TY - JOUR

T1 - Trait aggression is associated with five-factor personality traits in males

AU - Dam, Vibeke H.

AU - Hjordt, Liv Vadskjær

AU - da Cunha-Bang, Sofi

AU - Sestoft, Dorte

AU - Knudsen, Gitte Moos

AU - Stenbæk, Dea Siggaard

N1 - Funding Information: The authors thank the participating men and the prison staff for the collaboration. We gratefully acknowledge Peter Jensen for data handling and the excellent technical assistance of Lone Ibsgaard Freyr and Erik Perfalk. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Background: Although aggression is conceptualized as a dimensional construct with violent behavior representing the extreme end of a spectrum, studies on the involvement of personality traits in human aggression have typically only included data representing a restricted spectrum of aggressive behaviors. Methods: In the current study, we therefore examine whether trait aggression is associated with five-factor model personality traits in an enriched sample of 259 men with a broad continuum of trait aggression, ranging from very low to very high including 39 incarcerated aggressive violent offenders. All participants completed the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R) and the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ). The association between each of the five NEO PI-R personality traits and trait aggression (BPAQ) was investigated using five linear regression models, covarying for group status, age and educational level. Results: Higher BPAQ scores were positively associated with Neuroticism and negatively associated with Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Conclusion: Our results indicate that those high in Neuroticism and low in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness are at higher risk of exhibiting aggressive behavior, underlining the relevance of these higher order personality traits in understanding aggressive behavior. We argue that studying individual personality differences should be offered a greater attention within violent and criminal behaviors.

AB - Background: Although aggression is conceptualized as a dimensional construct with violent behavior representing the extreme end of a spectrum, studies on the involvement of personality traits in human aggression have typically only included data representing a restricted spectrum of aggressive behaviors. Methods: In the current study, we therefore examine whether trait aggression is associated with five-factor model personality traits in an enriched sample of 259 men with a broad continuum of trait aggression, ranging from very low to very high including 39 incarcerated aggressive violent offenders. All participants completed the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R) and the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ). The association between each of the five NEO PI-R personality traits and trait aggression (BPAQ) was investigated using five linear regression models, covarying for group status, age and educational level. Results: Higher BPAQ scores were positively associated with Neuroticism and negatively associated with Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Conclusion: Our results indicate that those high in Neuroticism and low in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness are at higher risk of exhibiting aggressive behavior, underlining the relevance of these higher order personality traits in understanding aggressive behavior. We argue that studying individual personality differences should be offered a greater attention within violent and criminal behaviors.

KW - aggression

KW - Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire

KW - five-factor personality

KW - violent offenders

U2 - 10.1002/brb3.2175

DO - 10.1002/brb3.2175

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34036747

AN - SCOPUS:85106431143

VL - 11

JO - Brain and Behavior

JF - Brain and Behavior

SN - 2157-9032

IS - 7

M1 - e02175

ER -