Agressividade e sua relação com personalidade e MAOA na polícia militar

Abstract

Aggression is a multifaceted construct that is related to individual and environmental factors. Aggression can have a significant social impact, especially for military personnel who deal with aggressive provocation situations on a daily basis. The present study aims to investigate the influence of psychological profile (Personality Traits, Socialization Difficulty Traits, and Mental Health Symptoms), past environment (Child Abuse), present environment (Exposure to Stress and Time in Military Police), and genetic influence (Monoamine Oxidase-A Activity Level: MAOA) on primary (Anger Expression Index: IER) and latent (General Aggression Factor: FG_Agress) aggression. Methods: the study included the participation of 581 male military personnel, with an average age of 38 years, enrolled in the sergeant training courses of the Military Police of Minas Gerais (PMMG). The NEO-FFI-R was administered to assess personality, the SOC scale to assess socialization difficulties, and the STAXI scale to measure IER. Data from the Mental Health Symptoms and Stress Exposure registry of the PMMG Occupational Health Program were also used. MAOA enzymatic activity was estimated by genotyping MAOA-uVNTR measured through the participants' saliva. Results: primary level aggression/anger (IER) showed significant correlations with the following measures of the present and past environment: IER and Stress Exposure (r = 0.22), IER and Child Abuse (Emotional Abuse) (r = 0.27). Regarding the psychological profile measures, the IER correlated significantly with all the measures surveyed, with the most expressive associations being with Neuroticism (r=0.52), Agreeableness (r=-0.44), Conscientiousness (r=-0.34), Impulsivity (r=0.39), Absence of Fear (r=0.30) and Mental Health Symptoms (r=0.33). Regarding FG_Agress, the regression analyses showed that Child Maltreatment (OR = 1.236; p<0.05) and Exposure to Stress (Exp(B) = 1.087; p<0.05) can be considered predictors of FG_Agress. The MAOA-uVNTR polymorphism was evaluated in a subsample of 79 individuals, from the High and Low Aggressiveness (FG_Agress) groups. The MAOA-uVNTR genotypes were classified as low activity (2R or 3R) and high activity (3.5R or 4R). No significant differences in Aggression/Anger were detected between the High and Low MAOA activity groups: t-test (t(76)=-1.345; p>0.05) for the subsample of military personnel studied. Discussion: This study contributes to the understanding of the relationship between previous and current environments and their influence on aggressiveness. The sample is very peculiar, since the psychological evaluation is part of the selection process for entry into the PMMG and throughout the career, the individual's behavior is constantly evaluated and they are trained to maintain self-control. Even so, the effect of the environment (child abuse and stress) and the psychological profile (personality, socialization and mental health symptoms) on aggressiveness was observed.