Child behaviour and adult personality: comparisons between criminality groups in Finland and Sweden

Background; Lately there has been an increasing interest in whether personality traits are associated with criminal behaviour in male and female subjects. Criminality and alcohol abuse are often associated. Delinquent adolescents are impulsive and danger seeking. Childhood aggression may be a precursor of adult criminality. Method Using longitudinal data, adult personality and childhood behaviours were examined for groups of non-criminals and criminals of Finnish (n = 268) and Swedish (n + 169) samples, and crime groups were compared in the two cultures. Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) were given at adult age and the participants had been observed and rated by their teachers in respe…