Table 2. Studies of the DBS in Externalizing Disorders.
| Author and Year | Sample | Gender | Age | DBS Measure | Externalizing Measure | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-Report and Observational Findings | ||||||
| Benning et al. (2005) | 353 individual twins | Male | Born 1961-1964 | MPQ SPS | PPI FD | Dominance motivation correlated with psychopathy, r =.49. |
| *Cale & Lilienfeld (2006) | 98 inmates | Male | 18-59; M =23.7 | PETQ, designed to capture angry responses to power threats; disciplinary reports of incidents involving ego threats | PPI combined with the SRP-II | Psychopathy correlated with reactivity to power threats challenges as measured by the PETQ, r =.43 and by disciplinary reports, r =.37. |
| Carey et al. (2007) | 495 undergraduates | Both | College aged | INCOM | RAPI | Frequent social comparison was correlated with alcohol problems, r =15. |
| Costello & Dunaway (2003) | 377 middle and high school students | 47% male | M =15 | Dominance was evaluated using 7 items from the NPI to capture perceived superiority over others and the importance of achieving superiority | 22-item index of criminal behaviors | Dominance was correlated with criminal behavior, r =.22. |
| Edens (2009) | 1062 inmates | Male | M =34 | PAI Dom scale | PAI Antisocial and Externalizing scales | Although most inmates had elevated PAI scores, dominance behavior correlated with antisocial symptoms, r =.07. |
| Hall et al. (2004) | 310 inmates | Male | ≤ 45; M =31.5 | MPQ SPS | PCL-R FD | Dominance motivation correlated with psychopathy, r =.38 |
| Hicks et al. (2004) | 215 prisoners | Male | M high psychopathy =31.1 M low psychopathy =30.5 |
MPQ-BF SPS | PCL-R ≥ 30 or ≤ 20 | In cluster analyses, dominance motivation was higher in individuals scoring higher (vs. lower) on psychopathy. |
| Kosson et al. (1997), Study 2 | 92 undergraduates | 49% male | 17-45 | IM-P, a measure covering dominant behaviors | PCL-SV | Dominance behavior correlated with psychopathy, r =.50. |
| *Krueger et al. (1996) | 897 Dunnedin community residents | 52% male | 18 | MPQ SPS | DIS substance dependence and conduct disorder diagnoses | Conduct disorder and substance dependence diagnoses were associated with elevated dominance motivation. |
| Patrick et al. (2006) | 89 offenders | Male | M =32.5 | PAI DOM scale | PCL-R FD subscale | Dominance behavior correlated with the psychopathic trait of Fearless Dominance, r =.50. |
| *Tarter et al. (2007) | 179 students | Male | M=11.62 at baseline | DPQ SPS combined with rule-breaking | K-SADS Substance Use Disorder | Path analysis indicated that a combined index of dominant behavior and rule breaking predicted substance use disorder at age 22. |
| Verona et al. (2001) | 313 prison inmates | Male | M =32.4 | MPQ SPS | PCL-R | The psychopathic trait of fearless dominance (PCL-R FD) correlated more with dominance motivation (MPQ SPS), r =.30, than with nine other MPQ scales. |
| Vitacco & Kosson (2010) | 592 European inmates | Male | M =26.09 | IM-P: ratings of dominance behavior during an interview | PCL-R | Dominance behavior correlated with psychopathy, r =.30. |
| Biological Findings | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Aromäki et al. (1999) | 13 prisoners convicted of violent crimes and 16 controls | Male | Adult | Blood serum T levels | Semi-structured interview for DSM-III-R antisocial personality disorder | AM and PM T levels correlated with antisocial personality disorder in violent men, r =0.50, but not in controls. |
| *Booth et al. (2003) | 400 children in working and middle class families with at least two children | Both | 6-18; M =13 | AM saliva total T, adjusted for sampling time and pubertal status | RBS | In regression analyses, T correlated with risky behavior, particularly in boys with poor parental relationships. T correlated with risky behavior only among those girls with poor mother-child relationships. |
| Booth & Osgood (1993) | 4,462 Vietnam veterans | Male | 30-44 | AM Serum T | Criminal behavior index | T correlated strongly with adult criminal behavior, but only among men with low social integration. |
