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1.10 - Personality theories and offending

from Part I - Psychological underpinnings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2010

Jennifer M. Brown
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Elizabeth A. Campbell
Affiliation:
University of Glasgow
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Summary

Some clinical syndromes of personality seem relatively unambiguous, and can be reliably identified. DSM-IV personality disorders provide quite distinctive personality 'types', particularly in cluster B 'dramatic' personality disorders such as Borderline Personality Disorder or Antisocial Personality Disorder, both of which are more common to offenders. Another personality model deriving from the clinical-descriptive condition is that of psychopathy. Empirical, trait-driven structural models of personality provide broad dimensions of personality without filling in the idiosyncratic details of the self created by experience, choice and chance, but nevertheless seem to be able to predict offending. Meta-analysis finds structural models like Hans Eysenck's Psychoticism, Extroversion and Neuroticism (PEN) or Costa and McCrae's Five-Factor Model (FFM), Tellegen's three-factor model and Cloninger's seven-factor model, all have particular dimensions associated with antisocial acts. Structural trait theories of personality are highly empirical, and thus are more testable than individually focused theories.
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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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