SYSTEMS – AN EXAMINATION OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OFFENDERS AND NON-OFFENDERS

Вовед: Голем број истражувања потврдуваат дека личните особини се важни предиктори на криминално однесување. Целта на ова истражување беше да се одреди констелацијата на разликите на основните лични особини на затворените поединци и на оние што отслужуваат алтернативни мерки, особини кои прават разлика меѓу криминалната и некриминалната популација. Во ова истражување користениот модел на личноста е кибернетски модел на конативното функционирање, што претпоставува дека конативните регулаторски системи речиси сосема ја опишуваат структурата на личноста. Методологија: Примерокот во истражувањето опфаќа 391 машки испитаници (152 престапници што служат затворска казна, 91 осуденици казнети со алтернативни казни и 48 непрестапници). Introduction Numerous studies confirmed personality traits as being important predictors of criminal behavior. The aim of this research was to determine which constellation of basic personality traits incarcerated individuals and those serving alternative sanctions differ, and which traits make the difference between the criminal and the non-criminal populations. In this research, the model of personality used is a cybernetic model of conative functioning, which assumes that conative regulation systems almost completely describe the structure of personality. Methods The study sample consisted of 391 male respondents (152 offenders serving prison sentence, 91 convicts sentenced to alternative penalties and 148 non-offenders).

Introduction Numerous studies confirmed personality traits as being important predictors of criminal behavior.The aim of this research was to determine which constellation of basic personality traits incarcerated individuals and those serving alternative sanctions differ, and which traits make the difference between the criminal and the non-criminal populations.In this research, the model of personality used is a cybernetic model of conative functioning, which assumes that conative regulation systems almost completely describe the structure of personality.Methods The study sample consisted of 391 male respondents (152 offenders serving prison sentence, 91 convicts sentenced to alternative penalties and 148 non-offenders).
Examined variables were: the regulator of activity (Extroversion), the regulator of organic functions (Hysteria), the regulator of defense reactions (Anxiety), the regulator of attack reactions (Aggressiveness), the system for coordination of regulatory functions (Psychoticism) and the system for integration of regulatory functions (Integration).Results There were significant differences in all dimensions of personality between groups, except for the framework of Extraversion.The traits that contribute to the difference between individuals serving prison sentence and offenders sentenced to alternative penalties are Integration and Aggressiveness.
People with low Psychoticism are socialized and emphatic, and people with high Psychoticism are characterized by emphasized impulsiveness, aggressiveness, thrill-seeking, lack of guilt, hostility, and lack of anxiety.
Studies have shown that Psychoticism is a significant predictor of antisocial behavior in young offenders (5), that it represents a stable trait of criminals who have committed serious crimes, and that it is largely associated with recidivism (6 9).For Extraversion, whose mechanisms are located in the CNS, cortical low attention capability is characteristic, which is the reason why extroverts are constantly seeking additional stimulation and excitement.
The opinions based on exploring this trait in criminals are divided, some believe that the contribution of Extraversion to criminal behavior is small (5), others that Extraversion and Neuroticism are in fact responsible for manipulative antisocial behavior (9,10).Eysenck and Gudjansson have set the hypothesis that Neuroticism is more important in adult criminals and Extraversion in young delinquents (6).
A similar model of personality, used in research of the general and the population involved in crime is a cybernetic model developed by Momirovic et al., which assumes that conative regulation systems almost completely describe the structure of personality and explain modes of human behavior (11,12).The cybernetic personality theory by Momirovic et al. assumes there are six conative control systems: "Epsilon"the system for the regulation of activity (Extroversion), "Hi"the system for the regulation of organ functions (Hysteria), "Alpha"the system for the regulation of defense responses (Anxiety), "Sigma"the system for controlling attack reactions (Aggressiveness), "Delta"the system for coordinating regulatory functions (Psychoticism), and "Eta"the system for integration of regulatory functions (social Integration) (11).

Methods
The research was conducted in "Zabela" male prison in Pozarevac, Serbia, the conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki.All subjects were informed about the objectives of the study and gave their informed consent.Full compliance with anonymity requirements was ensured.

Sample
The study involved 391 male respondents, of which 152 respondents were offenders serving prison sentence (group "A"), 91 were offenders serving alternative measures of penalty (group "B"), and 148 were non-offenders from the general population, who had no prior history of involvement in any crime (group "C").

