The present study examined the role of sensation seeking (SS) in different types of delinquent behavior across sex, controlling for the Big Five personality dimensions. The sample of Croatian adolescents comprised 117 boys and 137 girls. As predicted, SS was the central explanatory variable beyond the Big Five dimensions in both the boys’ and girls’ normative antisocial behavior, minor delinquency, and overall delinquency. In only the girls, SS was also a risk factor for serious and violent delinquency along with extraversion and emotional instability. In both sexes, the explanatory power of SS decreased as the severity of the offenses increased. The results underscore the significance of SS in normative and minor types of adolescent delinquency and indicate a different etiology of normative adolescent delinquency from severe and violent delinquency. The results also suggest a different constellation of personality risk factors for boys and girls for each different type of delinquency.
AdlerN. E.EpelE. S.CastellazzoG.IckovicsJ. R. (2000). Relationship of subjective and objective social status with psychological and physiological functioning: Preliminary data in healthy white women. Health Psychology, 19, 586-592. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.19.6.586
AsscherJ. J.van VugtE. S.StamsG. J. J. M.DekovićM.EichelsheimV. I.YousfiS. (2011). The relationship between juvenile psychopathic traits, delinquency and (violent) recidivism: A meta-analysis. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 52, 1134-1143. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02412.x
4.
BaldasaroR. E.ShanahanM. J.BauerD. J. (2013). Psychometric properties of the Mini-IPIP in a large, nationally representative sample of young adults. Journal of Personality Assessment, 95(1), 74-84. doi:10.1080/00223891.2012.700466
5.
BlonigenD. M. (2010). Explaining the relationship between age and crime: Contributions from the developmental literature on personality. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 89-100. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2009.10.001
6.
BriggsS. R.CheekJ. M. (1986). The role of factor analysis in the development and evaluation of personality scales. Journal of Personality, 54, 106-148. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1986.tb00391.x
7.
BurtC. H.SimonsR. L. (2013). Self-control, thrill seeking, and crime: Motivation matters. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 40, 1326-1348. doi:10.1177/0093854813485575
8.
ButkovićA.BratkoD. (2003). Generation and sex differences in sensation seeking: Results of the family study. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 97, 965-970. doi:10.2466/pms.2003.97.3.965
9.
CostaP. T.McCraeR. R. (1995). Primary traits of Eysenck’s P-E-N model: Three- and five-factor solutions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 308-317. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.2.308
10.
CullenF.TravisL.IIIWozniakJ. (1985). Consensus in crime seriousness: Empirical reality or methodological artifact?Criminology, 23, 99-118.
11.
DerringerJ.KruegerR. F.DickD. M.SacconeS.GruczaR. A.AgrawalA.. . . BierutL. J. (2010). Predicting sensation seeking from dopamine genes: A candidate-system approach. Psychological Science, 21, 1282-1290. doi:10.1177/0956797610380699
12.
DiedenhofenB.MuschJ. (2015). Cocor: A comprehensive solution for the statistical comparison of correlations. PLoS ONE, 10(4), 1-12. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0121945
13.
DulčićA.AjdukovićM.KolesarićV. (2003). Etički kodeks istraživanja s djecom [Ethical code of research with children]. Zagreb, Croatia: State Office for the Protection of the Family, Maternity and Youth.
14.
EysenckH. J. (1990). Biological dimensions of personality. In PervinL. A. (Ed.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 244-276). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
15.
EysenckH. J. (1991). Dimensions of personality: 16, 5 or 3? Criteria for a taxonomic paradigm. Personality and Individual Differences, 12, 773-790. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(91)90144-Z
16.
EysenckH. J. (1996). Personality and crime: Where do we stand?Psychology, Crime & Law, 2, 143-152. doi:10.1080/10683169608409773
17.
EysenckH. J.EysenckM. W. (1985). Personality and individual differences: A natural science approach. New York, NY: Plenum Press.
18.
EysenckH. J.GudjonssonG. (1989). The causes and cures of criminality. New York, NY: Plenum Press.
19.
FarringtonD. P.JolliffeD.LoeberR.Stouthamer-LoeberM.KalbL. M. (2001). The concentration of offenders in families, and family criminality in the prediction of boys’ delinquency. Journal of Adolescence, 24, 579-596.
20.
