To Örebro University

Low resting heart rate (HR) is a well-replicated correlate of antisocial behavior. Previous findings have suggested that low resting HR is associated with criminal offending, psychopathy, conduct problems and aggression. More recent work has also indicated that low systolic blood pressure is associated with an increased risk of criminal offending. However, little is known about the predictive value of low autonomic arousal for reoffending. Thus, the present study examined associations of resting HR and systolic blood pressure with reoffending. We used Swedish population-based registers to conduct a cohort study of all male conscripts born between 1958 and 1990 who had been convicted of a crime (N=407,533). Resting HR and systolic blood pressure was measured at the conscription assessment. Criminal convictions were obtained from the National Crime Register. We used survival analyses to test for associations between resting HR and systolic blood pressure with reoffending while covarying for socioeconomic status, height, weight, physical energy capacity and birth year. A lower resting HR was associated with an increased risk of reoffending for violent and nonviolent crime compared to a higher resting HR. Lower systolic blood pressure was also associated with an increased risk of reoffending for violent and nonviolent crime compared to a higher systolic blood pressure. Low autonomic arousal should be further investigated as a predictor for reoffending as it may help to improve identification of individuals at risk for repeated criminal justice involvement.