Measures
In addition to the information on the sociodemographic characteristics obtained through questionnaires, the KON- impulsiveness, aggressiveness, domination, and distrust toward people.This regulator is identified as Aggressiveness.5.The DELTA subtest estimates the efficiency of the regulation functions regulation and control system which indicate psychoticism (schizoidness, paranoia, depression, hypomanic dissociation).This regulator has been recognized as Dissociation or Psychoticism.6.The ETA subtest estimates the efficiency of the system for integration of the regulation functions and points to psychoastenic and regressive dissociation, uncooperativeness, ego strength and tension.The disorder of this system leads to social de-adaptation and therefore the most accurate name for these qualities is Integration in the social field.These six tests include 180 grouped items, and the answering format is the Likert five-point scale.Results are calculated by the simple addition of any items, and the result of each test can range from 30 to 150 points.The content of the items is designed so that a higher score indicates greater disintegration and less control over the regulatory functions.
The cybernetic model (KON-6) demonstrated its solid scientific basis through stringent empirical verification in numerous research studies in Serbia conducted on various samples of the population, including the general and the convict population (19 22).In Serbia, standardization of the KON-6 test battery was done on a sample of 772 respondents, representative of the Serbian population of around 20 years of age.Scale evaluation showed that social status had a weak impact on test results, so there is no need to correct the scores on the possible influence of social factors.Also, it showed that the scales which measure attempts of simulation and dissimulation, irresponsible relation towards testing, and suppression tendency were in very low correlations with all the tests from battery KON 6. Intellectual capabilities also have low correlations with results in these tests.Metric characteristics of the tests are: Reliability 0.95-0.98;Representation 0.90-0.97;Homogeneity 0.50-0.69;Validity 0.95-0.97(19).In our study, metric characteristics (Kaiser-Mayer-Olkin and Cronbach's alpha) of the tests were: Test Epsilon: 0.96; 0.91; Test Hi: тест хи: 0.96, 0.95; тест алфа: 0.98; 0.94; тест сигма: 0.97; 0.92; тест делта: 0.99; 0.95; тест ета: 0.99; 0.95.

Statistical analysis
Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 17.0.Sociodemographic characteristics, the arithmetic mean of the test scores (M), and standard deviation (SD) for all three groups is presented in descriptive statistics.Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to examine differences between the groups on variables: Extraversion, Hysteria, Anxiety, Aggressiveness, Psychoticism, and Integration and examine differences between the groups on variables combinations.Canonical Discriminant Analysis was used to determine what personality traits contribute to the difference between the groups as well as to determine the correlation of individual personality traits and discriminant function.

