Top

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment

Gepubliceerd in:

01-09-2014

Psychopathic Traits, Empathy, and Aggression are Differentially Related to Cortisol Awakening Response

Auteurs: Megan M. Johnson, Kelly M. Caron, Amy J. Mikolajewski, Elizabeth A. Shirtcliff, Lisa A. Eckel, Jeanette Taylor

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment | Uitgave 3/2014

Abstract

Psychopathy is thought to be related to a lack of empathy which interferes with conscience development and promotes aggressive behavior. Little research has examined underlying mechanisms contributing to psychopathy, empathy, and aggression, such as an altered Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis response system. The current study examined how subscales of psychopathic personality traits, empathy, and aggression are related to the cortisol awakening response (CAR), an index of an individual’s physiological preparedness for the challenges of the upcoming day. A mixed-sex sample of 57 college students was recruited for the study, and HLM analyses tested whether these constructs were related to blunted CAR. Results indicated that Machiavellian Egocentricity, Blame Externalization, and Carefree Nonplanfulness subscales of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory – Short Form were all related to blunted CAR, whereas the Social Potency subscale was significantly related to steeper CAR increase. Further, affective empathy and reactive physical aggression were related to blunted CAR. Findings suggest that CAR provides a novel biological index of psychopathic personality traits, affective empathy, and reactive physical aggression.

vorige artikel Nonmedical Prescription Drug Use Comorbidity: Developing a Cohesive Risk Model

volgende artikel Psychopathy in Bulgaria: The cross-cultural generalizability of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist

Anestis, J. C., Caron, K. M., & Carbonell, J. L. (2011). Examining the impact of gender on the factor structure of the psychopathic personality inventory-revised. Assessment, 18, 340–349.PubMedCrossRef

Archer, J. (2004). Sex differences in aggression in real-world settings: a meta-analytic review. Review of General Psychology, 8, 291–322.CrossRef

Bartels, M., De Geus, E. J., Kirschbaum, C., Sluyter, F., & Boomsma, D. I. (2003). Heritability of daytime cortisol levels in children. Behavioral Genetics, 33, 421–33.CrossRef

Batson, C. D., Fultz, J., & Schoenrade, P. A. (1987). Distress and empathy: two qualitatively distinct vicarious emotions with different motivational consequences. Journal of Personality, 55, 19–39.

Bell, B. A., Morgan, G. B., Schoeneberger, J. A., Loudermilk, B. L., Kromrey, J. D., & Ferron, J. M. (2010). Dancing the sample size limbo with mixed models: How low can you go? SAS Global Forum, paper 197.

Benning, S. D., Patrick, C. J., Hicks, B. M., Blonigen, D. M., & Krueger, R. F. (2003). Factor structure of the psychopathic personality inventory: validity and implications for clinical assessment. Psychological Assessment, 15, 340–350.PubMedCrossRef

Blair, R. J. (2005). Responding to the emotions of others: dissociating forms of empathy through the study of typical and psychiatric populations. Consciousness and Cognition, 14, 698–718.PubMedCrossRef

Blair, R. J., Jones, L., Clark, F., & Smith, M. (1997). The psychopathic individual: a lack of responsiveness to distress cues? Psychophysiology, 34, 192–198.PubMedCrossRef

Chida, Y., & Steptoe, A. (2009). Cortisol awakening response and psychosocial factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Biological Psychology, 80, 265–278.PubMedCrossRef

Clements, A. D., & Parker, C. R. (1998). The relationship between salivary cortisol concentrations in frozen versus mailed samples. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 23, 613–616.PubMedCrossRef

Cohen, D., & Strayer, J. (1996). Empathy in conduct disordered and comparison youth. Developmental Psychology, 32, 988–998.CrossRef

Crick, N., & Grotpeter, P. (1995). Relational aggression, gender, and social-psychological adjustment. Child Development, 66, 710–722.PubMedCrossRef

Dahl, R. E. (2004). Adolescent brain development: a period of vulnerabilities and opportunities. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1021, 1–22.PubMedCrossRef

Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 113–126.CrossRef

Davis, M. H., & Franzoi, S. L. (1991). Stability and change in adolescent self-consciousness and empathy. Journal of Research in Personality, 25, 70–87.CrossRef

Del Giudice, M., Ellis, B. J., & Shirtcliff, E. A. (2011). The adaptive calibration model of stress responsivity. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 35, 1562–1592.PubMedCentralPubMedCrossRef

Duan, C., & Hill, C. E. (1996). The current state of empathy research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 43, 261–274.CrossRef

Eisenberg, N., & Miller, P. A. (1987). The relation of empathy to prosocial and related behaviors. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 91–119.PubMedCrossRef

Frick, P. J., Cornell, A. H., Barry, C. T., Bodin, S. D., & Dane, H. E. (2003). Callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems in the prediction of conduct problem severity, aggression, and self-report of delinquency. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology: An official publication of the International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 31, 457–470.CrossRef

