PERSONALITY AND DELINQUENCY: A MULTI. VARIATE EXAMINATION OF EYSENCK'S THEORY WITH SCOTTISH DELINQUENT AND NON-DELINQUENT BOYS

Abstract

The Eysenck Junior P.1. questionnaire was administered to groups of institutionalized and non-institutionalized delinquents and to non-delinquents. Scores were evaluated at scale and item level by discriminant analysis. A further analysis of discriminant items produced new, empirically validated dimensions which, reapplied to a discriminant function program, allowed examination of their relative effectiveness in the (posterior) prediction of group membership. Additional hypotheses from Eysenck's theory concerning the behavior of items with more homogeneous subgroups within the larger delinquent sample were examined. Of 38 items discriminating delinquents from non-delinquents, 15 were found to define six discriminant factors called (i) Neuroticism/Depression; (ii) Social Adjustment/Sensitivity; (iii) Psychoticism; (iv) Impulsivity; (v) Social Extraversion; and (vi) Delinquency/Social Non-Conformity. Two largely congruent “second order” factors were identified as Extraversion and Neuroticism. But a third second-order factor differed markedly between the two samples. Theoretical implications are discussed.