Differences between severely conduct-disorderedjuvenile males and normal juvenile males: the study ofpersonality traits

Personality traits among a group of 47 severely conduct-disordered (C-D) juvenilemales from four Swedish national correctional institutions for serious offences were studied. TheKarolinska Scales of Personality (KSP), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-I),including an impulsivity scale from the Impulsiveness-Venturesomeness-Empathy (IVE)inventory, and the Zuckerman Sensation-Seeking Scales (SSS) form V, were administered to theC-D juveniles. The scores from the KSP for this group were compared to scores from arepresentative group of 82 normal juvenile male subjects from the Swedish longitudinal researchprogram Individual Development and Adaptation (IDA). Pearson product-moment correlationswere calculated between the KSP scales and scales from the EPQ-I, and between the SSS andscales from the EPQ-I and KSP inventories. The C-D juveniles displayed notably higher scoresthan the mean normal scores on psychopathy-related personality scales. The present results areconsistent with earlier findings concerning personality dimensions in adult criminal psychopaths:high scores on impulsivity and sensation seeking, and low scores on conformity reflected in lowsocialization and high psychoticism.