Fries, E., Dettenborn, L., & Kirschbaum, C. (2009). The cortisol awakening response: facts and future directions. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 72, 67–73.PubMedCrossRef

Gladstein, G. A. (1983). Understanding empathy: integrating counseling, developmental, and social psychology perspectives. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 30, 467–482.CrossRef

Gottesman, I. I., & Gould, T. D. (2003). The endophenotype concept in psychiatry: etymology and strategic intentions. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 636–645.PubMedCrossRef

Granger, D. A., Hibel, L. C., Fortunado, C. K., & Kapelewski, D. H. (2009). Medication effects on salivary cortisol: tactics and strategy to minimize impact in behavioral and developmental science. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34, 1437–1448.PubMedCrossRef

Gunnar, M., & Quevedo, K. (2007). The neurobiology of stress and development. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 145–173.PubMedCrossRef

Hansen, A. M., Garde, A. H., Christensen, J. M., Eller, N. H., & Netterstrom, B. (2003). Evaluation of a radioimmunoassay and establishment of a reference interval for salivary cortisol in healthy subjects in Denmark. Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation, 63, 303–310.PubMedCrossRef

Hare, R. D. (1994). Without conscience: The disturbing world of psychopaths among us. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Hare, R. D. (2003). The hare psychopathy checklist—revised (2nd ed.). Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.

Hastings, P. D., Zahn-Waxler, C., & McShane, K. E. (2006). We are, by nature, moral creatures: Biological bases of concern for others. In M. Killen & J. Smetana (Eds.), Handbook of moral development (pp. 483–516). Mahwah: Erlbaum.

Heilbrun, A. B. (1982). Cognitive models of criminal violence based upon intelligence and psychopathy levels. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50, 546–557.PubMedCrossRef

Henrich, J., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A. (2010). Most people are not WEIRD. Nature, 466, 29–29.PubMedCrossRef

Hoffman, M. L. (1981). Is altruism part of human nature? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40, 121–137.CrossRef

Hucklebridge, F., Hussain, T., Evans, P., & Clow, A. (2005). The diurnal patterns of the adrenal steroids cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in relation to awakening. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 30, 51–57.PubMedCrossRef

Kastner, R. M., Sellbom, M., & Lilienfeld, S. O. (2012). A comparison of the psychometric properties of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory full-length and short-form versions. Psychological Assessment, 24, 261–267.PubMedCrossRef

Kirschbaum, C., Kudielka, B. M., Gaab, J., Schommer, N. C., & Hellhammer, D. H. (1999). Impact of gender, menstrual cycle phase, and oral contraceptives on the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. Psychosomatic Medicine, 61, 154–162.PubMedCrossRef

Leonard, K. E., Quigley, B. M., & Collins, R. L. (2002). Physical aggression in the lives of young adults: prevalence, location, and severity among college and community samples. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 17, 533–550.CrossRef

Lilienfeld, S. O., & Andrews, B. P. (1996). Development and preliminary validation of a self-report measure of psychopathic personality traits in noncriminal populations. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66, 488–524.PubMedCrossRef

Loudin, J. L., Loukas, A., & Robinson, S. (2003). Relational aggression in college students: examining the roles of social anxiety and empathy. Aggressive Behavior, 29, 430–439.CrossRef

Lovett, B. J., & Sheffield, R. A. (2007). Affective empathy deficits in aggressive children and adolescents: a critical review. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 1–13.PubMedCrossRef

Lykken, D. T. (1995). The antisocial personalities. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Marsee, M. A., & Frick, P. J. (2007). Exploring the cognitive and emotional correlates to proactive and reactive aggression in a sample of detained girls. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35, 969–981.PubMedCrossRef

Mayberry, M. L., & Espelage, D. L. (2007). Associations among empathy, social competence, & reactive/proactive aggression subtypes. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 787–798.CrossRef

McBurnett, K., Lahey, B. B., Rathouz, P. J., & Loeber, R. (2000). Low salivary cortisol and persistent aggression in boys referred for disruptive behavior. Archives of General Psychiatry, 57, 38–43.PubMedCrossRef

Mehrabian, A. (1998). Relations among personality scales of aggression, violence, and empathy: validational evidence bearing on the risk of eruptive violence scale. Aggressive Behavior, 23, 433–445.CrossRef

Miller, P. A., & Eisenberg, N. (1988). The relation of empathy to aggressive and externalizing/antisocial behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 324–344.PubMedCrossRef

Morales, J. R., & Crick, N. R. (1998). Self-report measure of aggression & victimization. Unpublished measure.