Results
We begin our interpretation of the results with an analysis of basic socio-demographic characteristics of the sample [Table 1 below].The total number of respondents was 391, of whom 152 were offenders in prison, 91 offenders serving alternative sanctions, and 148 were general population without history of any offence.All the respondents were males.The greater part of the respondents are city residents (group "A" 82.89%, group "B" 80.21%, group "C" 71.48%).The majority of respondents have secondary school qualifications (group "A" 57.89%, group "B" 63.73%, group "C" 78.37%).Approximately half of the respondents in groups "B" (46.15%) and "C"(55.40%)are married, while in group "A" fewer respondents are married (23.68%).The groups of convicts and offenders serving alternative sanctions naturally differed according to the length of punishment and type of crime committed.The group of those serving alternative penalties included individuals who had committed petty crimes (attempted robberies and nonviolent thefts, traffic infringements, public disturbance, breach of family duties.Alternative punishments in our country are: community service (imposed for a maximum of three months) and house arrest (lasting maximum of one year).Minimum duration of penalty in the group of respondents serving alternative punishments was 0.25 years, and the maximum 0.30 years (M = 0.73; SD = 0.46).The group of respondents serving a prison sentence included those who had committed serious crimes (serious bodily harm, robbery, jeopardizing human safety, and family violence).Minimum duration of penalty in the group of respondents serving a prison sentence was three years and maximum duration was twelve years (M=3.74;SD=2.25).For determining the differences between these groups on subscales of personality tests KON 6, the MANOVA statistic analysis was used.
[Table 2  Распределбата на резултатите од шесте поднивоа од тестот на особини на батеријата КОН 6, покажа повисоки резултати на нивото за хистерија, агресивност, психотицизам и интеграција во групата "А".Големината на нивото за екстровертност и анксиозност, покажа просечно функционирање.Големината на резултатите во групите "Б" и "В" се на просечното ниво на распределба.Distribution of the results on six subscales of the personality test battery KON6 showed higher average scores on the scales that measured Hysteria, Aggressiveness, Psychoticism and Integration in group "A".Dimensions of scale, which measure Extraversion and Anxiety, manifested average functioning.For all dimensions scale scores in group "B" and group "C" are at the level of average operation.Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) shows that there are differences between groups in all personality traits except Extraversion, where there are no significant differences (F = 2.05; df = 2; p> 0.05).Statistically significant differences between the groups appear in regard to dimensions: Hysteria (F = 18.91; df = 2; p < 0.05); Anxiety (F = 20.72;df = 2; p < 0.05); Aggressiveness (F = 26.44;df = 2; p < 0.05); Psychoticism (F = 31.72;df = 2; p < 0.05) and Integration (F = 15.25;df = 2; p < 0.05).The extent of the influence of the (Partial Eta Square) group on dependent variables ranges from 0.07 to 0.14, which represents a moderate to great influence.A statistically significant difference was also found between the groups in regard to the combination of dependent variables (F = 6.64; p<0.05).The extent of the group's influence on the combination of dependent variables is moderate.Examination of the relationship between variables-conative personality dimensions and affiliation variables -for one of the two groups of offenders(who have different criminal behavior) and the non-offenders group was conducted under the model of canonic discriminatory analysis.[Table 3
It is interesting that Psychoticism has a low partial contribution to the function (cc = 0.18) and high correlation with the function (r = 0.88).The contribution of the other two properties, Extraversion (cc = 0.18) and Hysteria (cc = 0.06), was not significant.Hysteria had a high correlation with the discriminant function (r) = 0.66, while Extraversion had a low correlation with the discriminant function (r = 0.24) (Table 4).Canonical Group Means (centroids) show that there is a clear difference in the personality traits between the group of offenders serving prison sentences (0.37) and the group of offenders serving alternative sanctions (-0.62), based on which we can conclude that for those sentenced to alternative sanctions, the personality trait Integration, which has a negative sign, is emphasized, and that they are better integrated than those sentenced to prison.Aggressiveness, which has a positive sign, is more emphasized in the group of imprisoned offenders.The predicted affiliation was confirmed with 70.8% of successfully grouped offenders.Compared to group "C" and group "A" terms, the discriminant function defines Psychoticism (cc = 0.74, r = 0.86), Integration (cc = -0.54,r = 0.60), Aggressiveness (cc = 0.51, r = 0.82), and Anxiety (cc = 0.32, r = 0.74).Insignificant contribution to the function is given by Extraversion (cc = -0.06,r = 0.04) and Hysteria (cc = 0.03, r = 0.67) (see Table 4.) The data of the group centroids show that there is a clear difference in personality traits between the group of non-offenders (-0.433) and the group of prison offenders ( 0.422).The predicted affiliation was confirmed with 67.3% of successfully grouped offenders.

