Personality and Criminality: A Dispositional Analysis (From Advances in Criminological Theory, V 1, P 89-110, 1989, William S Laufer and Freda Adler, eds. -- See NCJ-115630)

• NCJ Number: 115636
• Author(s): H J Eysenck
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 22 pages
• Sale Source: Transaction Publishers
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study reviews the literature relevant to Eysenck's theory implicating three major personality dimensions in criminal behavior: psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism.

Abstract

The studies encompass juvenile, adult, and cross-cultural studies. Data from the studies indicate a general pattern of antisocial behavior and criminality marking the opposite end of a continuum to that constituted by prosocial altruistic behavior. Criminality is related to certain personality dimensions, particularly that labeled psychoticism, which is apparent in all age groups and under all conditions studied. There is a strong tendency for extraversion to be related to criminality, notably in younger samples and among more active criminals. Most criminals are characterized by a high degree of neuroticism, but this may not be found as markedly in children and youth. Scores on the L scale (regarded in these studies as a measure of conformity rather than of dissimulation) tend to correlate negatively with antisocial and criminal conduct across all age groups. Primary personality traits, such as impulsiveness, venturesomeness, risk taking, empathy, and others, correlate predictably with antisocial and criminal conduct. The observed personality-criminality correlations have cross-cultural validity, appearing in different countries and cultures with equal prominence. 45 references.