RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Resting heart rate and psychopathy: Findings from the Add Health Survey JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 205005 DO 10.1101/205005 A1 Kavish, Nicholas A1 Fu, Q. John A1 Vaughn, Michael G. A1 Qian, Zhengmin A1 Boutwell, Brian B. YR 2018 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/06/13/205005.abstract AB Despite the prior linkages of low resting heart rate to antisocial behavior broadly defined, less work has been done examining possible associations between heart rate to psychopathic traits. The small body of research on the topic that has been conducted so far seems to suggest an inverse relationship between the two constructs. A smaller number of studies have found the opposite result, however, and some of the previous studies have been limited by small sample sizes and unrepresentative samples. The current study attempts to help clarify the relationship between resting heart rate and psychopathic traits in a large, nationally representative sample (analytical N ranged from 14,173-14,220) using an alternative measure of psychopathic traits that is less focused on antisocial processes, and rooted in personality traits. No significant relationship between heart rate and psychopathic traits, or heart rate and a measure of cold heartedness, was found after controlling for age, sex, and race. Implications of the findings, study limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.