THE STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT IN SLOVAKIA, A REGION IN EASTERN CZECHOSLOVAKIA. EXPERIMENTAL SUBJECTS WERE 297 MALE AND 89 FEMALE FELONS, AGED 18 TO 25. ALL HAD BEEN CONVICTED AT LEAST TWICE AND HAD SERVED PRISON TERMS. CONTROLS WERE MALE AND FEMALE INDUSTRY WORKERS AND MALE ATHLETES. AMONG OTHER TESTS, THE SUBJECTS COMPLETED THE PEN (PSYCHOTICISM-EXTROVERSION-NEUROTICISM) SCALE. THE FELONS, BOTH MALES AND FEMALES, SCORED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN CONTROLS ON THE PSYCHOTICISM DIMENSION. THIS DIMENSION IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FOLLOWING CHARACTER TRAITS: LONELY, INDIFFERENT TO OTHERS, INADAPTABLE, TROUBLESOME, CRUEL, INHUMAN, SUPERFICIAL IN FEELINGS, INSENSITIVE, RUTHLESS, FOND OF EXCITEMENT, UNFRIENDLY, AGGRESSIVE, FOND OF THE UNUSUAL, RECKLESS, AND FOOLHARDY. CORRELATIONS AMONG THE VARIOUS PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS MEASURED INDICATE THAT SUBJECTS WITH HIGH PSYCHOTICISM SCORES MAY ALSO TEND TO BE EMOTIONALLY LABILE. THE STUDY FINDINGS SHOW THAT THE PSYCHOTICISM DIMENSION IS A SENSITIVE INDICATOR FOR DIFFERENTIATING DELINQUENT RECIDIVISTS FROM THE REST OF THE SLOVAKIAN POPULATION. SUPPORTING DATA ARE PROVIDED. (LKM)