NCJ Number
180225
Journal
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Issue: 98 Dated: 1998 Pages: 231-236
Date Published
1998
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article examines the role of personality traits in behavior and emotional problems in male juvenile delinquents and controls in Russia.
Abstract
Recent studies based on the psychobiological theory of personality by Cloninger postulate a relationship between certain personality traits and various psychopathological manifestations. To test the theory, this study administered the Temperament and Character Inventory and the Youth Self-Report to 188 male delinquents from a juvenile correctional center in Northern Russia and to 111 age-matched male controls recruited from among schoolchildren. Psychological symptoms were primarily positively correlated with harm avoidance and negatively correlated with self-directedness. The higher levels of aggressive and delinquent behavior were positively correlated with novelty seeking and negatively correlated with co-operativeness. The article concludes that, because of this study's small effect size, it is not legitimate to state that personality traits play a causal role in the development of psychopathology. It suggests longitudinal studies within a multifactorial interactive framework of biological, cultural, and psychological variables. Tables, references