Personality Traits and Psychopathological Factors with Predictive Value for Delinquent Behavior

There is a wide range of studies linking Eysenck’s model of personality with delinquency. Nevertheless, the results are contradictory and less well documented for adolescents. In this paper we aim to explore the link between the personality traits of the Big-Five model and the presence of a conduct disorder. In order to develop efficient prevention programs for delinquent behavior, we also realized a regression analysis in order to identify significant predictors for conduct disorder. The results obtained for 266 subjects with delinquent and non-delinquent behavior confirm some of the results in the literature, emphasizing the importance of a reduced consciousness and high emotional instability for the development of a conduct disorder. Other significant predictors for conduct disorder proved to be: social problems, thinking problems, rule braking and aggressive behavior.