Personality correlates of physiological response to stress among incarcerated juveniles.
BACKGROUND
To examine the relationship between personality type and physiological response to stress among juvenile delinquents.


METHODS
Delinquent males (N = 42, mean age 16.5, SD = 1) recruited from a convenience sample at local juvenile detention facility were compared to a male control sample from a local high school (N = 79; mean age 16.1, SD = 0.8). All participants completed the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory and a Stress-Inducing Speech Task during both of which heart rate was measured.


RESULTS
Compared to controls, delinquent youths showed significantly lower heart rates under both free association and stress conditions (p < 0.05) and a lower rate of increase during stressful stimuli (p < 0.05). Among delinquents, those with a non-reactive personality type appeared to show consistently lower levels of physiological arousal as measured by heart rate.


CONCLUSIONS
Delinquents consistently had lower overall levels of arousal as measured by heart rate. In delinquent boys, we also found a persistently low arousal group with a non-reactive psychological pattern. This combination may be a forerunner of future psychopathy or a product of the developmental trajectory that leads to and results from psychopathic behavior.
Karnik
Niranjan S
NS
University of California, San Francisco,CA 94143-0850, USA. karnikn@dahsm.ucsf.edu
Popma
Arne
A
Blair
James
J
Khanzode
Leena
L
Miller
Samantha P
SP
Steiner
Hans
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal; D002605:Character; D005608:Free Association; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*