Matthew S Stanford

Hope and Healing Center & Institute

Primary impulsive aggression (PIA) can be implicated as a common factor that results in an arrest, disciplinary, and restraint measures during confinement, and criminal recidivism after release. Evidence suggests that anti-impulsive aggression agents (AIAAs) can diminish or prevent impulsive aggression even when occurring with personality pathology...

This chapter focuses on the psychopharmacology of impulsive aggression, a topic often overlooked in otherwise comprehensive studies on the programmatic treatment of psychopathic disorders and factors favoring successful conditional release, probation, and parole, as well as institutional treatment and management of psychopathically disordered inmat...

Traditionally, psychopathy has been hypothesized to reflect two correlated facets: interpersonal and affective features; and social deviance. This chapter reviews psychophysiological research pertaining to three factors: arrogant and deceitful interpersonal style (narcissism); deficient affective experience (callous/unemotional); and impulsive and...

Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) report more aggression than civilians with PTSD. Because emotion regulation difficulties mediated the relationship between PTSD symptoms and impulsive aggression in veterans, we developed an intervention to increase emotion regulation skills. This pilot study tested the feasibility and acceptabilit...

Aggression has different conceptualizations and can be behaviorally expressed in diverse ways. Designed to evaluate impulsive and premeditated forms of aggression, the Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale (IPAS; Stanford et al., 2003) is a 30 item self-report questionnaire. The aim of the present study was to explore IPAS versatility in differen...

This article describes the development, validation, and responses to the first administration of the Religious/Spiritually Integrated Practice Assessment Scale–Client Attitudes (RSIPAS-CA). A total of 1,047 U.S. adults responded to an online survey administered by Qualtrics, which included the RSIPAS-CA for secondary analysis. Of those, 245 indicat...

Zusammenfassung Impulsive Aggression stellt ein häufiges Merkmal bei psychopathischen Störungen dar und kann mit Psychopharmaka behandelt werden. Aus kontrollierten Studien ergeben sich für die folgenden gegen impulsive Aggression eingesetzten Wirkstoffe („anti-impulsive aggressive agent“, AIAA) die stärksten Wirksamkeitsnachweise: Fluoxetin, Pheny...

The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) is the most widely administered trait impulsiveness questionnaire. Recently a shorter, unidimensional version of the instrument was developed for adults (BIS-Brief). While psychometric characteristics of the BIS-Brief support its use among adults, it also may be more appropriate for youth samples than the co...

We tested whether enhanced stimulus orienting operationalized as N1 and P2 auditory evoked potentials to increasing loudness (50–90 dB clicks) could be associated with trait impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, BIS-11), impulsive action (commission error on the Immediate Memory Task), or impulsive choice (immediate responses on temporal discou...

Two Way Prayer formed an essential part of Oxford Group and early Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) spiritual practices. Pioneer AA members considered it more essential for recovery than attendance at meetings; however, it was gradually lost as a component of contemporary 12-Step programs. The article gives an overview of its history and provides a model f...

A rational algorithm for effective pharmacotherapy for impulsive aggression takes into account five factors: sufficiently defined and characterized aggressive behavior; availability of agents studied by trials of sufficient quality; risks, side effects, and contraindications; severity of aggressive outbursts; and co-occurring mental and medical con...

Psychopathy is characterized by a general antisocial lifestyle with behaviors including being selfish, manipulative, impulsive, fearless, callous, possibly domineering, and particularly lacking in empathy. Contagious yawning in our species has been strongly linked to empathy. We exposed 135 students, male and female, who completed the Psychopathic...

Although congregants often turn to clergy for help in dealing with personal difficulties, including marital problems, substance abuse issues, and mental illness, survivors of sexual assault do not commonly turn to clergy for support or guidance. This study utilized a mixed-methods approach, online survey, and semi-structured interviews to determine...

Religion and spirituality (R/S) can be powerful supports and provide important coping resources for individuals in recovery. Faith communities seem to offer many advantages for recovery-oriented support, but have rarely been the setting for empirically examined psychosocial rehabilitation efforts. This study describes the outcomes for individuals i...

