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Adverse childhood experiences do not moderate the association between aggressive antisocial behavior and general disinhibition in a forensic psychiatric inpatient sample

Meddeb, Adam LU ; Berlin, Johan LU ; Laporte, Natalie LU and Wallinius, Märta LU (2022) In Frontiers in Psychology 13.
Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and high levels of disinhibition have been associated with a variety of negative outcomes such as aggressive antisocial behavior (AAB). However, forensic psychiatric populations remain an understudied group in this field of research. This study aimed to fill that gap by investigating associations between ACE, AAB, and disinhibition in a forensic psychiatric sample. Furthermore, we aimed to explore such findings by investigating whether ACE might have a moderating effect on the association between disinhibition and AAB. A sample of forensic psychiatric patients (n = 89) was recruited from a high-security forensic psychiatric facility in Sweden. All study variables were moderately to strongly related to... (More)

Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and high levels of disinhibition have been associated with a variety of negative outcomes such as aggressive antisocial behavior (AAB). However, forensic psychiatric populations remain an understudied group in this field of research. This study aimed to fill that gap by investigating associations between ACE, AAB, and disinhibition in a forensic psychiatric sample. Furthermore, we aimed to explore such findings by investigating whether ACE might have a moderating effect on the association between disinhibition and AAB. A sample of forensic psychiatric patients (n = 89) was recruited from a high-security forensic psychiatric facility in Sweden. All study variables were moderately to strongly related to each other, although we found no moderating effect of ACE. Post hoc analysis indicated that our ACE items had differential effects on AAB scores, with placement outside the family home, absent parents, and parental drug abuse producing the largest effect on AAB levels. Our findings are in line with previous research demonstrating a significant and robust relationship between ACE, AAB, and disinhibition. Forensic psychiatric populations are exposed to high levels of both self-reported and documented ACE. This calls for trauma-informed care and highlights the importance of considering ACE in risk assessment, preventive work, and policy making.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
adverse childhood experiences, aggressive antisocial behavior, childhood trauma, cycle of violence, disinhibition, forensic psychiatry, moderation, offenders
in
Frontiers in Psychology
volume
13
article number
1019246
publisher
Frontiers Media S. A.
external identifiers
  • scopus:85141360540
  • pmid:36337514
ISSN
1664-1078
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1019246
project
Assessing and understanding emotion regulation and childhood adversities in forensic psychiatry
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
dd1721e1-a1d0-4b99-898b-39fda209bb21
date added to LUP
2022-12-13 14:12:55
date last changed
2024-06-13 21:35:42
@article{dd1721e1-a1d0-4b99-898b-39fda209bb21,
  abstract     = {{<p>Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and high levels of disinhibition have been associated with a variety of negative outcomes such as aggressive antisocial behavior (AAB). However, forensic psychiatric populations remain an understudied group in this field of research. This study aimed to fill that gap by investigating associations between ACE, AAB, and disinhibition in a forensic psychiatric sample. Furthermore, we aimed to explore such findings by investigating whether ACE might have a moderating effect on the association between disinhibition and AAB. A sample of forensic psychiatric patients (n = 89) was recruited from a high-security forensic psychiatric facility in Sweden. All study variables were moderately to strongly related to each other, although we found no moderating effect of ACE. Post hoc analysis indicated that our ACE items had differential effects on AAB scores, with placement outside the family home, absent parents, and parental drug abuse producing the largest effect on AAB levels. Our findings are in line with previous research demonstrating a significant and robust relationship between ACE, AAB, and disinhibition. Forensic psychiatric populations are exposed to high levels of both self-reported and documented ACE. This calls for trauma-informed care and highlights the importance of considering ACE in risk assessment, preventive work, and policy making.</p>}},
  author       = {{Meddeb, Adam and Berlin, Johan and Laporte, Natalie and Wallinius, Märta}},
  issn         = {{1664-1078}},
  keywords     = {{adverse childhood experiences; aggressive antisocial behavior; childhood trauma; cycle of violence; disinhibition; forensic psychiatry; moderation; offenders}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  publisher    = {{Frontiers Media S. A.}},
  series       = {{Frontiers in Psychology}},
  title        = {{Adverse childhood experiences do not moderate the association between aggressive antisocial behavior and general disinhibition in a forensic psychiatric inpatient sample}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1019246}},
  doi          = {{10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1019246}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}