(PS4-90) Seeing Red: Hostile Attribution Bias, Aggression, and Antisocial Personality Disorder Traits

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a destructive and severe mental illness that costs the U.S. trillions of dollars annually. Although ASPD is significantly correlated with acts of aggression, violence, and imprisonment, not all individuals with ASPD are aggressive. Despite these differences, little research has investigated cognitive factors that may contribute to aggression as it relates to ASPD traits. Previous research has found that increased aggression is linked to an error in social information processing, referred to as hostile attribution bias (HAB).

The current study sought to answer fundamental questions about cognitive biases and aggression in ASPD and tested the extent to which HABs, or the tendency to attribute hostility to neutral or ambiguous stimuli, predicted aggression above and beyond ASPD traits in participants with a history of incarceration. Participants (N = 76) were recruited through West Virginia’s Division of Probation Services and Reddit. Measures assessing demographics, ASPD traits, aggression, and HABs were completed via Qualtrics. HAB scores were hypothesized to predict aggression over and beyond ASPD traits. Analyses revealed that HABs significantly predicted overall aggression beyond ASPD traits when measured via a personality disorder assessment (∆F(1,72) = 7.93, p = .006, R² = 0.043). Further, HABs significantly predicted reactive (∆F(1,73) = 11.80, p < .001, R²= 0.09), but not proactive (∆F(1,72) = 2.37, p = .128, R² = 0.01), aggression beyond ASPD traits when measured via a personality disorder assessment. HABs did not significantly predict overall, reactive, or proactive aggression beyond ASPD traits when measured via a psychopathic personality assessment (∆F = 0.14 - 2.84, p =.096 - .706, ∆R² = 0.00 - 1.35).

The current findings indicated that ASPD traits predict both reactive and proactive forms of aggression, and HAB uniquely contributes to reactive aggression. Results suggest that HAB is a significant predictor of aggression and could be a potential target for interventions, particularly reactive aggression. Proactive aggression may be less strongly associated with HABs, given that HABs are inherently impulsive and reactive to immediate social stimuli. This research is critical to understanding the cognitive processes and aggression in ASPD and for the development of long-overdue interventions for ASPD.