CARDIAC PROFILE AND DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR IN BOYS AT RISK FOR DELINQUENCY

The objective of this study was to examine associations in youth betwe en antisocial behavior and cardiovascular profile. Younger brothers of adjudicated delinquents (N = 120) received a standardized psychiatric assessment and an assessment of three factors often studied in behavi oral cardiology research: family history of hypertension, resting bloo d pressure, and obesity. As a group, relative to population norms, the se youth exhibited signs of obesity and elevated blood pressure, with 30% of the sample appearing clinically obese and 24% having a blood pr essure above the 90th percentile for national norms in their age cohor t. Within the sample, score on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Del inquency scale correlated with blood pressure (r = .29-.34) and an ind ex of obesity, weight/height(3) (r = .20). Further, scores on the CBCL Delinquency, Aggression, and Externalizing scales were elevated in bo ys with a positive family history of hypertension. Among boys at risk for delinquency, disruptive psychopathology relates to factors often s tudied in behavioral cardiology research. Relationships between risk f actors for ischemic cardiovascular disease and hostile behavior may be manifested with measures of disruptive psychopathology.