Browsing by Author "MacDougall, Emily"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item "the boy who would not grow up": maturity and physiological responses of juvenile offenders(University of Alabama Libraries, 2014) MacDougall, Emily; Salekin, Randall T.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaDevelopmental maturity is an important concept with serious legal repercussions for adolescent offenders (Kent v. U.S., 1966; Roper v. Simmons, 2005). Recent research has emphasized the neurobiological correlates of adolescent behavior, but there is little understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of maturity. The current study explored maturity in adolescent offenders using both physiological and psychological tests to assess emotional reactivity. Correlational and regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between a measure of heart rate (vagal tone) and skin conductance and several self-report measures of maturity. Findings indicated that adolescent maturity is composed of several different constructs and some constructs appear to share neurobiological underpinnings. Specifically, emotional reactivity appears to be one construct of adolescent maturity composed of several sub-constructs that can be indexed using heart rate, skin conductance, and psychological tests. Legal and clinical implications are discussed.Item Psychopathy, heart rate, and skin conductance in adolescent offenders(University of Alabama Libraries, 2016) MacDougall, Emily; Salekin, Randall T.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaRecently, researchers have advocated for a greater focus on measuring neurobiological underpinnings of serious behavior problems such as psychopathy. In particular, psychopathy has garnered significant attention for its relationship with physiological processes. Using a sample of adolescent offenders, this study explored the relationship between scores on the Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL:YV; Forth, Kosson, & Hare, 2003) and levels of heart rate (HR), Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA), and skin conductance (SC) using a white noise stimulus and countdown task. Correlational results indicated a positive, significant association between baseline skin conductance level (SCL) and the PCL:YV Interpersonal Facet and PCL:YV total score. MANCOVA analyses indicated that skin conductance response (SCR) responders during the anticipatory (pre-noise) and reactivity (post-noise) periods had significantly higher PCL:YV Lifestyle/Behavioral (Factor 2) and Lifestyle (Facet 3) scores than those with no SCRs. There were no significant associations between PCL:YV scores and HR activity across baseline, anticipatory, and reactivity periods. Study results suggest some differences in the biological functioning of adolescent offenders with psychopathic traits, but the small sample used in this study may have contributed to insignificant associations. Future directions for research are discussed.