Personality Traits of Mentally Disordered Males Who Committed Homicide (original) (raw)
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Psychiatry Research, 2014
The relationship between psychopathy and traits of temperament and character in a specific population of criminals, such as murderers, has not been sufficiently investigated. This study assesses the relationship between psychopathy and temperament and character traits in murderers. The sample consisted of 118 men divided into three groups: psychopathic murderers (N¼ 40), non-psychopathic murderers (N¼ 40) and 38 non-psychopathic non-criminals (controls). All individuals were evaluated by Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) and The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Psychopathic murderers presented higher scores than the other two groups in PCL-R; both criminal groups presented higher scores than non-psychopathic non-criminals. Psychopathic murderers showed lower scores than non-psychopathic murderers on Harm Avoidance, Reward Dependence, Persistence, Self-Directness and Cooperativeness. There was no difference between murderers groups regarding Novelty Seeking and Self-transcendence. In all TCI personality traits psychopathic and non-psychopathic murderers showed scores lower than controls, except Harm Avoidance for non-psychopathic murderers. In conclusion, most personality traits assessed by TCI were associated with psychopathy, while Novelty Seeking and Self-transcendence were associated with homicidal behavior independently of the psychopathy.
Study of Criminal Attitude towards Violence and Personality Traits in Males
2017
The problem of studying criminal attitudes, development of tools needed to measure them, as well as these tools’ adaptation from original versions into other languages, is particularly topical at the moment. A poorly developed field is the study of the relationship between criminal attitudes and personal traits. The research aim is to study the relation of criminal attitude towards violence and personality traits in males. Research questions: Is there a relationship between criminal attitude towards violence and personality traits (extroversion, psychoticism, neuroticism) in males who have not been convicted? Which of the studied personality traits are the best predictors of the criminal attitude towards violence? Participants: 192 males aged 18 to 39 years (M = 23.2, SD = 3.4). All the participants have never been brought to justice for violence. Methods used: the Criminal Attitudes to Violence Scale (CAVs); the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised Abbreviated (EPQR-A). Result...
Sixty-one male forensic patients who met the DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia were categorised into high and low psychopathic trait groups using the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version. The groups were compared on their criminal history, symptom profile, personality style, risk scores and subsequent institutional violence. Patients with high scores on the PCL:SV had a greater number of previous convictions and were more likely to have a family history of criminality. The high psychopathy-scoring group had higher levels of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale grandiose and hostile symptomatology, and higher scores on trait impulsivity and aggression. They also had a more coercive, less compliant interpersonal style than the low-psychopathy scoring group. The high-psychopathy scoring group were more likely to be involved in institutional aggression and had higher levels of risk for violence. Patients with schizophrenia and high levels of comorbid psychopathy have a distinctive interpersonal style that may contribute to their greater risk of disruptive institutional behaviour.
Mental aberrations and other demographic factors influencing homicide
International Journal of Medical Research and Review, 2014
Introduction: It has been a long search for the identification of the personality trends among the people committing homicides. The present work searches for the type of personality disorder among the homicide offenders and identify its demographic profiles in a cross-sectional study at a correctional home at Kolkata. Methods: Psychiatric examination reports and crime reports of the offenders were subjected to forensic examination. [n=69]. Results: Most of the offenders were found to be male, aged more than 30 years, less educated and economically backward. While delusional beliefs were found to be primary mental aberrations among the homicides. Conclusion: Homicide offenders do have a psychopathic trait and environmental influences also have an important role to play.
Some distinctive elements of the violent criminal's personality
2021
The notion of personality of the offender is a criminological concept, which includes the legal-criminal notion of the offender and the psycho-social notion. There are various opinions regarding the notion of the personality of the violent criminal and those characteristics that the latter must possess. As a result, the author, in this study, exposes his vision on the given issue and elucidates those characteristics, which in his opinion are the basis of every violent criminal.
Personality profiles of Malaysian male prisoners convicted of murder
Introduction: A review of the criminological literature indicates that some personality traits appear to develop and shape violent criminal behaviour. With this in mind, the present study was aimed to examine the personality profiles of Malaysian male murderers utilising the Alternative Five Factor Model (AFFM) constituting five personality traits: Activity, Sociability, Aggressiveness-Hostility, Impulsive Sensation Seeking, and Neuroticism-Anxiety. Methods: The present study was an observational cross-sectional study using a guided self-administered questionnaire. Items representing the five personality traits were assessed through the Malay version of Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire-40-Cross Cultural Questionnaire (ZKPQ-M-40-CC). 71 male prisoners convicted of murder who are incarcerated in 11 Malaysian prisons were recruited. Descriptive item analyses were carried out to elicit the level of responses for each item in the ZKPQ-M-40-CC. Furthermore, the descriptive pers...
Temperament and character in homicidal patients with schizophrenia
Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 2019
Background: Understanding the etiology of violence in patients with schizophrenia is an issue of great clinical and public importance. Although personality traits are an important aspect in determining complex behaviors of schizophrenia patients, there is a lack of research on the relationship between personality traits and violence, especially homicidal behavior, in this population. Aim: We aimed to compare temperament and character dimensions between homicidal and other mostly violent forensic patients with schizophrenia, and to determine which temperament and character dimensions are associated with homicidal behavior in these patients. Methods: We recruited 71 male forensic schizophrenia patients without concomitant substance dependence and antisocial personality disorder. The patients were divided into two groups according to trial documentation as: (1) Homicide and attempted homicide group (N 30; 42%), and (2) Other offenses group (N 41; 58%). Patients were assessed by means of the Temperament and Character Inventory and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Differences between groups were tested with t-test. Results: The two groups of patients were similar in their PANSS scores, but the homicidal men were significantly more likely to show higher harm avoidance (HA) scores than the less violent comparison men (t ¼ 2,876, df-69, p ¼ 0.005). Conclusions: Our results indicate that forensic schizophrenic patients with higher HA scores would show a greater risk of homicidal violence. Improved understanding of personality traits associated with such behavior is needed in order to prevent homicidal behavior. Importance of these results suggests that further study is needed.
Jurnal Psikologi Malaysia, 2014
An individual's personality traits seem to be a factor in developing and shaping violent criminal behaviour. Due to this realization, the present study seeks to explore the relationship of personality traits with low selfcontrol, aggression, and self-serving cognitive distortion. The present study was an observational cross-sectional study using a guided self-administered questionnaire: M-PsychoQ. The source population was the male murderers incarcerated in 11 prisons in Peninsular Malaysia. 71 participants were selected based on a predetermined selection criteria using purposive sampling method. After undergoing the validation processes, the emerged M-PsychoQ consisted of four psychometric instruments: Malay versions of the Zuckerman Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire-40-Cross-Culture (ZKPQ-M-40-CC), Self-control Scale (SCS-M), Aggression Questionnaire (AQ-M-12), and "How I Think" Questionnaire (HIT-M). Regression analyses viz. simple and multiple linear regression approaches were conducted in order to predict whether personality traits would emerge as significant predictors. The findings evidenced certain personality traits as significant predictors of low self-control, high levels of aggression and selfserving cognitive distortion. This study imparts statistical evidence on the role of personality traits as an important predictor of low self-control, high aggression and self-serving cognitive distortion. The results were discussed in relation to the theory and context of murder.