The study of the characteristic of teenager personality with tendency to violent crimers

Abstract

Objective To study the personality characteristics of teenagers with tendency to violent crimes. Methods The Criminal Risk Personality Questionnaire was employed to test three teenager groups:violent criminals,stigmatized youth, and recruits in the army, and the differences among three groups were compared. In addition, the stigmatized youth received structural interviews. Results The scores of the violent criminals group [SCH(4.53±1.99),FAM(13.70±5.09),VIO(6.71±2.86),ANT(7.60±2.84),DQ(9.30±3.43),ANG(6.54±2.67),HOS(14.50±5.27),SOC(7.24±3.39)] and the stigmatized youth group[SCH(4.33±1.91),FAM(14.78±6.62),VIO(5.39±3.19),ANT(8.37±3.75),DQ(9.70±3.84),ANG(6.52±3.28),HOS(16.03±6.69),SOC(8.39±4.09)] were significantly higher than the recruits'[SCH(1.30±1.64),FAM(4.77±1.69),VIO(2.62±2.09),ANT(3.46±2.81),DQ(4.37±2.25),ANG(1.89±2.10),HOS(5.45±4.25),SOC(3.25±2.63),(P＜0.01)] in each dimension (P＜0.01). No significant differences were found between violent criminal group and stigmatized youth group in the dimensions of the school,delinquency and anger.In terms of the interviews to 515 stigmatized youth,411 possessed impulsive personality, amounting to 79.9 percent; 328 bore antisocial personality,amounting to 63.5 percent; and 358 had family problems, amounting to 69.5 percent.Conclusion Teenager violent criminals had the significant characteristic of the criminal personality, and the stigmatized youth are high risk population of violent crimes, with tendency to commit them. Key words: Teenager; Violent crime; Personality characteristic; Psychological measurement; Structural interview