Mullins-Nelson, J. L., Salekin, R. T., & Leistico, A. R. (2006). Psychopathy, empathy, and perspective taking: implications for the successful psychopathy concept. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 5, 133–149.CrossRef

Murray-Close, D., Han, G., Cicchetti, D., Crick, N. R., & Rogosch, F. A. (2008). Neuroendocrine regulation and physical and relational aggression: the moderating role of child maltreatment and gender. Developmental Psychology, 44, 1160–1176.PubMedCentralPubMedCrossRef

Neumann, C. S., Malterer, M. B., & Newman, J. P. (2008). Factor structure of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI): findings from a large incarcerated sample. Psychological Assessment, 20, 169–174.PubMedCentralPubMedCrossRef

O’Leary, M. M., Loney, B. R., & Eckel, L. A. (2007). Gender differences and the association between psychopathic traits and cortisol response to induced stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 32, 183–191.PubMedCrossRef

O’Leary, M. M., Taylor, J., & Eckel, L. (2010). Psychopathic personality traits and cortisol response to stress: the role of sex, type of stressor, and menstrual phase. Hormones & Behavior, 58, 250–256.CrossRef

Rueckert, L., & Naybar, N. (2008). Gender differences in empathy: the role of the right hemisphere. Brain and Cognition, 67, 162–167.PubMedCrossRef

Ruttle, P. L., Shirtcliff, E. A., Serbin, L. A., Fisher, D. B., Stack, D. M., & Schwartzman, A. E. (2011). Disentangling psychobiological mechanisms underlying internalizing and externalizing behaviors in youth: longitudinal and concurrent associations with cortisol. Hormones and Behavior, 59, 123–132.PubMedCentralPubMedCrossRef

Schmidt-Reinwald, A., Pruessner, J. C., Hellhammer, D. H., Federenko, I., Rohleder, N., Schurmeyer, T. H., & Kirschbaum, C. (1999). The cortisol response to awakening in relation to different challenge tests and a 12-hour cortisol rhythm. Life Sciences, 64, 1653–1660.PubMedCrossRef

Shirtcliff, E. A., Vitacco, M. J., Graf, A. R., Gostisha, A. J., Merz, J. L., & Zhan-Waxler, C. (2009). Neurobiology of empathy and callousness: implications for the development of antisocial behavior. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 27, 137–171.PubMedCentralPubMedCrossRef

Singer, J. D., & Willett, J. B. (2003). Applied longitudinal data analysis: Modeling change and event occurrence. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRef

Snijders, T. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2011). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Sonnenschein, M., Mommersteeg, P. M., Houtveen, J. H., Sorbi, M. J., Schaufeli, W. B., & van Doornen, L. J. (2007). Exhaustion and endocrine functioning in clinical burnout: an in-depth study using the experience sampling method. Biological Psycholology, 75, 176–184.CrossRef

Therrien, F., Drapeau, V., Lupien, S., Beaulieu, S., Dore, J., Tremblay, A., & Richard, D. (2008). Awakening cortisol response in relation to psychosocial profiles and eating behaviors. Physiology & Behavior, 93, 282–288.CrossRef

Viding, E., Blair, R. J. R., Moffitt, T. E., & Plomin, R. (2005). Evidence for substantial genetic risk for psychopathy in 7-year-olds. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46, 592–597.PubMedCrossRef

Werner, N. E., & Crick, N. R. (1999). Relational aggression and social-psychological adjustment in a college sample. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108, 615–623.PubMedCrossRef

Wust, S., Federenko, I., Hellhammer, D. H., & Kirschbaum, C. (2000). Genetic factors, perceived chronic stress, and the free cortisol response to awakening. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 25, 707–720.PubMedCrossRef

Yeo, L. S., Ang, R. P., Loh, S., Fu, K. J., & Karre, J. K. (2011). The role of affective and cognitive empathy in physical, verbal, and indirect aggression of a Singaporean sample of boys. The Journal of Psychology, 145, 313–330.PubMedCrossRef

Titel: Psychopathic Traits, Empathy, and Aggression are Differentially Related to Cortisol Awakening Response
Auteurs: Megan M. Johnson
Kelly M. Caron
Amy J. Mikolajewski
Elizabeth A. Shirtcliff
Lisa A. Eckel
Jeanette Taylor
Publicatiedatum: 01-09-2014
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment / Uitgave 3/2014
Print ISSN: 0882-2689
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-3505
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-014-9412-7

Bohn Stafleu van Loghum

Deel dit onderdeel of sectie (kopieer de link)

Abstract

Log in om toegang te krijgen

Andere artikelen Uitgave 3/2014

Negative Life Events and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Incarcerated Boys with Callous-Unemotional Traits

Validation of a Chinese Version of the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire

Tolerating Distress After Trauma: Differential Associations Between Distress Tolerance and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

The Conundrum of the Laboratory: Challenges of Assessing Preschool-Age Children’s Salivary Cortisol Reactivity

Rumination and Excessive Reassurance Seeking: Mediators of the Relationship Between Social Anxiety and Depression?

Nonmedical Prescription Drug Use Comorbidity: Developing a Cohesive Risk Model