Am J Psychiatry 1990; 147:933-937
Copyright © 1990 by American Psychiatric Association
Autonomic orienting responses in 15-year-old male subjects and criminal behavior at age 24
A Raine, PH Venables and M Williams
Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90089-1061.
This prospective study analyzed relationships between skin conductance and
heart rate measures of orienting in a noninstitutionalized sample of 101
15-year-old male subjects and criminal behavior as assessed at age 24
years. Subjects with a criminal record at age 24 (N = 17) had significantly
smaller skin conductance responses and smaller heart rate deceleratory and
acceleratory responses than the other subjects (N = 84). Lack of any skin
conductance response was significantly more prevalent in subjects with a
criminal record (31%) than in the control subjects (10%). These results
implicate deficits in orienting with the later development of criminal
behavior. The authors hypothesize that the genetic predisposition to
criminal behavior may find its expression in part through smaller autonomic
orienting.
