Dark and bright personality dimensions as predictors of criminal behavior and recidivism

A growing body of research highlights the continuum between dark and bright personality traits impacting individual prosocial or antisocial tendencies. However, the interplay between personality dimensions and actual criminal behavior and its reoccurrence is not fully elucidated. We aimed to explore...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2024-08, Vol.14 (1), p.18565-10, Article 18565
Main Authors: Hurezan, Liliana, Turi, Andreea, Ion, Andrei, Visu-Petra, Laura
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/477
631/477/2811
Adult
Crime
Crime - psychology
Criminal Behavior
Criminals - psychology
Criminology
Female
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
multidisciplinary
Neurosis
Personality
Recidivism
Recidivism - psychology
Risk assessment
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Social behavior
Young Adult
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Summary:A growing body of research highlights the continuum between dark and bright personality traits impacting individual prosocial or antisocial tendencies. However, the interplay between personality dimensions and actual criminal behavior and its reoccurrence is not fully elucidated. We aimed to explore the cumulative predictive value of the bright and dark core of personality for criminal history in differentiating a general community sample ( N  = 282) from a large sample of inmates ( N  = 296), with ( n  = 129) or without ( n  = 167) criminal history while controlling for age, sex and impression management. Predictors of first-time offending were higher levels of Neuroticism, Openness, Dark Factor, Sadism, and Deceitfulness. Criminal recidivism was predicted by high Neuroticism and Deceitfulness. Finally, higher levels of Extraversion were negatively related to criminal behavior and history, highlighting a potential protective effect of displaying assertive and sociable tendencies. The findings highlight the relevance of considering the dark personality core complementary to the typical personality dimensions in the risk assessment, prediction, and reduction of criminal behavior.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-024-69288-5