Community violence exposure in a young adult sample: III. Psychophysiology and victimization interact to affect risk for aggression

An initial study of young adults with high and low exposure to community violence found that aggression was related to increased baseline heart rate variability (HRV), reduced baseline heart rate (HR), and increased poststressor cortisol level. Based upon previous research on biosocial interactions, this study tested specific predictions that the cardiovascular-aggression link would be found only in nonvictims and the cortisol-aggression link only in victims. Forty-seven victims and nonvictims completed self-reports of aggression and two stressor tasks. Results supported the hypotheses for HRV and cortisol. However, reduced HR was associated with aggression in both victims and nonvictims, and its variance was explained by increased HRV Findings support biosocial theories of violence and are discussed in terms of vagally mediated HR underarousal and emotion dysregulation in antisocial populations. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.