Protecting Against Antisocial Behaviour

A study headed by Assoc Prof Olivia Choy of NTU’s SSS has found that a high resting heart rate may prevent the transmission of antisocial behaviour from parents to children. According to the researchers, this is the first time a biological protective factor against intergenerational transmission of childhood antisocial behaviour has been found. The researchers examined 405 parent-child pairs from a birth cohort study, who provided self-reports of antisocial behaviour. They also measured their resting heart rates and found out that children with high resting heart rates reported lower levels of antisocial behaviour, even when their parents had high antisocial scores.

- Initiated by CCO. First published on Pushing Frontiers.