title: Identification With a Violent and Sadistic Aggressor: A Rorschach Study of Criminal Debt Collectors.
abstract: This study examined personality functioning in a group of 27 incarcerated criminal debt collectors as assessed by the Rorschach Inkblot Method (RIM; Rorschach, 1921/1942) and the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003 ). To explore whether these individuals represent a distinct subgroup within the violent offender population, we compared them to a group of incarcerated homicide offenders (n = 23) without a previous history of significant violence and a group who had committed less serious violent crimes (n = 21). Results revealed significantly more Rorschach indicators of past trauma (Trauma Content Index), aggressive urges (Aggressive Potential) and identification (Aggressive Content) among the debt collectors than the 2 other groups. In addition, debt collectors displayed significantly more interpersonal interest (Sum Human content), and significantly higher scores on the PCL-R. Our findings suggest that the debt collector might be viewed as a hostile variant of psychopathy.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Oslo , Norway.|b Department of Special Psychiatry , Akershus University Hospital , Lørenskog , Norway.|c Clinic of Prison Psychiatric Services, Oslo University Hospital , Norway.
authors.forename: Peder Chr Bryhn
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Nørbech
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Oslo , Norway.
authors.forename: Cato
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grønnerød
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Oslo , Norway.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hartmann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology; D012392:Rorschach Test; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult