Unveiling the heart of young offenders: Testing the tripartite model of affect regulation in community and forensic male adolescents

Abstract

PurposeThe tripartite model of affect regulation proposes the existence of three emotion regulation systems (i.e., Threat, Drive and Soothing). An unbalanced functioning of these systems associates with greater risk for psychopathology, specifically Conduct Disorder (CD). Youths with CD generally develop in hostile environments, present higher levels of negative emotions and display different emotion regulation patterns when compared to normative peers. Recently, heart rate variability (HRV) has been reported as an accurate index of emotion regulation. However, there is no study exploring specific HRV patterns for each system while comparing community adolescents and young offenders. MethodsThis study aimed to explore differences in HRV patterns between community males (n = 97) and male young offenders (n = 99), aged between 14 and 18 years old, when triggering the three systems. Data was collected for resting, reactivity and recovering phases, following standardized experimental procedures. ResultsResults showed that in both samples, the threat and drive systems associated with decreased HRV. Remarkably, while for community males, triggering the soothing system associated with increases in HRV, young offenders displayed decreases in parasympathetic nervous system activity which seems to mirror threat-like physiological responses. ConclusionFindings suggest an underdeveloped/suppressed soothing system in young offenders when compared to normative peers.