Relationship between Assessed Emotion, Personality, Personality Disorder and Risk in Offenders with Intellectual Disability

Abstract

In mainstream studies on offenders and on individuals with psychopathology, relationships have been found between personality characteristics, emotional problems and personality disorders. This study reviewed the relationships between the Emotional Problems Scale, two circumplex measures of personality, personality disorder assessments and risk assessments in 212 offenders with intellectual disability. Previous studies had established the reliability and validity of these measures with the client group. Strong relationships emerged between externalizing emotional problems and dominant and hostile personality dimensions with weaker but significant relationships between internalizing problems and submissive and hostile dimensions. Externalizing problems were strongly associated with risk for violence, while internalizing problems had a weaker but significant relationship with some historical and clinical risk scales. Dominant personality dimensions were associated with narcissistic personality disorder and nurturant personality dimensions negatively associated with anti-social personality disorder. It would seem that there are orderly, significant relationships among measures of personality, personality disorders, emotional problems and risk. We discuss the implications of emotional assessment for the evaluation of risk and prediction of treatment progress.

Key words:

• emotion
• intellectual disability
• offenders
• personality
• risk

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by Home Office Grant No. RDS/01/247.