Discussion
The conducted research was aimed at the functioning of the regulators of organic functions defined and disorders of regulators responsible for the manifestation of pathological behavior.The goal we set in the present study was to determine at which constellation of basic personality traits incarcerated individuals and those serving alternative sanctions differ, and which traits make the difference between the condemned and the non-criminal populations.
Previous studies have already shown that in prison one can find a considerable number of aggressive, anxious, socially poorly integrated, pre-psychotic, depressed, paranoid, and similar individuals (2,5-7,18,22-25).Also, according to the results of the study aimed at analyzing the possibilities of Eysenck scales in predicting delinquent behavior, it was confirmed that personality traits can reliably explain 67.58% of the variance of delinquent behavior (26).
The analysis of variance in our study showed that among the three groups of respondents there were statistically significant differences in the following personality traits: Hysteria, Anxiety, Aggressiveness, Psychoticism, and Integration in the social environment.On the scale which measures Extraversion there was no statistically significant difference between groups.In the case of Extraversion, other authors also suggest that this trait is not highly correlated with antisocial behavior (9,10).However, there is various evidence from other studies indicating that higher Extraversion differentiates recidivists from non-recidivists (8), which can be interpreted by Eysenck's theory that Extraverts, because of their genetic predisposition, experience severe cortical excitation and reach the optimum level of awakening; the cortex is constantly looking for new stimulation and is likely to be more inclined toward criminal activity greater than that of introverts (2).(6,7,9,19).Психолош-by linear correlations between the six personality traits, revealed that differences in personality structure between the two groups of offenders stem primarily from dissociation of personality.However, the trait that produces the biggest differences to partial contribution is Integration; this finding does not surprise us and it is consistent with the result given by Cale (5), that in criminals who committed serious criminal acts personality traits that point to problems in social relations occur.Aggressiveness is the second most important characteristic in the differentiation of the two groups of offenders, which is the conclusion of other studies that have examined the importance of aggression in differentiating severe and minor offenders (9,10).Research on this topic in our region says that violent convicts achieve higher scores in relation to non-violent inmates, as well as in comparison to respondents from the general population in all dimensions of Aggressiveness (17).In many studies, Aggressiveness has been proven to be the feature which is the main predictor of recidivism.The study that measured Aggressiveness by the Eysenck scale within psychoticism, proved there is a high correlation between psychoticism and modalities of antisocial behavior such as vandalism and theft in severe offenders (10).Analysis of the results of canonical correlation between discriminant functions and other variables: belonging to a group of non-offenders or a group of prisoners indicated that personality traits obviously can separate offenders from non-offenders.Canonical analyses of the two analyzed groups showed that Psychoticism traits give the largest contribution to the differentiation of these two groups.Starting from the definitions of disorders of basic regulators that Momirovic explains (11), it can be assumed that in the group of offenders in prison there are those who exhibit schizoid, paranoid and manic symptoms, which would correspond to Eysenck's description of Psychoticism (2).There are numerous studies that proved the validity of Psychoticism as a predictor of criminal behavior ките основи на психотицизмот сè уште не се доволно јасни (6).Нашите сознанија дека кај индивидуите кои биле осудени на затворска казна с¢ почесто се случуваат проблеми во системот на интеграција на регулаторските функции одошто кај непрестапниците, се во согласност со сознанијата кои расправаат дека слабата социјализација е една од главните причини за злосторство (5).Послабата социјална интеграција, според тоа, е особина што јасно ги разграничува престапниците од непрестапниците.Третата карактеристика која дава значаен придонес за разликата на престапниците од општата популација е агресивноста, што не е нешто ново, земајќи го предвид бројот на психолошки, криминолошки и невробиолошки студии кои ја поврзуваат агресивноста со криминалното однесување (16).Анксиозноста исто така многу придонесува за разликата помеѓу двете испитувани групи, додека хистеријата нема значајно влијание на разликите.Според тоа дека анксиозноста е идентична на факторот на невротицизмот од моделот на McCrae & Costa (27).Нашите сознанија за значајноста на анксиозноста за предвидувањето на криминално однесување можат да бидат слични со заклучокот на авторите кои сметаат дека невротицизмот е многу поврзан со криминалното однесување (5,28).Неоспорно е во нашите истражувања дека овие особини не се предвесници на разликите помеѓу помалите престапници и општата популација, туку помеѓу престапниците кои се во затвор и општата популација.Нашите сознанија покажаа дека екстровертноста нема значаен придонес за разликата помеѓу престапниците и општата популација, ниту за разликата помеѓу двете групи на престапници, кои се исти според резултатите на Miller и Lainam (9).Во метааналитичката студија спроведена од Cale (5), не беше најдена значајна корелација на екстровертноста со криминалното однесување или е со слаб интензитет, така што хипотезата е дека екстровертноста се намалува при приведување.Ова го отежнува одредувањето дали добиените резултати се поврзани со криминалното однесување или институционализацијата (5).(6,7,9,19).The physiological basis of Psychoticism is still not clear enough (6).Our findings that in individuals who have been convicted to prison sentences problems occur more frequently in the system for the integration of regulatory functions than in non-offenders are consistent to the findings of other researchers who argue that poor socialization is one of the key factors of crime (5).Poorer social integration is thus clearly the trait which clearly differentiates the group of offenders from the group of non-offenders.The third feature that makes a significant contribution to the differentiation of offenders of the general population is Aggressiveness, which is nothing new, considering the number of psychological, criminological, and neurobiological studies which have associated Aggressiveness with criminal behavior (16).Anxiety also contributes highly to the difference between the two studied groups, while Hysteria has no significant partial impact on the difference.Given that Anxiety is identical to a factor of Neuroticism from the model of McCrae & Costa (27), our findings about the significance of Anxiety for the prediction of criminal behavior can be similar to the conclusions of the authors who find that Neuroticism is highly correlated with criminal behavior (5,28).It is indisputable that in our research these traits are not predictors of differences between minor offenders and the general population but only between offenders who are in prison and the general population.Our results showed that Extroversion does not contribute significantly to the difference between offenders and the general population, nor to the difference between the two groups of offenders, which is the same finding according to the results of Miller and Lainam (9).In a meta-analytic study conducted by Cale (5), significant correlation of Extraversion with criminal behavior was not found or was weak in intensity, so the hypothesis is that Extroversion decreases with arrest.This makes it difficult to determine whether the obtained scores are associated with criminal behavior or institutionalization (5).

