Saliva Test can Predict Aggression Risk in Boys: Study

A test that detects hormones linked to aggression in saliva sample can be used to predict the level of belligerence in boys, according to a new study.

The study was conducted by researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and included a small sample size of 17 boys aged between 7 and 9 years. The study participants were admitted in the hospital for psychiatric care. Saliva samples were taken from the participants and tested for the presence of hormones - testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and cortisol.

Researchers found that levels of the hormones correlated with the level of aggression in children. the study team also used a questionnaire, Brief Rating of Aggression by Children and Adolescents (BRACHA), also developed by the team, to assess the level of aggression in children.

Related studies conducted on teen aggression have shown that hormones- testosterone and cortisol play an important role in aggression.

The present test can rapidly analyze the presence of these hormones in the sample and lets physicians treating adolescent kids know the patients' level of aggression.

"We believe salivary hormone testing has the potential to help doctors monitor which treatments are working best for their patients. And because mental health professionals are far more likely to be assaulted on the job than the average worker, it could offer a quick way to anticipate violent behavior in child psychiatric units. Eventually, we hope this testing might also provide a tool to help improve safety in schools," said Drew Barzman, MD, a child and adolescent forensic psychiatrist at Cincinnati Children's, according to a press release.

"This study sample, while small, gives us the data we need to move forward. We have more studies planned before we can reach a definitive conclusion, but developing a new tool to help us anticipate violent behavior is our ultimate goal," added Barzman.

The study is published in the journal Psychiatric Quarterly.