Aggression, impulsivity, personality traits, and childhood trauma of prisoners with substance abuse and addiction.

INTRODUCTION

The aim of our study is then to analyze psychological and judicial features of a subgroup of inmates with substance abuse.

METHODS

Prisoners with substance abuse (n = 312) were compared to prisoners without substance abuse (n = 591). Recruited inmates completed a semistructured interview for collection of sociodemographic and judicial data and a battery of psychometric tests for assessement of aggression, impulsivity, depression, personality traits, hostility, resilience, and childhood trauma.

RESULTS

Substance abusers had on average multiple incarcerations (78.8%), more juvenile convictions (60.2%), more violent behaviors during detention (29.8%), and a history of one or more suicide attempts (20.8%). They also had higher scores on subscales for childhood trauma, higher scores for psychoticism and neuroticism, higher impulsivity levels, worse resilience, increased hostility, and prevalent suicidal ideation.

CONCLUSION

Prisoners with substance abuse constitute a subgroup with increased judiciary and psychiatric issues, possibly due to early life history and psychological characteristics, such as high impulsivity and aggressiveness, poor resilience, and higher suicidal risk.