Russian Psychologists Study Mechanisms of Criminal Aggression

Scientists at Moscow State University of Psychology and Education (MSUPE) have identified new relationships between personality traits and illegal behaviour. According to the authors, the study results are essential to comprehensive forensic psychological and psychiatric examination.

The study was published in Psychology and Law Magazine.

According to experts, today, amid scientific attention to criminals with severe mental disorders, pro-aggressive personality factors in people with borderline psychological anomalies are still under-studied. Among the accused, personality disorders and organic mental disorders are the most frequent anomalies.

It’s believed in the professional environment that personality disorder is not a disease, but a stable character pathology leading to a partial or even complete loss of an individual’s ability to adapt to conditions in society.

In contrast, organic mental disorders are characterised by CNS dysfunctions or brain damage, which, however, don’t exclude sanity.

According to scientists, unlike simplified models that use only one group of factors, modern models of explaining aggression consider behaviour as a complex interaction of personal (pro and anti-aggressive) and situational factors. The MSUPE study developed and refined the contemporary paradigm of aggression research.

The scientists considered such personality traits as demonstrativeness, excitability, immaturity, high self-esteem, self-centeredness and some others as pro-aggressive factors. Anti-aggressive factors included such tendencies as a tendency toward socially acceptable behaviour, anxiety, control of desires, fear of punishment, guilt, as well as the ability to empathise, among others.

The study also showed that for individuals with personality disorders who showed criminal aggression in psycho-traumatic situations, this behaviour was due not only to a personal predisposition but also to a reaction to external influences. The activation of psychological defence mechanisms aimed at smoothing out psycho-traumatic effects was also discovered.

According to experts, in mentally healthy criminals, in neutral situations, the distribution of pro- and anti-aggressive factors indicates the deliberate and planned nature of offences. By contrast, in a psycho-traumatic situation, it indicates the affective nature of aggression.

Offenders with an organic mental disorder are characterised by a predominance of offences caused by various situational factors, both psycho-traumatic and non-psycho-traumatic, while intentional aggression is least characteristic of them.

The study involved 325 people accused of personal crimes, including both mentally healthy individuals and those with personality disorders and organic mental disorders.

Sourse: sputniknews.com