Skip to main content
Download PDF
Download ePub

Volume 9 Supplement 1

1 stInternational Congress on Neurobiology and Clinical Psychopharmacology and European Psychiatric Association Conference on Treatment Guidance

  • Meeting abstract
  • Open access
  • Published:

Dominant temperament traits among the inmate population: a comparative study

Annals of General Psychiatry volume 9, Article number: S186 (2010) Cite this article

Background

Multiple studies document specific personality traits, relatively homogeneous in the structural aspect. We attempt to extrapolate a purely psychological examination approach, applying the clinical conceptualizations of H. Akiskal. This study aims to asses the existence of statistically significant differences between the TEMPS-A scale ratings of subjects serving a prison sentence and a control group.

Materials and methods

We examined a total of 148 patients divided into 2 groups, balanced in quantity and gender: an experimental (prison inmates) (N = 74) and a control group (N = 74). The experimental group included subjects serving sentences in penitentiary institutions within the Republic of Bulgaria's territory. The control group was randomly selected. The TEMPS-A scale was applied to subjects in both groups.

Results

We found statistically significant differences between the average values in the two groups regarding all scales except for the Hyperthymic temperament.

Conclusions

The Hyperthimic temperament does not have a specific prognostic value regarding criminal behavior. This temperament can be expected to reflect the degree of adaptation. A question stands as to whether the TEMPS-A scales describe the temperament of premorbid personality or can register changes in the structure of personality as a consequence of substance abuse.

References

  1. Roberts A, Min Y, Tianqiang Z, Coid J: Personality disorder, temperament, and childhood adversity: findings from a cohort of prisoners in England and Wales. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology. 2008, 19 (4):

  2. Engström G, Persson B, Levander S: Temperament traits in male suicide attempters and violent offenders. European Psychiatry. 1999, 14 (5): 10.1016/S0924-9338(99)00170-4.

  3. Giotakos O, Vaidakis N, Markianos M, Spandoni P, Christodoulou GN: Temperament and character dimensions of sex offenders in relation to their parental rearing. Sexual and Relationship Therapy. 2004, 19 (2): 10.1080/14681990410001691352.

  4. Richter J, Krecklow B, Eisemann M: Interrelations between temperament, character, and parental rearing among delinquent adolescents: A cross-validation. Comprehensive Psychiatry. 2002, 43 (3): 10.1053/comp.2002.32351.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinic of Psychiatry, Military Medical Academy, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Tony Donchev

  2. Medical University - Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Hristina Martinova

  3. Head of Department of Psychiatry, Medical University - Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Vihra Milanova

  4. National Center for Public Health Protection, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Vladimir Nakov

  5. International Mood Center, University of California at San Diego, California, USA

    Hagop Akiskal

  6. The San Diego Veterans Administration Medical Center, USA

    Hagop Akiskal

Authors
  1. Tony Donchev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hristina Martinova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Vihra Milanova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Vladimir Nakov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hagop Akiskal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Donchev, T., Martinova, H., Milanova, V. et al. Dominant temperament traits among the inmate population: a comparative study. Ann Gen Psychiatry 9 (Suppl 1), S186 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-859X-9-S1-S186

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-859X-9-S1-S186

Keywords

Annals of General Psychiatry

ISSN: 1744-859X