FarringtonD. P.LoeberR.Van KammenW. B. (1990). Long-term universal outcomes of hyperactivity-impulsivity attention deficit and conduct problems in childhood. In RobinsL. N.RutterM. (Eds.), Straight and devious pathways from childhood to adulthood (pp. 62-81). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
21.
FurnhamA.ThompsonJ. (1991). Personality and self-reported delinquency. Personality and Individual Differences, 12, 585-593. doi:10.1016/01918869(91)90255-a
22.
GershoffE. T. (2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 539-579.
23.
GoldbergL. R. (1999). A broad-bandwidth, public-domain, personality inventory measuring the lower-level facets of several five-factor models. In MervieldeI.DearyI.De FruytF.OstendorfF. (Eds.), Personality psychology in Europe (Vol. 7, pp. 7-28). Tilburg, The Netherlands: Tilburg University Press.
24.
GreitemeyerT.SagioglouC. (2016). Subjective socioeconomic status causes aggression: A test of the theory of social deprivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 111, 178-194. doi:10.1037/pspi0000058
25.
HardenK. P.QuinnP. D.Tucker-DrobE. M. (2012). Genetically influenced change in sensation seeking drives the rise of delinquent behavior during adolescence. Developmental Science, 15, 150-163. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2011.01115.x
26.
HeavenP. C. L. (1996). Personality and self-reported delinquency: Analysis of the “Big Five” personality dimensions. Personality and Individual Differences, 20, 47-54. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(95)00136-t
27.
HeavenP. C. L.NewburyK.MakA. (2004). The impact of adolescent and parental characteristics on adolescent levels of delinquency and depression. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 173-185. doi:10.1016/S01918869(03)00077-1
28.
HeavenP. C. L.VirgenM. (2001). Personality, perceptions of family and peer influences, and males’ self-reported delinquency. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 321-331. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00049-0
29.
HirschiT.GottfredsonM. (1983). Age and the explanation of crime. American Journal of Sociology, 89, 552-584. doi:10.1086/227905
30.
JohnO. P.CaspiA.RobinsR. W.MoffittT. E.Stouthamer-LoeberM. (1994). The “Little Five”: Exploring the nomological network of the Five-Factor model of personality in adolescent boys. Child Development, 65, 160-178. doi:10.2307/1131373
31.
JolliffeD. (2013). Exploring the relationship between the Five-Factor Model of personality, social factors and self-reported delinquency. Personality and Individual Differences, 55, 47-52. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2013.01.014
32.
KennedyB. P.KawachiI.Prothrow-StithD.LochnerK.GuptaV. (1998). Social capital, income inequality, and firearm violent crime. Social Science & Medicine, 47, 7-17. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(98)00097-5
33.
LairdR. D.PettitG. S.BatesJ. E.DodgeK. A. (2003). Parents’ monitoring-relevant knowledge and adolescents’ delinquent behavior: Evidence of correlated developmental changes and reciprocal influences. Child Development, 74, 752-768. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00566
34.
Le BlancM.CotéG.LoeberR. (1991). Temporal paths in delinquency: Stability, regression and progression analyzed with panel data from an adolescent and delinquent sample. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 33, 23-44.
35.
LoeberR.FarringtonD. P.Stouthamer-LoeberM.Van KammenW. B. (1998). Antisocial behavior and mental health problems: Explanatory factors in childhood and adolescence. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
36.
MaguinE.LoeberR. (1996). Academic performance and delinquency. In TonryM. (Ed.), Crime and justice: A review of research (pp. 145-264). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
37.
MakA.HeavenP. C. L.RummeryA. (2003). The role of group identity and personality domains as indicators of self-reported delinquency. Psychology, Crime & Law, 9, 9-18. doi:10.1080/10683160308144
38.
McCraeR. R.AllikJ. (Eds.). (2002). The five-factor model of personality across cultures. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic.
39.
MilasG. (2007). Temeljne osobine ličnosti i neki vidovi političkog ponašanja [Basic personality traits and some aspects of political behavior]. Društvena Istraživanja, 16(1-2), 27-49.
40.
MillerJ. D.LynamD. (2001). Structural models of personality and their relation to antisocial behavior: A meta analytic review. Criminology, 39, 765-798. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.2001.tb00940.x
41.
MillerJ. D.LynamD.LeukefeldC. (2003). Examining antisocial behavior through the lens of the five factor model of personality. Aggressive Behavior, 29, 497-514. doi:10.1002/ab.10064
42.
