Couture Sophie, Ouimet Marie Claude, Gianoulakis Christina, Tremblay Jacques, Ng Ying Kin Nmk, Brochu Serge, Pruessner Jens, Dedovic Katarina, Brown Thomas G
Addiction Research Program, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ; School of Criminology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ; Centre jeunesse de Montréal - Institut universitaire, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada.
Subst Abuse. 2015 Apr 1;9:25-32. doi: 10.4137/SART.S21353. eCollection 2015.
Driving while impaired (DWI) is a grave and persistent high-risk behavior. Previous work demonstrated that DWI recidivists had attenuated cortisol reactivity compared to non-DWI drivers. This suggests that cortisol is a neurobiological marker of high-risk driving. The present study tested the hypothesis that this initial finding would extend to first-time DWI (fDWI) offenders compared to non-DWI drivers. Male fDWI offenders (n = 139) and non-DWI drivers (n = 31) were exposed to a stress task, and their salivary cortisol activity (total output and reactivity) was measured. Participants also completed questionnaires on sensation seeking, impulsivity, substance use, and engagement in risky and criminal behaviors. As hypothesized, fDWI offenders, compared to non-DWI drivers, had lower cortisol reactivity; fDWI offenders also showed lower total output. In addition, cortisol activity was the most important predictor of group membership, after accounting for alcohol misuse patterns and consequences and other personality and problem behavior characteristics. The findings indicate that attenuated cortisol activity is an independent factor associated with DWI offending risk at an earlier stage in the DWI trajectory than previously detected.
酒后驾车（DWI）是一种严重且持续存在的高风险行为。先前的研究表明，与未酒后驾车的司机相比，酒后驾车累犯的皮质醇反应性减弱。这表明皮质醇是高风险驾驶的一种神经生物学标志物。本研究检验了这样一种假设，即与未酒后驾车的司机相比，这一最初发现也适用于初次酒后驾车（fDWI）的违法者。男性初次酒后驾车违法者（n = 139）和未酒后驾车的司机（n = 31）接受了一项应激任务，并测量了他们唾液中的皮质醇活性（总分泌量和反应性）。参与者还完成了关于寻求刺激、冲动性、物质使用以及参与危险和犯罪行为的问卷调查。正如所假设的那样，与未酒后驾车的司机相比，初次酒后驾车违法者的皮质醇反应性较低；初次酒后驾车违法者的总分泌量也较低。此外，在考虑了酒精滥用模式及后果以及其他人格和问题行为特征之后，皮质醇活性是区分两组人群的最重要预测因素。研究结果表明，皮质醇活性减弱是与酒后驾车轨迹早期阶段的酒后驾车违法风险相关的一个独立因素，这一阶段比之前所发现的更早。