The present study used the P3 component of the event-related potential to investigate attentional bias in the processing of threatening information in physically aggressive men. Results of a modified oddball task involving physical and social threat words revealed a pattern of processing in nonaggressive controls characterized by enhanced P3 amplit...

Research has linked trauma-sequelae, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, to aggression. However, not all who experience a trauma become violent, suggesting non-trauma factors, such as emotion dysregulation, influence aggression expression and if confirmed, may influence treatment approaches. Aggression can be considered a multifaceted construct...

We report on the development and application of a survey instrument that measures the patterns of thought used by individuals attempting to relate theology and science. Survey responses of 1,491 people from five populations of science professors, theologians, other educators, students, and church laypersons were evaluated. We suggest a standardized...

The present study investigates the gatekeeping role of youth and college pastors, specifically exploring their psychological training, perceptions, attitudes, and interactions concerning adolescent congregants' mental illness. Texas youth and college pastors were anonymously surveyed regarding referral patterns, mental health interventions and cont...

Right frontal cortical activity, thought to reflect increased activity in withdrawal-related systems, has been observed in angry and anxious samples. The current study attempted to examine this effect in impulsive aggressive individuals (IAs) and nonaggressive controls. Impulsive aggression is a reactive violent response characterized by loss of be...

Individuals in psychological distress often seek out assistance and support from pastors. To determine the extent of mental health training students preparing for the pastorate receive, Master's of Divinity (MDiv) programs at accredited seminaries in the North America were surveyed after contact by telephone. Of the 70 seminaries assessed, 88% offe...

Positive religious engagement has numerous benefits for individuals struggling with mental health difficulties. There is, however, a dearth of literature addressing ways that secular psychologists can engage a client’s religious belief system in a manner that allows the positive benefits of the client’s religious and/or spiritual involvement to be...

Despite broad consensus regarding the value of the impulsive/premeditated and reactive/proactive aggression classifications, confusion as a result of imprecise language and the exact nature of subtypes have threatened its utility for clinical and research purposes. In order to increase the usefulness of these subtypes in research, prevention, and t...

After 42 years under the brutal rule of Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi, the people of Libya rose up on 17 February 2011 and demanded change. The 9-month civil war that followed resulted in the deaths of approximately 15,000 Libyans. This study reports on the feasibility and efficacy of a 10-week peer-led group-based recovery intervention for war-relate...

Previous research has demonstrated an association between trait aggression and hostile attribution bias, or the tendency to interpret others' actions as hostile, yet little research has been devoted to exploring its role in subtypes of aggression. We used hypothetical vignettes to explore hostile attribution bias in impulsive aggressors, premeditat...

Dopamine (DA) is considered to be an important neurotransmitter in the control of impulsive behavior, however, its underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is a key enzyme in the catabolism of DA within the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and has been suggested to play a role in the mediation of impulsive be...

The Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS), a 30-item self-report measure, is one of the most commonly used scales for the assessment of the personality construct of impulsiveness. It has recently marked 50 years of use in research and clinical settings. The current BIS-11 is held to measure 3 theoretical subtraits, namely, attentional, motor, and non-pla...

It is clear from a review of the literature that most of the research done on violence and antisocial behavior focuses on male participants. This gender disparity, while understandable , limits our knowledge in this important area of abnormal human behavior. To promote greater discussion of and research into violence and antisocial behavior in wome...

Psychopaths exhibit abnormalities processing emotional information, but there is less certainty regarding the role attention plays in these processes. We present data from two affective picture-viewing tasks comparing event-related potential (ERP) modulation effects when emotional information is present but not task relevant (Task 1) followed by a...

The American Psychological Association has recently issued a call for psychologists to redouble their efforts to eradicate homelessness (APA, 2010). Many may struggle with perceived challenges to beginning such work, yet contributing is not necessarily a complex or time-intensive task. Our collaboration with a faith-based homeless service agency pr...

The present study examined the experiences and values of families caring for a mentally ill loved one within the context of a Christian faith community. Participants (n = 5899) in 24 churches representing four Protestant denominations completed a survey describing their family's stresses, strengths, faith practices, and desires for assistance from...

