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Do personality characteristics and beliefs predict intra‐group bullying between prisoners?
Author(s) -
Turner Polly,
Ireland Jane L.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
aggressive behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.223
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1098-2337
pISSN - 0096-140X
DOI - 10.1002/ab.20346
Subject(s) - human factors and ergonomics , psychology , poison control , personality , injury prevention , suicide prevention , occupational safety and health , medical emergency , aggression , group (periodic table) , social psychology , clinical psychology , criminology , applied psychology , medicine , chemistry , organic chemistry , pathology
This study assesses how beliefs about aggression and personality can predict engagement in intra‐group bullying among prisoners. A sample of 213 adult male prisoners completed the DIPC‐SCALED (bullying behavior), the EXPAGG (beliefs toward aggression), and the IPIP (a five‐factor measure of personality). It was predicted that bullies would hold greater instrumental beliefs supporting the use of aggression than the other categories, with perpetrators reporting lower scores on agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience, and higher scores on neuroticism (i.e. low scores on emotional stability) than the remaining sample. Bullies and bully‐victims endorsed greater instrumental aggressive beliefs than the victim category. Only one perpetrator group, bullies were predicted by reduced levels of agreeableness and increased levels of neuroticism, whereas bully/victims were predicted by decreased levels of neuroticism. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 36:261–270, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.