In addition to social and environmental factors, individual personality traits have intricately linked with maladaptive behaviour. Thus, the purpose of this article was to review the link between individual personality traits and criminality. A systematic review was conducted to obtain information regarding the link between individual personality traits with criminal behaviour in the Sage, Web of Science, APA PsycNet, Wiley Online Library, and PubMed databases. The results indicate that individual personality traits that contribute towards criminality are (i) psychopathy; (ii) low self-control; and (iii) difficult temperament. As an overall impact, the review is expected to provide in-depth understanding of the link between individual personality traits and criminality; hence, greater consideration will be given to the dimension of personality as a notable risk factor of criminal behaviour.
General theory attributes criminal behavior primarily to low self-control, whereas evolutionary neuroandrogenic (ENA) theory envisions criminality as being a crude form of status-striving promoted by high brain exposure to androgens. General theory predicts that self-control will be negatively correlated with risk-taking, while ENA theory implies that these two variables should actually be positively correlated. According to ENA theory, traits such as pain tolerance and muscularity will be positively associated with risk-taking and criminality while general theory makes no predictions concerning these relationships. Data from Malaysia and the United States are used to test 10 hypotheses derived from one or both of these theories. As predicted by both theories, risk-taking was positively correlated with criminality in both countries. However, contrary to general theory and consistent with ENA theory, the correlation between self-control and risk-taking was positive in both countries. General theory's prediction of an inverse correlation between low self-control and criminality was largely supported by the U.S. data but only weakly supported by the Malaysian data. ENA theory's predictions of positive correlations between pain tolerance, muscularity, and offending were largely confirmed. For the 10 hypotheses tested, ENA theory surpassed general theory in predictive scope and accuracy.
Throughout Southeast Asia, repressive drug laws have resulted in high rates of imprisonment in people who inject drugs (PWID) and people living with HIV (PLH), greatly magnifying the harm associated with HIV, tuberculosis, and addiction. We review findings from Malaysia's largest prison to describe the negative synergistic effects of HIV, tuberculosis, addiction, and incarceration that contribute to a 'perfect storm' of events challenging public and personal health and offer insights into innovative strategies to control these converging epidemics. The majority of PLH who are imprisoned in Malaysia are opioid dependent PWID. Although promoted by official policy, evidence-based addiction treatment is largely unavailable, contributing to rapid relapse and/or overdose after release. Similarly, HIV treatment in prisons and compulsory drug treatment centers is sometimes inadequate or absent. The prevalence of active tuberculosis is high, particularly in PLH, and over 80 % of prisoners and prison personnel are latently infected. Mandatory HIV testing and subsequent segregation of HIV-infected prisoners increases the likelihood of tuberculosis acquisition and progression to active disease, amplifying the reservoir of infection for other prisoners. We discuss strategies to control these intersecting epidemics including screening linked to standardized treatment protocols for all three conditions, and effective transitional programs for released prisoners. For example, recently introduced evidence-based interventions in prisons like antiretroviral therapy (ART) to treat HIV, isoniazid preventive therapy to treat latent tuberculosis infection, and methadone maintenance to treat opioid dependence, have markedly improved clinical care and reduced morbidity and mortality. Since introduction of these interventions in September 2012, all-cause and HIV-related mortality have decreased by 50.0 % and 75.7 %, respectively. We discuss the further deployment of these interventions in Malaysian prisons.
Apart from environmental and social factors, psychological traits is largely linked with criminal and delinquent behaviour. The purpose of this article is to review four critical psychological traits of individuals that may lead to criminal behaviour in a nutshell. Methods: An archival research methodology was employed in this study where relevant search for literatures on these four psychological traits was made across search engines such as Google Scholar with relevant articles selected for this review. The literatures were microscopically reviewed in order to demonstrate the linkage between psychological traits and criminal behaviour. Results: Four psychological traits: personality trait, low selfcontrol, aggression behaviour, and cognitive distortion were chosen to address such linkages. All these four traits were discussed thoroughly in relation to crime and criminality contexts. Conclusion: It is crucial to understand the role of these traits and in-depth understanding of each psychological trait with relation of criminal behaviour offers an opportunity to the public at large to expand their knowledge on the importance of practicing and equipping oneself with healthy psychological traits to hinder from criminal and delinquent acts. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 16 (2): July – December 2015: XX XX.
A review of the criminological literature indicates that some personality traits appear to develop and shape violent criminal behaviour. With this in mind, the present study was aimed to examine the personality profiles of Malaysian male murderers utilising the Alternative Five Factor Model (AFFM) constituting five personality traits: Activity, Sociability, Aggressiveness-Hostility, Impulsive Sensation Seeking, and Neuroticism- Anxiety. Methods: The present study was an observational cross-sectional study using a guided self-administered questionnaire. Items representing the five personality traits were assessed through the Malay version of Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire-40-Cross Cultural Questionnaire (ZKPQ-M-40-CC). 71 male prisoners convicted of murder who are incarcerated in 11 Malaysian prisons were recruited. Descriptive item analyses were carried out to elicit the level of responses for each item in the ZKPQ-M-40-CC. Furthermore, the descriptive personality profiles using mean scores were performed. Results: The results indicated that the mean score of Activity (29.35, SD = 5.66) was higher than other personality traits. The mean score of Impulsive Sensation Seeking (21.65, SD = 6.48) and Aggressiveness-Hostility (21.65, SD = 6.48) were higher than the mean score of Neuroticism-Anxiety (17.96, SD = 5.51). Among the participants, 56.3% of them scored above the mean score (M = 26.54) for Sociability personality traits, which was the highest compared to other personality traits. 53.5% of the murderers scored equal or above the mean score (M = 6.48). Correlations among the five personality traits indicated several significant associations. Conclusion: In conclusion, the present study successfully identified the personality profiles of Malaysian male prisoners convicted of murder.
Introduction: Psychotherapy is a form of treatment intervention targeting problematical human behaviour, emotion, and cognition using various psychological techniques and approaches. In Malaysia, the application of psychotherapy in ameliorating criminality among forensic populations is developing and evidence shows that some therapies like Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy and Reality Therapy have been practiced in many correctional institutions.
Objective: This paper aims to review the role of psychotherapy for help in correctional settings as a means to ameliorate criminal behaviour and reduce recidivism rates.
Method: An archival research was utilised, where articles and books regardless of the year of publication from different countries, including Malaysia were examined. Several keywords were used for the purpose of retrieval of related articles.
Results and Discussion: Three different approaches of psychotherapies, i.e. Behavioural Therapy, Cognitive Therapy and Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy and their principles and effectiveness in rehabilitating the forensic populations were elaborated in this review. The principle behind the effectiveness of the psychotherapy was different, and this influences the choice of treatment that should be used in dealing with the forensic populations.
Conclusion: Forensic populations have rights to obtain treatment, and the choice of therapy has to be relevant within the context of cost-effectiveness to ensure optimum effectiveness in ameliorating criminal tendencies.
This case report highlights the role of hospital-based modified assertive community treatment (ACT) in maintaining stability in a patient with dual diagnosis. We report a case of a middle-aged Indian gentleman who had schizophrenia with co-morbid alcohol abuse presented with multiple relapses, with recurrent suicidal attempts and criminal behaviour during his relapse episodes. After stabilisation of his most recent acute episode in hospital, the patient was followed-up by the community mental health team (CMHT). He was able to maintain in remission and stay free from alcohol, suicidality and criminal behaviour when provided ACT. The hospital-based modified ACT is proven to be effective in the management of this patient with co-morbidities and complications to sustain remission and prevent relapses.