MlačićB.GoldbergL. R. (2007). An analysis of a cross-cultural personality inventory: The IPIP Big-Five factor markers in Croatia. Journal of Personality Assessment, 88, 168-177. doi:10.1080/00223890701267993
43.
MoffittT. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674-701. doi:10.1037/0033-295x.100.4.674
44.
MoffittT. E.LynamD.SilvaP. A. (1994). Neuropsychological tests predict persistent male delinquency. Criminology, 32, 101-124.
45.
NunnallyJ. C.BernsteinI. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
46.
O’ConnellM.WhelanA. (1996). Taking wrongs seriously: Public perceptions of crime seriousness. British Journal of Criminology, 36, 299-318.
47.
PeachH. D.GaultneyJ. F. (2013). Sleep, impulse control, and sensation-seeking predict delinquent behavior in adolescents, emerging adults, and adults. Journal of Adolescent Health, 53, 293-299. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.03.012
48.
PlattnerB.SteinerH.TheS. S. L.KraemerH. C.BauerS. M.KindlerJ.. . . FeuchtM. (2009). Sex-specific predictors of criminal recidivism in a representative sample of incarcerated youth. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 50, 400-407. doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2008.09.014
49.
Raboteg-ŠarićZ.Brajša-ŽganecA.ŠakićM. (2009). Life satisfaction in adolescents: The effects of perceived family economic status, self-esteem and quality of family and peer relationships. Društvena Istraživanja, 18, 547-564.
50.
RučevićS.AjdukovićM.ŠincekD. (2009). Razvoj upitnika samoiskaza rizičnog i delinkventnog ponašanja mladih (SRDP-2007) [Development of youth Self-Reported Delinquency and Risk Behavior Questionnaire (SRDP-2007)]. Kriminologija i Socijalna Integracija, 17(1), 1-96.
51.
SampsonR. J.RaudenbushS. W.EarlsF. (1997). Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, 277, 919-924.
52.
ScholteR. H. J.de BruynE. E. J. (2004). Comparison of the giant three and the big five in early adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 1353-1371. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00234-4
53.
ShulmanE. P.CauffmanE. (2013). Reward-biased risk appraisal and its relation to juvenile versus adult crime. Law and Human Behavior, 37, 412-423. doi:10.1037/lhb0000033
54.
SijtsemaJ. J.VeenstraR.LindenbergS.van RoonA. M.VerhulstF. C.OrmelJ.RieseH. (2010). Mediation of sensation seeking and behavioral inhibition on the relationship between heart rate and antisocial behavior: The TRAILS study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49, 493-502. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2010.02.005
55.
SteigerJ. H. (1980). Tests for comparing elements of a correlation matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 87, 245-251. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.87.2.245
56.
SteinbergL.AlbertD.CauffmanE.BanichM.GrahamS.WoolardJ. (2008). Age differences in sensation seeking and impulsivity as indexed by behavior and self-report: Evidence for a dual systems model. Developmental Psychology, 44, 1764-1778. doi:10.1037/a0012955
57.
ter LaakJ.de GoedeM.AlevaL.BrugmanG.van LeuvenM.HussmannJ. (2003). Incarcerated adolescent girls: Personality, social competence, and delinquency. Adolescence, 38, 251-265.
58.
UrsacheA.NobleK. G.BlairC. (2015). Socioeconomic status, subjective social status, and perceived stress: Associations with stress physiology and executive functioning. Behavioral Medicine, 41, 145-154. doi:10.1080/08964289.2015.1024604
59.
van DamC.JanssensJ. M. A. M.De BruynE. E. J. (2005). PEN, Big Five, juvenile delinquency and criminal recidivism. Personality and Individual Differences, 39, 7-19. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2004.06.016
60.
VitaroF.BrendgenM.TremblayR. E. (2000). Influence of deviant friends on delinquency: Searching for moderator variables. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 28, 313-325.
61.
WiebeR. P. (2004). Delinquent behavior and the five-factor model: Hiding in the adaptive landscape. Individual Differences Research, 2, 38-62.
62.
ZuckermanM. (1994). Behavioral expressions and biosocial bases of sensation seeking. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
63.
ZuckermanM. (2007). Sensation seeking and risky behavior. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
64.
ZuckermanM.EysenckS. B.EysenckH. J. (1978). Sensation seeking in England and America: Cross-cultural, age and sex comparisons. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 139-149. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.46.1.139
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
