The personality of male prisoners: Moving towards an integrated temperament-and-character-based theory of criminal and antisocial behavior

Abstract

PurposeRobust evidence suggests that a full understanding of human functioning requires a model of personality that acknowledges the dynamic nonlinear interactions between developmentally and functionally distinct emotional and sociocognitive processes (i.e. between temperament and character). The purpose of the current study is to provide the first description of prisoner personality acknowledging these interactions. MethodsPersonality was assessed in 184 Portuguese adult male prisoners using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). ResultsPrisoners were high in novelty seeking (impulsive and rule-breaking) and harm avoidance (pessimistic), and low in self-directedness (helpless and blaming) and cooperativeness (revengeful and opportunistic). Temperament profiles reflecting emotional dysregulation and immature character profiles were observed to be typical of prisoners. ConclusionsThe observed personality features indicate that criminal and antisocial behavior is a manifestation of personality incoherence where dispositional tendencies for emotional reactivity are weakly regulated by higher order cognitive processes. The study highlights the need for theories of crime to incorporate nonlinear interactions between temperament and character. These results have implications for understanding why people behave antisocially, for identifying those at higher risk of becoming involved in the criminal justice system, and for informing interventions for those already incarcerated.