title: Personality and trait aggression profiles of male and female prison inmates.
abstract: Gender specific personality profiles in association with the level of aggressive antisocial behavior in offenders have not been previously investigated. In the present study we analyzed data collected from 65 male and 50 female offenders using structured protocols regarding criminal history (by criminal register data), trait aggression (by the Life History of Aggression (LHA) questionnaire), and personality profiles (by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI)). Prison inmates differed significantly on several personality dimensions, most pronouncedly were they characterized with low character maturity (low scores in the Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness dimensions of TCI) when compared to gender and age matched controls of the general population. The majority of offenders scored distinctively high on trait aggression. There were moderate to strong associations between the personality dimensions and each of the subscales of LHA (Aggression, Self-directed Aggression and Antisocial behavior). These associations were stronger in the female offender sample. Trait aggression could be best explained by a model, which included male gender, younger age, high novelty seeking temperament and low character maturity. Our results suggest that therapies aiming at strengthening self-governance and increasing cooperativeness (focusing on character maturity) may alleviate aggressive antisocial behavior in offenders.
authors.affiliation: CELAM (Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental Health), University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: orjan.falk@neuro.gu.se.
authors.forename: Örjan
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Falk
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tetouan, Morocco.
authors.forename: Anis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sfendla
authors.affiliation: Center for Well-being Washington University, School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brändström
authors.affiliation: CELAM (Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental Health), University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Anckarsäter
authors.affiliation: CELAM (Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental Health), University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University West, Trollhättan, Sweden; Swedish Prison and Probation Services, R&E, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Nóra
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kerekes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002605:Character; D057237:Criminals / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aggressive antisocial behavior; Character maturity; Criminality; Gender differences; Life history of aggression; Novelty seeking; Personality; Prison inmates; Temperament and character inventory