Aggression, impulsivity, personality traits, and childhood trauma of prisoners with substance abuse and addiction.
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.
Cuomo
Chiara
C
University of Molise, Department of Health Sciences, Loc. Tappino,Campobasso, Italy.
Sarchiapone
Marco
M
Giannantonio
Massimo Di
MD
Mancini
Michele
M
Roy
Alec
A
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