Implicit attitudes and self-concepts towards transgression and aggression: differences between male community and offender adolescents, and associations with psychopathic traits

Maya Suter; Sandrine Pihet; Jill de Ridder; Grégoire Zimmermann; Philippe Stephan

doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.03.004

Implicit attitudes and self-concepts towards transgression and aggression: differences between male community and offender adolescents, and associations with psychopathic traits

J Adolesc. 2014 Jul;37(5):669-80. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.03.004. Epub 2014 Mar 25.

Authors

Maya Suter¹, Sandrine Pihet², Jill de Ridder³, Grégoire Zimmermann⁴, Philippe Stephan³

Affiliations

¹ Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Service, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Center, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: [email protected].
² School of Nursing, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland, Fribourg, Switzerland.
³ Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Service, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Center, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁴ LabDCI, Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

PMID: 24679466
DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.03.004

Abstract

Research suggests that implicit attitudes play a key role in the occurrence of antisocial behaviours. This study assessed implicit attitudes and self-concepts related to aggression and transgression in community and offender adolescents, using a new set of Implicit Association Tests (IATs), and examined their association with of psychopathic traits. Thirty-six offenders and 66 community adolescents performed 4 IATs assessing 1) implicit attitudes about a) aggression and b) transgression as good, and 2) implicit self-concepts about a) aggression and b) transgression as self-descriptive. They filled in self-report questionnaires: the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory, the Child Behaviour Checklist, and explicit measures of their attitudes and self-concepts towards transgression and aggression. Results showed few differences between community and offender adolescents on implicit attitudes and self-concepts, and unexpected negative associations between some implicit attitudes and psychopathic traits, while the association was positive for the corresponding explicit attitudes. Possible explanations of these findings are discussed.

Keywords: Aggression; IAT; Implicit attitudes; Implicit self-concepts; Psychopathic traits; Rule-breaking.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Aggression / psychology*
Antisocial Personality Disorder / psychology*
Attitude*
Crime / psychology*
Humans
Juvenile Delinquency / psychology*
Male
Personality Inventory
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Self Concept*
Surveys and Questionnaires