Infants who Sweat Less Display more Aggressive Behavior as Toddlers

Latest study published in the journal Psychological Science reveals that infants who sweat less in a scary situation at the age of 1 are most likely to display physical and verbal aggression as toddlers at the age of 3.

The study was conducted by psychological scientist Stephanie van Goozen from Cardiff University and colleagues. It shows a strong association between lower levels of sweat that is measured by skin conductance activity, or SCA, with aggressive behavior and conduct disorder in both children and adolescents. These aggressive children are more likely to engage in anti-social behavior, as they have a weaker response to fearful situations.

In order to prove the hypothesis, researchers fixed recording electrodes to the feet of the infants at age 1. Apart from this, they also measured their skin conductance at rest in response to jarring noise, as well as after witnessing a scary remote-controlled robot. Researchers also collected data on the aggressive behavior of the infants at age 3. The data was provided by the infants' mothers.

Researchers were surprised to see that SCA stood as a strong factor in the study, which predicted later aggressive behavior. Other details regarding the infant's temperament that were provided by the mothers did not help in predicting the aggression two years later.

"These findings show that it is possible to identify at-risk children long before problematic behavior is readily observable. Identifying precursors of disorder in the context of typical development can inform the implementation of effective prevention programs and ultimately reduce the psychological and economic costs of antisocial behavior to society," Van Goozen concludes saying.