title: Aggression, impulsivity, personality traits, and childhood trauma of prisoners with substance abuse and addiction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of our study is then to analyze psychological and judicial features of a subgroup of inmates with substance abuse.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prisoners with substance abuse (n = 312) were compared to prisoners without substance abuse (n = 591). Recruited inmates completed a semistructured interview for collection of sociodemographic and judicial data and a battery of psychometric tests for assessement of aggression, impulsivity, depression, personality traits, hostility, resilience, and childhood trauma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Substance abusers had on average multiple incarcerations (78.8%), more juvenile convictions (60.2%), more violent behaviors during detention (29.8%), and a history of one or more suicide attempts (20.8%). They also had higher scores on subscales for childhood trauma, higher scores for psychoticism and neuroticism, higher impulsivity levels, worse resilience, increased hostility, and prevalent suicidal ideation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prisoners with substance abuse constitute a subgroup with increased judiciary and psychiatric issues, possibly due to early life history and psychological characteristics, such as high impulsivity and aggressiveness, poor resilience, and higher suicidal risk.
authors.affiliation: University of Molise, Department of Health Sciences, Loc. Tappino,Campobasso, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cuomo
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sarchiapone
authors.forename: Massimo Di
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Giannantonio
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.forename: Alec
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology; D003625:Data Collection; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009497:Neurotic Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data