| *Booth et al. (1999) | 4,393 military veterans | Male | M =37 | AM serum T | 12-item scale of antisocial behaviors such as getting drunk, skipping school, and stealing | T correlated with antisocial behavior, r =.15. |
| Constantino et al. (1993) | 18 inpatients with CBCL Aggression scores > 98th percentile and conduct disorder diagnoses; 11 control participants matched on age and race | Male | 4-10 | Serum T | DSM-III-R conduct disorder diagnosis | Conduct disorder group did not differ from the control group on T |
| *Dabbs et al. (1990) | 5236 US military veterans | Male | Median =37 | Serum T | DIS | Among low SES veterans, T correlated with drug abuse, r =.19, alcoholism, r =.13, and antisocial personality, r =.19. Among high SES veterans, T demonstrated smaller but significant correlations with drug abuse, alcoholism, and antisocial personality rs =.06-.07. |
| Dmitrieva et al. (2001) | 28 diagnosed with conduct disorder, free of medications; 13 age-matched patients treated at same clinic | Male | 10-18 | Tanner Sexual Maturation Staging Scale (Tanner, 1978), serum T | Conduct disorder diagnoses from review of record by 2 raters, CBCL, CPTQ | Elevated T was only observed among conduct disorder participants younger than 14. |
| Dorn et al. (2009) | 180 patients with disruptive behavior disorder; control group matched on age, gender, race, and SES | 78% male | 6-11; M=9 | Saliva T | K-SADS disruptive behavior disorders | T was unrelated to disruptive behavior disorders. |
| Fang et al. (2009) | 344 youths with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol | 48% male | M =12.6 | Serum free T | CBCL Delinquent Behavior scale | T correlated positively with delinquency for boys, but only among those with low family cohesion. T correlated negatively with delinquency among girls. |
| Glenn et al. (2011) | 178 adults | 88% male | 18-45 | Three AM saliva samples of T on each of two consecutive days; cortisol levels measured before and 20 and 40 minutes after two stressors | PCL-R | T was unrelated to psychopathy. The ratio of T to cortisol correlated with higher psychopathy, r2 =.05. |
| *Granger et al. (2003) | 213 adolescents | 50% male | M =13.66 | Saliva samples collected three times per day on multiple days to model mean T level and diurnal variation | Disruptive behavior scale based on latent modeling of CBCL, A-YSR, and DISC | In growth curve models, T was unrelated to disruptive behavior in boys. Among girls, declines in T across the day were associated with disruptive behavior after controlling for pubertal development. |
| Kirillova et al. (2008) | 478 boys whose fathers were stratified on whether they met criteria for substance abuse | Male | 9-13 at time 1 | Serum T and Tanner Sexual Maturation Staging Scale | K-SADS for conduct disorder and substance abuse disorder, PDS | T was elevated in boys with conduct disorder at time 1 and 2 years later. In path analyses, early pubertal development predicted greater peer delinquency, which predicted substance abuse disorders 2 years later. |
| Maras et al. (2003) | 87 boys from a longitudinal study of infants with delivery complications or family difficulties | 41% male | 14 | Serum T | High Externalizing = T ≥60 on either CBCL or TRF; Low Externalizing =T <60 on CBCL and TRF | T correlated with Externalizing in boys, but not girls. |
| *Nottelmann et al. (1987) | 108 children | 52% male | 9-14 | AM serum T | CBCL | T was unrelated to Delinquency at baseline, but predicted Delinquency one year later. |
| *Olweus et al. (1980, 1988) | 58students | Male | 15-17 | AM serum T averaged across 2 samples | Antisocial behavior questionnaire developed for this study, OMAI | T correlated with one subscale of the antisocial behavior (Difficulty Tolerating Frustration), r =.28, and with aggression (OMAI), r =.44. T correlated with specific items covering aggressive responses to commands and challenges. |
| Pajer et al. (2006) | 87 students | Female | 15-17 | Serum T, | DISC | T was elevated, but only in girls with aggressive forms of conduct disorder. |
| Rowe et al. (2004) | Representative sample of 789 males living in Western NC | Male | 9-15 | Serum T | CAPA conduct disorder diagnoses | T related to conduct disorder, but only in boys with deviant peers. |
