NCJ Number
219798
Journal
Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: 2007 Pages: 171-178
Date Published
2007
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study tested the hypothesis that violent offenders have more deficits in self-regulation and self-control than nonviolent offenders.
Abstract
The self-report data show that violent offenders were no different from nonviolent offenders in either facilitating or inhibiting modes of self-regulation and self-control. Compared to a sample of normal, healthy men, both offender groups (violent and nonviolent) reported more problems in the self-regulation of their internal worlds, self-inhibition, volitional inhibition, and volitional avoidance when facing challenging or aversive tasks and life situations. If self-regulatory functions of offenders are generally less effective than those of normal individuals, this has important implications for the treatment of offenders, whether they are violent or nonviolent. For this study, a sample of 70 adult male prisoners were recruited from 2 penitentiaries in South Germany. Violent and nonviolent offenses were defined according to the criteria stipulated in the German criminal code (a violent person must have committed at least one crime against the physical integrity and/or life of another person). Forty-two participants had committed violent offenses (e.g., murder, homicide, manslaughter, rape, and sexual assault), and 28 were incarcerated for nonviolent offenses (e.g., drug and property offenses and fraud). The Volitional Component Questionnaire was used as a self-assessment tool that measured 38 functional components of self-regulation. The German version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders was used to define personality disorder. T-tests were performed on the subscales of the aforementioned instruments. 1 table and 20 references