Low Resting Heart Rate and Stalking Perpetration. Issue 11 (June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Boisvert, Danielle; Wells, Jessica; Armstrong, Todd; Lewis, Richard H.; Woeckener, Matthias; Nobles, Matt R.
• Is Part Of: Journal of interpersonal violence. Volume 35:Issue 11/12(2020)
• Page Start: 2271
• Page End: 2296
• Publication Date: 2020-06
• Subjects: heart rate -- stalking -- biosocial; Violence -- Periodicals; Sex crimes -- Periodicals; Violence -- Périodiques; Crimes sexuels -- Périodiques; 364.15
• DOI: 10.1177/0886260517698823
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0886-2605

Abstract

There is consistent evidence to suggest that individuals with low resting heart rate are more likely to engage in a variety of antisocial behaviors. The present study examines whether this finding can be extended to stalking perpetration. Drawing from fearlessness theory and stimulation-seeking theory, as well as conceptual work of Meloy and Fisher, we find that individuals with low resting heart rates had significantly greater odds of engaging in stalking behavior, net of controls for sex, age, race, self-control, parental affection, delinquent peers, attitudes/beliefs toward crime, and aggression. When disaggregated by sex, the heart rate–stalking relationship was found to be significant for males, but not for females. The implications of these findings are discussed from a biosocial perspective.