Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2022 Jan;66(1):98-122. doi: 10.1177/0306624X21994056. Epub 2021 Feb 11.
Since lack of empathy is an important indicator of violent behaviors, researchers need consistent and valid measures. This study evaluated the practical significance of a potential physiological correlate of empathy compared to a traditional self-report questionnaire in 18 male violent offenders and 21 general population controls. Empathy skills were assessed with the (IRI) questionnaire. Heart-Rate Variability (HRV) was assessed with an electrocardiogram. The RMSSD (Root Mean Square of the Successive beat-to-beat Differences), an HRV index implicated in social cognition, was calculated. There were no group differences in IRI scores. However, RMSSD was lower in the offender group. Positive correlations between RMSSD and IRI subscales were found for controls only. We conclude that psychometric measures of empathy do not discriminate incarcerated violent offenders, and that the incorporation of psychophysiological measures, such as HRV, could be an avenue for forensic research on empathy to establish translatable evidence-based information.
由于缺乏同理心是暴力行为的一个重要指标，研究人员需要一致和有效的衡量标准。本研究评估了同理心潜在生理相关性的实际意义，将其与传统的自我报告问卷在 18 名男性暴力罪犯和 21 名普通人群对照组中进行比较。同理心技能使用（IRI）问卷进行评估。心率变异性（HRV）使用心电图进行评估。计算了 RMSSD（逐次心跳差异的均方根），这是一个与社会认知相关的 HRV 指数。IRI 分数在两组之间没有差异。然而，罪犯组的 RMSSD 较低。仅在对照组中发现 RMSSD 与 IRI 分量表之间存在正相关。我们的结论是，同理心的心理测量衡量标准不能区分被监禁的暴力罪犯，而心理生理学衡量标准的纳入，如 HRV，可能是法医同理心研究的一个途径，以建立可转化的基于证据的信息。
