Electrodermal Nonresponding, Antisocial Behavior, and Schizoid Tendencies in Adolescents

ABSTRACT Most studies which have tested the hypothesis of autonomic hyporeactivity in antisocial groups using skin conductance orienting response (SCOR) amplitudes have failed to confirm this prediction. However, frequency measures may represent more stable and complete indices of responsivity than amplitude measures and, therefore, provide a better test of an antisociality‐hyporeactive relationship. This possibility was tested by relating electrodermal responding‐nonresponding to a series of 65dB tones in 101 15‐yr‐old males to measures of antisocial behaviour and undersocialization. While SCOR amplitudes were unrelated to antisociality, frequency of response and incidence of nonre‐sponding were significantly related in the predicted direction. A second analysis demonstrated antisocial nonresponders to be characterised by schizoid tendencies, but not by sensation‐seeking. These data indicate that equating nonresponding with antisociality and interpreting such a relationship in motivational/arousal terms may be over‐simplistic, and that it may be specifically a schizoid subsection of antisocials who are characterised by nonresponding. It is hypothesised that the frequently cited link between antisociality and psychosis‐proneness may be underpinned by a disturbance of sustained attention as indexed by nonresponding.