ARTICLE INFO

Article Type

Descriptive & Survey Study

Authors

Khalili Geshnigani   Z. (1)
Alipour   K. (1)
Mirderikvand   F. (*)
Tavakolinia   S. (2)






(*) Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Literature & Humanities, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran
(1) Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Literature & Humanities, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran
(2) Department of General Psychology, Faculty of Literature & Humanities, Boroujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Boroujerd, Iran

Correspondence

Article History

Received:  November  20, 2018
Accepted:  May 12, 2018
ePublished:  June 29, 2018

BRIEF TEXT


… [1]. Adolescence in terms of education is relatively a difficult period and one of the most critical stages of life. Entering into this phase of life involve an individual with many problems that one of them is committing criminal actions. Delinquent behavior is a complicated and multifaceted process that is affected by environmental factors and individual nature grounds [2]. … [3]. Sensation seeking is defined under the desire to choose and prefer new, motivating and exciting experiences and is considered an internal danger factor for delinquent behavior [4,5]. The most of the adolescents’ criminal behaviors can be as result of increase of sensation seeking and criminal behavior in the middle population of community [6] and also linear changes among individual and adolescents in terms of sensation seeking [7]. … [8-11]. Among the important personality factors among criminal adolescents is paranoid personality disorder [12]. … [13]. This personality disorder include a pattern of distrust and inclusive suspicion toward others, such that other people’s motivations is interpreted by the person as malicious and biased motives [14].

Results of the researches have found that 5 to 10% of people experience paranoid thoughts [15]. … [16-17]. Researchers compared to personality features among criminal and normal adolescents have concluded that criminal group has higher average in the paranoid sub-scale [5]. Also other studies have shown that criminal adolescents have higher average in sensation seeking [18].

Given the undeniable role of sensation seeking features and paranoid thoughts in the more tendencies to crime in adolescents, the present study was conducted by the aim of comparing paranoid thoughts and sensation seeking in the criminal and non-criminal adolescents.

This descriptive study is of cross-sectional-comparative type.

Statistical population included all criminal and non-criminal adolescents of Khoram Abad city, Iran, in 2016.

Using multi-stage random sampling method, 30 adolescents from Khoram Abad, Iran, high schools and 30 criminal adolescents from the correctional center of Khoram Abad city, Iran, were slected as a sample.

The tool for data collection was SCI-90-R Questionnaire with Cronbach alpha .96 and also Zuckerman Sensation-Seeking Scale with Cronbach alpha of .74. After performing preliminary studies and receiving necessary permissions from relevant entities, Education department and Well-being Organization of Khoram Abad, Iran, schools and correctional centers of Khoram Abad, Iran, were referred. After choosing the study samples, the questionnaire was distributed among them and necessary explanations concerning the study issue were provided to the subjects. In view of that samples in the dependent indices having low level, were compared with each other, multivariate variance analysis and t-test of independent groups were used. Comparison of sensation seeking features in the criminal and non-criminal adolescents using multivariate variance analysis and difference of the paranoid thoughts level in these two groups using independent t-test was performed by SPSS 24 software. The presumptions of normality and homogeneity of variances also was examined in order to use multivariate variance analysis.

The average of sensation seeking scores and paranoid thoughts in the under study samples were 0.17±0.50 and 0.35±0.61, respectively (table 1). The average of sensation seeking scores in the criminal and non-criminal adolescents was 31.43±3.53 and 13.83±2.15, respectively, and the results of multivariate variance analysis indicated that difference of these scores is significant (p<0.01; F=2). The mean scores of experientialism indices, adventure, tediousness and inhibition also was in the criminal adolescents by confidence of 99% more than non-criminal adolescents. Univariate variance analysis test was significant in all indices (p<0.001). results of independent groups t-test regarding paranoid feature also showed that this index was significantly different among the criminal and non-criminal adolescents (p<0.01; t=9.53).

Results of this study showed that there was significant difference between sensation seeking features and paranoid thoughts among the criminal and non-criminal individuals. This finding is aligned with results of the past studies [5-18]. … [19-21]. Study of the relationships between personality and criminal behaviors showed that among the personality features suggested in the 5 and 6-factor models, the extraversion, excitement and psychosis features have a positive relation with crime and can predict criminal behaviors directly [22]. Development of excitement seeking as one mood variable having biologic basis, provide the ground to outline individual differences in an optimal setting level. It can be expected that an individual with a higher setting optimal level, have the ability to tolerate more severe emotional experiences; but an individual with a low optimal setting level, can’t keep his/her balance in face of severe emotional experiences [8]. … [23-24].

Considering that sensation seeking features and paranoid thoughts among criminal adolescents is in a higher level, it is suggested that in order to control crimes in the country, a particular attention is paid to adolescents in this regard.

Among the limitations of this research was limitation of statistical population to the Khoram Abad city and generalization of the results to the other groups and geographical areas must be considered by caution.

Sensation seeking features and paranoid thoughts is in a higher level among the criminal adolescents.

Hereby, the researchers thank sincerely all participants and adolescents who helped us to perform this investigation.

There is no interest conflict regarding the present research.

The researchers complied with all ethical codes related to investigations on human samples and received necessary permissions from qualified authorities.

No case has been reported.

TABLES and CHARTS

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