Psychological traits and criminal profiles.

The aim of this study was to determine whether certain personality traits in adolescents and children were significantly associated with juvenile maladjustment, and, if so, whether these psychological variables could be used in individual criminological classification. We studied a total of 303 subjects (185 males, 118 females) ranging in age from 11 to 21 years inclusive. All subjects were from centres under the administration of the juvenile court and from the Murcia City Penitentiary (Spain). Impulsivity and attention-perception were found to be highly diagnostic of maladjustment, and thus appear to be complementary traits that provide a useful means of classifying individuals for criminological prognosis. In addition, different personality traits were found to be effective in distinguishing subgroups characterized by different patterns of criminal behaviour.