TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - Anger and aggression problems in veterans are associated with an increased acoustic startle reflex
JO  - Biological psychology
A1  - Heesink, Lieke
A1  - Kleber, Rolf
A1  - Häfner, Michael
A1  - van Bedaf, Laury
A1  - Eekhout, Iris
A1  - Geuze, Elbert
SP  - 119
EP  - 125
VL  - 123
IS  - 
N2  - Anger and aggression are frequent problems in deployed military personnel. A lowered threshold of perceiving and responding to threat can trigger impulsive aggression. This can be indicated by an exaggerated startle response. Fifty-two veterans with anger and aggression problems (Anger group) and 50 control veterans were tested using a startle experiment with 10 startle probes and 10 prepulse trials, presented in a random order and with a random interval between the trials. Predictors (demographics, Trait Anger, State Anger, Harm Avoidance and Anxious Arousal) for the startle response within the Anger group were tested. Increased EMG responses were found to the startle probes in the Anger Group compared to the Control group, but not to the prepulse trials. Furthermore, Harm Avoidance and State Anger predicted the increased startle reflex within the Anger group, whereas Trait Anger was negatively related to the startle reflex. These findings indicate that threat reactivity is increased in anger and aggression problems. These problems are not only caused by an anxious predisposition, the degree of anger also predicts the startle reflex.<br><br>Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0301-0511
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2016.12.004
ID  - ref1
ER  -