Abstract

ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN PERSONALITY TRAITS AND AGGRESSION AMONG MALAY ADULT MALE INMATES IN MALAYSIA

Author(s): Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin, Nadiah Syariani Md Shariff, Azizah Othman, Khaidzir Hj Ismail, Geshina Ayu Mat Saat

Objective: A sizable body of criminology literature has suggested that personality factors are critical to the development of aggressive behavior. While research on personality focusing on aggression often revolves around the "Eynseck Three-Factor Model" and "Big Five Model", research on the "Alternative Five-Factor Model" (AFFM) is rather inadequate. Objective: The present study aimed to examine the association between five types of personality traits and the subscales of aggression. Methods: This observational cross-sectional study was conducted in two prisons in Peninsular Malaysia among 198 Malay adult male inmates. The participants were selected based on the purposive sampling method from those who were convicted of various types of crime. Two psychometric instruments adapted to the Malaysian context were used: the Malay version of Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire-40-Cross Culture (ZKPQ-M-40-CC) and Aggression Questionnaire (AQ-M). Pearson correlation coefficient test was conducted to determine the association between five types of personality traits and the subscales of aggression. Results: The results showed that there was a significant association between certain types of personality traits and subscales of aggression. The results were discussed in relation to theory and the context of crime. Conclusion: There is evidence that personality traits are linked to aggressive behavior which may lead a person to commit offenses.

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