Personality Traits Are Linked to Crime Among Men and Women: Evidence From a Birth Cohort

• NCJ Number: 153636
• Journal: Journal of Abnormal Psychology Volume: 103 Issue: 2 Dated: (1994) Pages: 328-338
• Author(s): R F Krueger; P S Schmutte; A Caspi; T E Moffitt; C Campbell; P A Silva
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 11 pages
• Grant Number(s): MH-49414; MH-45070; MH-45548
• Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation; William T. Grant Foundation; National Institute of Mental Health; Gang Intelligence Strategy Committee; US Dept of Health and Human Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

To investigate possible links between personality traits and criminal behavior, a birth cohort of 862 18-year-old males and females completed the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire and a self-report survey on delinquency. Delinquency was also assessed via official records and informant reports.

Abstract

The results showed that the personality correlates of delinquency were robust across the three independent data sources. Greater delinquent participation was associated with aggression, alienation, greater stress reactivity, less traditionalism, and less self-control for both genders. At the higher order factor level, delinquency was correlated with negative emotionality and lack of restraint. Person-centered analyses, which aimed to describe individuals whose nonnormative delinquent behavior distinguished them from the majority of their peers, identified two subtypes, i.e., those who abstained from criminal activity and those who were extensively involved in a wide variety of criminal activity. 3 tables, 2 figures, 5 notes, and 55 references