Psychophysiological Profiles of Batterers: Autonomic Emotional Reactivity as It Predicts the Antisocial Spectrum of Behavior among Intimate Partner Abusers Hyporeactivity Predicts Psychopathy and Crime

On the basis of studies finding heart rate deceleration among severely violent (SV) batterers (J. M., this study compares the physiological reactivity of SV batterers (n ϭ 35) with low-level violent (LLV) batterers (n ϭ 37) and nonviolent men (n ϭ 21) during 2 laboratory tasks. Men's heart rate and skin conductance level were recorded during baseline, a conflict discussion, and a standardized anger induction. Results suggest that autonomic hyporeactivity is a risk marker for antisocial features among SV men, whereas autonomic hyperreactivity is a risk marker among LLV men. Psychophysiological responding appears to be a stronger correlate of general antisocial behavior than of intimate partner abuse. Research on the psychophysiological substrates of antisocial, psychopathic, and violent behavior has a long and venerable history (see Raine, 1993, for a review), but the methodologies have only recently been applied to men who are violent toward their intimate partner. Because intimate partner violence generally occurs in the context of intense interpersonal disputes, experiments that elicit emotions in interpersonal contexts may be the most informative as to how the physiological reactions of partner abusers might differ from those of nonviolent men. In the first study to examine psychophysiological responding of men who batter women, Gottman et al. (1995) found that heart rate hyporeactivity was correlated with abusiveness and psychopathology in a community sample of men who physically and psychologically abused their wives. On the basis of heart rate change, the partner-aggressive men were separated into two groups: Type I and Type II batterers. Type I batterers' (n ϭ 12) heart rates decreased from baseline to when they became engaged in a conflict discussion with their female partners, and Type II batterers (n ϭ 48) showed the more expected pattern of increased heart rate during the beginning of a conflict interaction. Type II batterers were highly domineering during the observed conflict discussion. However, Type I batterers were more severely violent toward their wives, more likely to threaten their wives with a knife or gun, more emotionally abusive, and more likely to be violent outside the relationship than were Type II batterers. Type I batterers were also more likely to report antisocial personality features, problems with substance abuse, and criminal histories (Gottman et al. The findings of hyporeactivity among Type I batterers are in keeping with previous psychophysiological research on criminality and psychopathy (Raine, 1993). Low resting heart rate and low skin conductance (perspiration) during …