It is clear from a review of the literature that most of the research done on violence and antisocial behavior focuses on male participants. This gender disparity, while understandable , limits our knowledge in this important area of abnormal human behavior. To promote greater discussion of and research into violence and antisocial behavior in wome...

Impulsive behavior is generally viewed as counterproductive by society, and individual differences in impulsivity have been found to be related to a number of socially relevant behaviors. Yet, there are times when acting quickly and without thinking may seem desirable, even adaptive. With the possible exception of intelligence, no other personality...

Impulsivity, with the possible exception of intelligence, is the personality dimension or trait that most broadly influences human endeavor. Impulsivity has been a topic of consideration throughout recorded history and discussed by classical philosophers. Over the past century, paper-and-pencil tests have been developed to test impulsivity and its...

While there has been steady progress in identifying psychophysiological traits associated with psychopathy, most of the existing research has been carried out using incarcerated male participants, and data that include females are particularly rare. This study examined both affective startle blink modulation and P3 amplitude in a sample of female u...

The Functional Rating Scale Taskforce for pre-Huntington Disease (FuRST-pHD) is a multinational, multidisciplinary initiative with the goal of developing a data-driven, comprehensive, psychometrically sound, rating scale for assessing symptoms and functional ability in prodromal and early Huntington disease (HD) gene expansion carriers. The process...

A bimodal classification of aggression has been shown to be useful among male perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV; Stanford, Houston, & Baldridge, 2008). To extend this research, this study attempts to replicate this result in a female population. The Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale (IPAS) was used to classify (N 􀀕 87) females wh...

The psychophysiological correlates of psychopathic traits in normal-range samples have been a topic of recent interest in studies of the biological basis of personality. It is well established that psychopaths demonstrate abnormal patterns of startle potentiation while viewing emotionally evocative pictures, but this effect has not been demonstrate...

Morgellons Disease is a condition involving painful skin lesions, fibrous growths protruding from the skin, and subcutaneous stinging and burning sensations, along with symptoms of anxiety, depression, fatigue, and memory and attention deficits. The etiological and physiological bases of these symptoms are unclear, making the diagnosis controversia...

Senior pastors at churches affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) were anonymously surveyed using an online questionnaire to ascertain their knowledge and perceptions of the causes and potential treatments of mental illness. BGCT senior pastors reported a moderate level of contact with the mentally ill and populations known...

The two most studied bimodal classifications of aggressive behavior are impulsive/premeditated and reactive/proactive aggression. Despite differences in the conceptualization of these classifications and the primary use of each in different developmental phases, the two classifications are often used interchangeably. The purpose of the current stud...

This study examined P3a amplitude as a direct predictor of treatment success for substance dependence. Participants were 35 adults (27 men, 8 women) undergoing treatment for substance dependence at an urban residential treatment facility between October 2005 and July 2007. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text...

The basis for the associations among anger, hostility, aggressive behavior, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains unclear. We suggest classifying aggressive behavior may elucidate the associations among these factors. On the basis of diagnostic and neurobiological similarities between impulsive aggression (IA) and PTSD, we proposed that...

Individuals with substance use disorders typically show reduced amplitudes of the P3 component of the evoked potential and high scores on impulsivity and aggression measures. The present study investigated the usefulness of P3 amplitude, addiction severity and impulsivity as predictors of treatment completion in substance dependence. Forty-four par...

  Measurements of impulsive and premeditated aggression, developed recently, have been applied to prison and outpatient populations without severe mental disorders. Comparable measures of impulsive and premeditated aggression have not been developed for populations with a severe mental disorder. A practical difficulty is that seriously disturbed, t...

The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) is a 30 item self-report instrument designed to assess the personality/behavioral construct of impulsiveness. Originally developed as part of a larger attempt to relate anxiety and impulsiveness to psychomotor efficiency, the BIS is arguably the most commonly administered self-report measure for the assessme...

Aggressive behavior is a major concern in mental health and criminal justice settings. Although pharmacotherapy is often used in the treatment of the violent individual, no medication is presently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration specifically for such use. In recent years, antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have become increasingly popular f...

