Structural Models of Personality and Their Relation to Antisocial Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review

• NCJ Number: 191994
• Journal: Criminology Volume: 39 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2001 Pages: 765-798
• Author(s): Joshua D. Miller; Donald Lynam
• Date Published: November 2001
• Length: 34 pages
• Grant Number(s): MH60104
• Sponsoring Agency: University of Kentucky; National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study argues that the concept of personality has much to offer criminology, and uses meta-analytic techniques to examine the relationships between antisocial behavior defined relatively broadly and four structural models of personality.

Abstract

The four models discussed included Eysenck’s three-factor model that includes the domains of Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Psychoticism (PEN), Tellegen’s three-factor model, Costa and McCrae’s five-factor model (FFM), and Cloninger’s seven-factor temperament and character model. A comprehensive review of the literature yielded 59 studies that provided relevant information. Results revealed that eight dimensions bore moderate relationships to antisocial behavior and that it was possible to understand all these dimensions as measures of either Agreeableness or Conscientiousness from the FFM. The analysis concluded that results were remarkably consistent despite the limited number of studies of some models and the variations in measures used, and thus that the construct of personality deserves broader application in criminology. Tables and 126 references (Author abstract modified)