NCJ Number
146428
Journal
Journal of Clinical Psychology Volume: 49 Issue: 2 Dated: (March 1993) Pages: 277-281
Date Published
1993
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This study tested the hypothesis that borderline personality scores will be elevated in extremely violent offenders compared to nonviolent criminals.
Abstract
Thirty-seven white male long-term inmates from a maximum-security prison in England volunteered as subjects for the study. All were free of epilepsy, overt psychotic illness, and medication at the time of assessment. The subjects were classified as "murderers" (those convicted of murder or manslaughter), "violent offenders" (those convicted of a violent act against a person, such as assault, wounding, and rape), and "nonviolent offenders" (those convicted of nonviolent offenses such as drug use, blackmail, burglary, and nonviolent robbery). Borderline and schizotypal personality traits were assessed according to the diagnostic criteria outlined in DSM-III. The researchers evaluated the subjects through a semistructured interview that drew on relevant areas of the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines, additional questions to assess schizotypal features, and psychological and psychiatric information from case records. The assessments were conducted by a prison psychologist "blind" to the hypotheses under study. Murderers had higher borderline personality scores than nonviolent offenders. A test for linear trend showed a linear increase in borderline scores with increasing degree of violence across the three groups. No group differences were found for schizotypal personality. Borderline traits associated with extreme violence consisted of unstable, intense relationships and affective instability. Group differences were not an artifact of group differences in age, social class, IQ, or number of previous custodies. The study concluded that features of borderline personality may predispose a person to extreme violence. 1 figure and 10 references