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Personality characteristics of self‐mutilating male prisoners
Author(s) -
Shea Steven J.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4679(199307)49:4<576::aid-jclp2270490416>3.0.co;2-g
Subject(s) - psychology , minnesota multiphasic personality inventory , aggression , clinical psychology , distress , population , personality , social alienation , personality test , juvenile delinquency , poison control , psychometrics , alienation , psychiatry , social psychology , test validity , medical emergency , medicine , environmental health , political science , law
Self‐mutilating behavior (SMB) in prisons has long been recognized as a problem. MMPI data were obtained from 30 mutilating and 30 non‐ mutilating male inmates. Analyses of MMPI scores revealed significant differences on nine of the clinical and validity scales. Mutilators also had more frequent elevations over 70. Interpretation of scale and subscale configurations indicates that mutilators have more somatic complaints, subjective distress, alienation, inmature defenses, and acting‐out tendencies than controls. This is consistent with descriptions of SMB in the literature. SMB is conceptualized as a form of aggression in a population of impulsive and alienated individuals in a high‐stress environment. The frustration‐aggression model is proposed as a model for understanding and further investigating this phenomenon.