Abstract
There are several studies about the personality of convicted criminals. The PEN system has been one of the most frequently tested models. Eysenck (1977) predicted that criminals would show higher scores on P, E, and N. Some studies support that view, while others do not. However, sampling could help to explain the contradictory findings. The present study analysed 229 imprisoned and 322 non-imprisoned participants. Both samples were carefully selected. The imprisoned sample comprised all types of delinquents with a mean age of 32.57, while the non-imprisoned sample comprised participants with a mean age of 29.85. The EPQ-R was used to measure P, E, and N. The results show that the imprisoned sample scores higher on psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism. Moreover, while there are sex differences within the non-imprisoned sample, there are no such differences within the imprisoned sample. The latter result sugg ests that personality, but not the sex variable, could be related to antisocial behavior.