Intensity dependence is an electrophysiological measure of intra-individual stability of the augmenting/reducing characteristic of N1/ P2 event-related potential amplitudes in response to stimuli of varying intensities. Abstinent ecstasy users typically show enhanced intensity dependence and higher levels of impulsivity and aggression. Enhanced int...

PAI profiles of substance abusing female domestic violence offenders

Objective: Impulsivity is an important clinical feature of many different psychiatric disorders. The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale version 11 is one of the scales mostly used to measure impulsivity and currently it does not have a validated Turkish version. The aim of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of t...

Violence occurs in four to five million intimate relationships each year in the United States. Past research has investigated the concept of batterer subtypes based on the nature of the violent behavior. To extend this research, the present study used the Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale (IPAS) along with a battery of relevant self-report me...

Impulsive (IA) and premeditated (PM) aggression reflect functions of aggressive behavior that may have differential correlates and clinical utility. The purpose of this study was to extend the use of the Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale (IPAS) for characterizing aggression in a college student sample. Three hundred forty students completed t...

Research on aggression and violence has consistently recognized two subtypes of aggressive behavior: a reactive or impulsive type and a predatory or premeditated type. Several studies have also demonstrated the importance of classifying aggressive behavior in relation to treatment/intervention outcome, suggesting that the extent to which neurobiolo...

The present study was undertaken to assess the perceptions encountered in the local church by individuals diagnosed with a mental disorder. Participants (n = 85) were self-identified, mentally ill Christians who responded to an anonymous online survey. Analysis of the data found that the church had dismissed the diagnoses of a significantly large n...

Impulsive behavior has been conceptualized from several vantage points including biological, sociological and psychological phenomenon. A comprehensive review of the empirical literature revealed that there is a paucity of research examining the association between working memory, executive functioning and impulsivity. A total sample of 170 aggress...

Relationships between aggressive subtypes and lipids were explored in 18 adult males undergoing treatment for substance dependence. A positive association was observed between a measure of premeditated aggression and total cholesterol. This was in contrast to an inverse association between lower cholesterol and higher impulsivity and anxiety.

The present study assessed the attitudes and beliefs that mentally ill Christians encountered when they seek counsel from the church. Participants (n ¼ 293) completed an anonymous online survey in relation to their interactions with the church. Analysis of the results found that while a majority of the mentally ill participants were accepted by the...

Recent studies using neuropsychological measures have demonstrated that a large percentage of spousal/partner abusers show significant clinical impairment. However, no studies to date have incorporated event-related potentials, such as the P3, to assess cognitive functioning in this population. In order to better define the cognitive processing def...

This study extends the use of the Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale for subtyping aggressive behavior among adolescents with Conduct Disorder. Of the Conduct Disorder symptoms, aggression has the strongest prognostic and treatment implications. While aggression is a complex construct, convergent evidence supports a dichotomy of impulsive and...

Clinical assessment of domestic violence has traditionally relied on self-report methods of data collection, using structured interviews and lengthy questionnaires such as the MMPI-2. However, in certain situations such as court-ordered domestic violence evaluations, information obtained through self-report methods may be tainted because of willful...

Certain personality traits have been associated with impulsive aggression in both college and community samples, primarily irritability, anger/hostility, and impulsivity. The literature regarding the psychopathology associated with impulsive aggression is relatively sparse and strongly emphasizes DSM-IV-TR [APA, 2000] Axis II personality disorders,...

Recent work has suggested that the success of pharmacological treatment for chronic aggressive behavior may depend, in part, on the subtype of aggressive behavior displayed (e.g. reactive, impulsive aggression vs. predatory, premeditated aggression). The present study examined the usefulness of characterizing aggressive behavior during a 16-week do...

The concept of a dichotomous versus a continuous aggression model continues to be debated within the research literature. The Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale (IPAS; M. S. Stanford, R. J. Houston, C. W. Mathias, et al., 2003) is a newly developed self-report instrument designed to classify an individual's aggressive behavior as predominantly...

We examined victim and offender correlates of forgiveness for intimate partner violence. Participants were from couples (132 women, 75 men) in which males were convicted of intimate partner violence and court-ordered into an intervention program. In women, empathy and general religiousness positively related to forgiveness, but attributions of blam...