Citation
(2014), "2013 Awards for Excellence", Journal of Criminal Psychology, Vol. 4 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCP-03-2014-001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2013 Awards for Excellence
Article Type: 2013 Awards for Excellence From: Journal of Criminal Psychology, Volume 4, Issue 1.
The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for Journal of Criminal Psychology
“Predictive validity of self-reported self-control for different forms of recidivism”
Lena Grieger and Daniela Hosser
Department of Developmental, Personality, and Forensic Psychology,
Technical University of Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
Alexander F. Schmidt
Department of Social and Legal Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Purpose – This study aims to investigate the predictive validity of self-control (SC) for several forms of criminal recidivism (general,
property, violence, sexual).
Design/methodology/approach – In total, 1,838 male prisoners were interviewed while serving a prison sentence. Personality traits known to be related
to SC served as operationalization of SC. Cluster analyses identified three clusters of SC-related traits: emotion regulation,
self-assertion, and effortful control. Survival-analyses predicted recidivism, which was assessed using official data. The
follow up period amounted to 72 months.
Findings – The SC-related trait clusters significantly predicted general and violent reoffending, after controlling for established
risk factors for recidivism (age, age at first offense, social status, previous youth detention, out-of-home placements, and
length of imprisonment). However, trait clusters did not predict reoffending with a property offense. Offenders with violent
or sex offenses in their criminal history showed different profiles on the trait clusters.
Originality/value – The paper shows that SC is an important risk factor for violent recidivism. SC-related trait clusters should not be combined
to form a single score, because essential information for risk profiles would be lost.
Keywords Criminals, Individual psychology, Personality traits, Prisoners, Recidivism, Self-control, Survival analyses, Violent reoffending,
Young adult offenders, Young adults
www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/20093821211264405
This article originally appeared in Volume 2 Number 2, 2012, Journal of Criminal Psychology
The following article was selected for this year's Highly Commended Award
"Developmental correlates of offending patterns in serial rapists"
David Joubert
This article originally appeared in Volume 2 Number 1, 2012, Journal of Criminal Psychology.
Outstanding Reviewers
Dr Christopher McLaughlin
Dr Garry Prentice