Resting Heart Rate and Psychopathy Revisited: Findings From the Add Health Survey

• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X18806748
• Date: 01 March 2019
• Author: Nicholas Kavish,Zhengmin Qian,Q. John Fu,Brian B. Boutwell,Michael G. Vaughn
• Published date: 01 March 2019
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X18806748

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2019, Vol. 63(4) 543 –557

© The Author(s) 2018

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X18806748

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Original Manuscript

Resting Heart Rate and

Psychopathy Revisited:

Findings From the Add

Health Survey

Nicholas Kavish1, Q. John Fu2, Michael G. Vaughn2,

Zhengmin Qian2, and Brian B. Boutwell2

Abstract

Despite the prior linkages of low resting heart rate to antisocial behavior broadly

defined, less work has been done examining possible associations between heart

rate to psychopathic traits. The small body of research on the topic that has been

conducted so far seems to suggest an inverse relationship between the two constructs.

A smaller number of studies has found the opposite result, however, and some of the

previous studies have been limited by small sample sizes and unrepresentative samples.

The current study attempts to help clarify the relationship between resting heart

rate and psychopathic traits in a large, nationally representative sample (analytical N

ranged from 14,173-14,220) using an alternative measure of psychopathic traits that

is less focused on antisocial processes, and rooted in personality traits. No significant

relationship between heart rate and psychopathic traits, or heart rate and a measure

of cold-heartedness, was found. It is possible that previous findings of a link between

heart rate and psychopathy have been driven by the inclusion of overt antisocial

behavior in many traditional psychopathy measures. Further work is needed to

confirm the associations (or lack thereof) between heart rate and the behavioral,

affective, and personality trait aspects of psychopathy.

Keywords

psychopathy, resting heart rate, add health, physiological arousal, cold-heartedness

1Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA

2Saint Louis University, MO, USA

Corresponding Author:

Nicholas Kavish, Department of Psychology and Philosophy, Sam Houston State University, 1901 Avenue

I, Suite 390, Huntsville, TX 77340, USA.

Email: nak012@shsu.edu

806748IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X18806748International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyKavish et al.

research-article2018