| Sjoberg et al. (2008) | 95 participants with alcoholism and criminal records and 40 controls | Male | Adults | Cerebrospinal fluid T | SCID | T was higher in men with antisocial personality disorder than in those without antisocial personality disorder, particularly those with a low activity MAOA genotype. |
| Stålenheim et al. (1998) | 61 males going under major forensic investigation | Male | Adults | Serum total T and free T | SCID, PCL-R | Serum total T was related to antisocial personality disorder and Type II alcoholism (SCID), both ps < .05, and to psychopathic traits (PCL-R Interpersonal/Affective scores), p < .05, but not to PCL-R Antisocial Impulsivity Factor scores. |
| *Tarter et al. (2007) | 179 students | Male | M=11.62 at baseline | AM serum T | Joint index of dominance (DPQ SPS) and rule-breaking | In path analyses, baseline T predicted an index combining dominant behavior and rule breaking at age 16. |
|
Udry (1990) Drigotas & Udry (1993) |
101 students | Male | 13-16 | Serum T | ACL | In path analyses, T correlated with conduct disorder symptoms at baseline. Baseline free T (controlling for bound T) predicted problem behavior one year later, but T at later ages was unrelated to problem behavior. |
| van Bokhoven et al. (2006) | 96 students; 13 met conduct disorder criteria | Male | 13 at Time 1 | Saliva T at ages 13, 16 and 21 | DISC conduct disorder diagnoses and 21-item delinquency questionnaire developed for this study | T at baseline was not related to conduct disorder at age 16, or to delinquency at ages 13 and 16, but T was correlated with delinquency at age 21. |
Note. ACL =Adjective Check List (Gough & Heilbrun, 1965); CAPA =Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (Angold & Costello, 2000); CBCL =Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991a); CIDI =Composite International Diagnostic Interview (Robins et al., 1988); CPTQ =Conners Parent-Teacher Rating Scale (Goyette, Conners, & Ulrich, 1978); CRPBI =Children's Report of Parental Behavior Inventory (Schaefer, 1965); DISC =Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (Shaffer, Fisher, Lucas, Dulcan, & Schwab-Stone, 1996, 2000); DIS =Diagnostic Interview Schedule (Helzer, 1992; Robins, Helzer, Croughan, & Ratcliff, 1981; Robins, Helzer, Ratcliff, & Seyfried, 1982); DPQ SPS =Differential Personality Questionnaire Social Potency Scale (Tellegen, 1982); DUSI-R = Drug Use Screening Inventory Revised (Tarter, 1990); EPPS =Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (Edwards, 1959); IAS-R =Revised Interpersonal Adjective Scales (Wiggins, Trapnell, & Phillips, 1988); IM-P =Interpersonal Measure of Psychopathy (Kosson et al., 1997); INCOM =Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure; K-SADS =Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children (Kaufman, Birmaher, Brent, Rao, & Ryan, 1996); M =mean; MPQ SPS =Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Social Potency Scale (Tellegen & Waller, 2008); MPQ-BF =Brief Form of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (Patrick et al., 2002); OMAI =Olweus Multi-faceted Agression Inventory for Boys (Olweus, 1975); NPI =Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Raskin & Hall, 1981; Raskin & Hall, 1979); PAI =Personality Assessment Inventory (Morey, 1991); PAI Dom =PAI Dominance Scale; PCL-R =Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (Hare, 1991, 2003; Harpur, Hare, & Hakstian, 1989); PCL-R FD =Psychopathy Checklist-Revised Fearless Dominance Subscale; PCL-SV =Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (Forth, Brown, Hart, & Hare, 1996); PDS =Peer Delinquency Scale (Loeber, 1989); PETQ =Perceived Ego Threat Questionnaire (Bushman & Baumeister, 1998); PPI =Psychopathic Personality Inventory (Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996); PPI FD =PPI Fearless Dominance Factor Score; RAPI =Rutgers Alcohol Problems Index (White & Labouvie, 1989); RBS =Risky Behavior Scale (Eccles & B., 1990); SCID =Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (First, Spitzer, Gibbon, & Williams, 1995); SRP-II =Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-II (Hare, 1991); T =testosterone; TRF =Teacher Report Form (Achenbach, 1991b).
Findings from this study are described in another table.