnoses. NDD increased the risk among SUD, depression, and PTSD, while NDD comorbid with another NDD decreased the risk for criminal convictions.

Conclusion: Of the three comorbidity categories, externalizing disorders heightened risk the most, followed by internalizing disorders. This study highlights specific risk patterns for criminal convictions related to comorbidities, and to crime type and sex.

Lower resting heart rate and lower levels of empathy have independently been associated with an increased risk of antisocial behavior. However, little is known about the potential interaction between resting heart rate and empathy in predicting antisocial behavior. The aim of the current project was to examine the moderating role of empathy in young adulthood on the association between resting heart rate in childhood and antisocial behavior in young adulthood. We utilized two subsamples from the University of Southern California Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior Project (n=707, n=616), a longitudinal project with data from five waves. Resting heart rate was measured using disposable electrodes attached to the torso. Empathy was measured using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index with four subscales. Antisocial behavior was defined as law enforcement involvement. After adjusting for potential confounds, results suggest that lower resting heart rate in childhood and lower empathy in young adulthood predict antisocial behavior in young adulthood. Most importantly, empathy in young adulthood moderated the association between resting heart rate in childhood and antisocial behavior in young adulthood. Results indicate that at lower levels of empathy, a lower resting heart rate was associated with increased probability of being in trouble with the police.

Low resting heart rate (HR) is a known risk indicator for the development of antisocial behavior (ASB) and other clinical problems. Stimulation seeking and fearlessness have been explored as factors underlying the HR/ASB relationship, but these have often been conflated, which has complicated interpretation. We examined HR's associations with ASB and other outcomes in terms of biobehavioral traits described by the triarchic model of psychopathy using data (N = 710) from a longitudinal study of ASB risk. Low resting HR in childhood was related to adult ASB, and covariance between ASB and traits of disinhibition and boldness largely accounted for this association. In addition, low childhood HR was related to greater externalizing problems and fewer internalizing problems in adulthood; disinhibition accounted for the former association, and boldness accounted for the latter. Findings indicate a role for both disinhibition and boldness in associations between early HR and later clinical outcomes and have implications for theory and practice.