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The role of cortisol and psychopathy in the cycle of violence

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Abstract

Rationale

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.

Objectives

We sought to examine the above-mentioned risk factors for aggression in a prospective study employing psychopharmacologic and psychometric techniques.

Methods

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.

Results

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.

Conclusions

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.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of Nuvan Rathnayaka, Ellen Desmarais, Tara Watts, and Sarly Vasquez to this research project. Additional thanks are due to Hershel Raff of Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI, who analyzed the saliva samples for the cortisol data, Martin Paulus who looked at an earlier version of this manuscript and Don R. Cherek for his lasting influence over the work in our laboratory. This project was supported by NIH/NIDA grants DA 003166 and P50 09262.

Support

This work was funded by NIH/NIDA grants DA 003166 and P50 09262

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program in Neuroscience, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Joshua L. Gowin, Joseph L. Alcorn III, Alan C. Swann, F. Gerard Moeller & Scott D. Lane

  2. Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Charles E. Green, Alan C. Swann, F. Gerard Moeller & Scott D. Lane

  3. Center for Clinical Research & Evidence Based Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Charles E. Green

  4. University of California San Diego, 8939 Villa La Jolla Dr., Suite 263, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA

    Joshua L. Gowin

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  1. Joshua L. Gowin
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  2. Charles E. Green
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  3. Joseph L. Alcorn III
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  4. Alan C. Swann
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  5. F. Gerard Moeller
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  6. Scott D. Lane
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Correspondence to Joshua L. Gowin.

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Gowin, J.L., Green, C.E., Alcorn, J.L. et al. The role of cortisol and psychopathy in the cycle of violence. Psychopharmacology 227, 661–672 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-013-2992-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-013-2992-1

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