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STUDY OF CONSISTENTLY VIOLENT CRIMINALS

NCJ Number
49317
Author(s)
J A WALDRON
Date Published
1975
Length
118 pages
Annotation
THE HYPOTHESIS -- THAT CONSISTENTLY VIOLENT CRIMINALS EVIDENCE MORE PSYCHOPATHOLOGY THAN CONSISTENTLY NONVIOLENT CRIMINALS -- IS TESTED, AND AN EMPIRICAL TYPOLOGY OF CONSISTENTLY VIOLENT CRIMINALS IS PROVIDED.
Abstract
FOR THIS DISSERTATION RESEARCH, CONSISTENTLY VIOLENT CRIMINALS (CVC ) WERE DEFINED AS THOSE PRISON INMATES WITH THREE OR MORE FELONY ARRESTS FOR CRIMES OF VIOLENCE. NONVIOLENT CRIMINALS (NVC) WERE PRISON INMATES WITH THREE OR MORE FELONY ARRESTS, NONE OF WHICH WERE FOR VIOLENT CRIMES. THE MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY (MMPI) WAS USED TO DETERMINE THE PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUBJECTS. IT WAS FOUND THAT OF 1,145 CONSECUTIVE ADMISSIONS TO THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF REHABILITATION AND CORRECTION RECEPTION CENTER IN CHILLICOTHE, 250 MEN MET THE DEFINITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR NVC AND HAD VALID MMPI PROFILES. ONLY 52 OF THE 124 DEFINED AS CVCS HAD VALID MMPI PROFILES. AN EXAMINATION OF SUBJECT CHARACTERISTICS REVEALED A GENERAL PICTURE OF A CVC AS BLACK, HAVING A HISTORY OF A NUMBER OF FELONY ARRESTS, AND BEING PSYCHOPATHIC AND SUSPICIOUS OF OTHERS. ADDITIONALLY, THERE WAS NO INDICATION THAT THEIR VIOLENT BEHAVIOR TROUBLED THEM. IT IS CONCLUDED, HOWEVER, THAT PERSONALITY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NVCS AND CVCS ARE MINIMAL AND THAT MORE USEFUL INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED FROM CRIMINAL HISTORIES, WHERE CVCS HAVE A MUCH HIGHER NUMBER OF FELONY ARRESTS. SURVEY DATA ARE INCLUDED, ALONG WITH A LITERATURE REVIEW AND REFERENCES. (RCB)

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