STRUCTURE OF CORRELATION BETWEEN DELINQUENCY AND PERSONALITY TRAITS (FROM BULLETIN OF THE CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH DEPARTMENT, 1975) - JAPAN

• NCJ Number: 45838
• Author(s): K SAEKI; T TOKUYAMA; Y MATSUMOTO; M TSURU; H SHINDO; T KASAI; Y YAMAGUCHI
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 4 pages
• Corporate Author: Japan Ministry of Justice
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Japan
• Note: THIS ENGLISH VERSION WAS PREPARED BY MR. KENSAKU HASHIMOTO, THE INFORMATION AND LIAISON OFFICE OF THE SECRETARIAT SECTION OF THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, JAPAN

Annotation

LINEAR MODELS OBTAINED BY FACTOR ANALYSIS, REGRESSION ANALYSIS, AND DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS WERE USED TO CORRELATE DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR AND PRSONALITY TRAITS.

Abstract

THIS JAPANESE STUDY ISOLATED 28 VARIABLES TO REPRESENT THE SERIOUSNESS OF DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR, THEN ISOLATED 25 PERSONALITY TRAITS COMMONLY OBSERVED BY WORKERS IN THE FIELD OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY. OF THE 28 VARIABLES RELATED TO PREVIOUS RECORDS OF DELINQUENCY, LINEAR ANALYSIS FOUND THE FOLLOWING MOST HIGHLY CORRELATED WITH SERIOUS DELINQUENCY: AGE AT ONSET OF DELINQUENT ACTS, PREVIOUS COMMITTALS TO JUVENILE DETENTION HOMES, THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE OFFENSE COMMITTED AT FIRST TIME, FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, RUNNING AWAY FROM HOME, FREQUENT JOB CHANGES, AND MEMBERSHIP IN DELINQUENT GROUPS. THE MOST SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATED PERSONALITY TRAITS WERE: IMPULSIVENESS, EGOCENTRICITY, AGGRESSIVENESS, A 'JAUNDICED MIND,' A WEEK WILL, EMOTIONAL LABILITY, LACKING IN PATIENCE, LACK OF WILL, VANITY, AND DOMINATION. AS FOR THE PATTERNS OF DELINQUENCY, THE OFFENSES OF THE HOMOTROPIC CRIMINAL TYPE AND THOSE OF AMPHITROPIC CRIMINAL TYPE WERE QUITE SIMILAR IN THEIR FACTOR STRUCTURES WHILE THE OFFENSES FALLING UNDER OTHER PATTERNS WERE NOT. A PARTICULARLY REMARKABLE DIFFERENCE WAS FOUND BETWEEN THE FACTOR STRUCTURES OF THE OFFENSES OF THE POLYTROPIC CRIMINAL TYPE AND OTHER PATTERNS OF OFFENSES. FOR JUVENILE DELINQUENCY OFFENSES, IMPULSIVENESS AND EGOCENTRICITY WERE THE DOMINANT CHARACTERISTICS FOR ALL OFFENSES EXCEPT THOSE INVOLVING BODILY INJURY. IN THESE, AGGRESSIVENESS WAS THE DOMINANT TRAIT. THIS APPROACH IS RECOMMENDED FOR FUTURE STUDIES. (GLR)