Unit:
Τομέας Κοινωνικής Ιατρικής - Ψυχιατρικής και ΝευρολογίαςLibrary of the School of Health Sciences
Dissertation committee:
Αθανάσιος Δουζένης. Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ, Επιβλέπων
Ιωάννης Μιχόπουλος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Ρωσσέτος Γουρνέλης, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Χαράλαμπος Παπαγεωργίου, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Εμμανουήλ Ρίζος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Ιωάννης Ζέρβας, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Βασίλειος Μασδράκης, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Original Title:
Μελέτη συσχέτισης αυτοεκτίμησης, αυτοαντίληψης και ναρκισσισμού με την επιθετικότητα σε γυναίκες κρατούμενες
Translated title:
The effect of self esteem, self-perception and narcissism on aggression, among female inmates
Summary:
Introduction
Αggression has drawn research attention during the past decades. Gender,self-esteem and self-perception , narcissism, age, educational level, abuse are some of the factors that have research and theoretically associated with aggression. It remains unclear how these variables affect aggression. Most investigations have been conducted on a sample of men. Only a few studies have attempted to examine the above-mentioned variables among females, while none of them included a comparison between delinquent and non delinquent individuals . The present study examines the effect of self-esteem, self-perception, narcissism and socio-demographic factors on aggression among female inmates and women without criminal record. Aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between female aggression, self-esteem, self-perception and narcissism in the light of female criminality.
Method
The study involved 307 women, 150 of whom belong to the general population (control group) and 157 are held in the Korydallos Women's Prison Detention Center. The sample of imprisoned was divided into two subgroups based on the nature of the offenses committed (violent / non-violent).All women were assessed with Buss & Perry Aggression Questionnaire, Rosenberg’s Self-esteem Scale, Narcissistic Personality Inventory-40 and the Self-Perception Profile for Adults the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults and the Beck Depression Inventory . The statistical significance level was set at p < 0.05 and all statistical analyses were performed using SPSS (Version 23 for Windows; Armonk, NY: IBM Corp).
Results
According to the research results, it was initially found that aggression correlates negatively with self-esteem self-perception and positively with narcissism, with imprisoned women expressing higher levels of overall aggression and lower levels of self-esteem as compared to the control group. The comparison between control group and imprisoned women revealed that the second show higher levels of aggression and lower levels of self-esteem and self-perception, while there were no statistically significant differences in narcissism. When inmates were compared to controls, it emerged that aggression could be independently predicted by higher levels of narcissistic personality traits and sociability, as well as lower age, lower education, lower self esteem and lower levels of self-perception items including nurturance, job competence and athletic abilities. Aggression was not predicted by the group (inmates vs. controls). Violent criminals report higher levels of self-perception elements than those held for non-violent crimes without statistically significant differences between the two groups of prisoners in terms of self-esteem, aggression and narcissism. Within female inmates, independently of the type of their offence (convicted for violent vs. non-violent crimes), it was found that lower job competence, higher narcissistic personality traits and a history of childhood maltreatment could predict higher aggression
Conclusions
Our results highlight the significant parameters that may predict aggression either among women (inmates and non-deliquent women) or among female inmates (violent or non-violent crimes) It is the presence of narcissistic traits which predict aggression rather than criminality in general, including violent and non-violent crimes.
Main subject category:
Health Sciences
Keywords:
Female aggression, Female crime, Self-esteem, Self-perception, Narcissism
Number of references:
364
