Effects of induced anger in patients with antisocial personality disorder.
BACKGROUND
Anger is the main deregulated emotion in patients with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). The aim of this study was to examine emotional, cognitive and physiological correlates of anger and compare these between ASPD patients with varying degree of psychopathy (PP) and control groups.


METHODS
Assessment of the effect of anger induction on self-reported emotions and schema modes, psychophysiology and implicit reaction-time tasks measuring self-anger and aggressor-swearword associations. Participants (n=147) were patients with DSM-IV antisocial (n=21), borderline (n=45) and cluster C personality disorder (n=46) and non-patient controls (n=35).


RESULTS
Groups did not differ in self-reported anger. ASPD patients displayed a decrease in heart rate and systolic blood pressure (SBP) and stronger implicit self-anger associations. ASPD patients scoring low on affective PP reported less negative emotions and displayed a greater decrease in diastolic blood pressure (DBP).


CONCLUSIONS
ASPD patients did not display a deviant self-reported anger but physiological hyporesponsivity and cognitive hyper-responsivity. This ASPD anger response might reflect a controlled predatory-like fight preparation.
Lobbestael
J
J
Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. jill.lobbestael@dmkep.unimaas.nl
Arntz
A
A
Cima
M
M
Chakhssi
F
F
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology; D000786:Anger; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D001143:Arousal; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D004576:Electromyography; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D012016:Reference Values; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted