Female Violence and Personality

Abstract

The present study investigated the validity of the overcontrolled hostility construct in explaining violent crime among 186 female state-prison inmates who were classified as nonviolent (NV), one-time violent (OV), or repeat violent (RV) offenders. The women's prison records were reviewed, and a complete Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (2nd ed.) (MMPI-2) protocol and Spielberger et al.'s Anger Expression Scale were administered. Overcontrolled Hostility (O-H) scale scores on the MMPI-2 effectively differentiated the OV group from the NV and RV offender groups. The OV women were overrepresented among female violent offenders, had significantly shorter nonviolent criminal histories than the other two groups, and were more likely to have committed an extremely violent act than the RV group. The RV offenders reported greater acting out when angered and exhibited more prison aggression compared to the other two groups. These data highlight the importance of the overcontrolled hostility construct and the undercontrolled/overcontrolled distinction in the analysis of violent offending among female inmates.