Conclusions
Most constructs extracted in various models of basic personality structure largely overlap, although factors have different names, which means that in the same or very similar way we can explain and predict the variance of criminal behavior (7).The results of examining personality traits of offenders who are on probation programs showed that the main predictors of these milder forms of delinquent behavior are not primarily personality traits.The significance of this study is that among the offenders who are sentenced to alternative penalties and the subjects of the general population no difference in personality traits was found.Our findings make explicit that the personality traits of those offenders who are jailed because of committed crimes differ from perpetrators of petty offenses who were given alternative sanctions and could indicate the need for mandatory diagnostic psychological evaluation of persons who have committed minor offenses, to ensure the right decision is made when choosing between prison and an alternative method of punishment.It is important and necessary to identify, in a competent and timely manner, those offenders in the Probation program who might have certain personality disorders.Traits that contribute to the difference between non-offenders and offenders serving prison sentence are Psychoticism, Integration, Aggressiveness, and Anxiety.The results above indicate that personality disorganization, disorders of poor social integration, primary aggressiveness, and increased anxiety are in high correlation with severe forms of criminal behavior, which is also found in other studies.Therefore the results that are obtained under the model of cybernetic conative functioning have provided better insight in intensity and nature of influence of conative dimensions on criminal behavior and have considerably changed some prejudices regarding psychological profiles of offenders who committed minor criminal acts.Furthermore, the results above indicate that personality disorganization; disorders of poor ните, нарушување поради слаба социјална интеграција, првенствено агресивност, и зголемена анксиозност се карактеристични за престапници кои служат сериозни казни.Потоа невробиолошките, генетските, психолошките и криминолошките истражувања на врската меѓу личните особини и криминалното однесување на престапниците на мали злосторства се исто така од помош во развојот на соодветна превенција и програми за рехабилитација.Недостаток на оваа студија е што другите варијабли не се вклучени, како на пример: семејното функционирање, материјалната сигурност, користењето алкохол и во случај на затворениците, варијабли како: третман, групно влијание, интеграција итн.Една од ограниченостите на оваа студија е ориентацијата кон еден модел на лични особини, но како и да е, со оглед на високата кореспонденција на моделот со други модели, може да се заклучи и со изоставањето на аналогни модели во голема мера ќе се потврдат резултатите од оваа студија.Секако, тестирањето на личните особини со користење на разни модели и тестови е сериозна и многу важна работа, која треба да се земе предвид за понатамошни студии.

Конфликт на интереси
Авторите изјавуваат дека немаат конфликт на интереси.social integration, primary aggressiveness, and increased anxiety are the characteristics of offenders who carry out serious offences.Further neurobiological, genetic, psychological, and criminological research on the relationship between personality traits and criminal behavior in perpetrators of small crimes would also be very useful in the development of appropriate prevention and rehabilitation programs.The limitation of this study is that other variables are not included, such as family functioning, material security, alcohol abuse and, in the case of prisoners, also variables such as: treatment, group influence, integration, etc.One of the limitations of the study is its orientation towards a single personality model, however, in view of the high correspondence of the model with other models, it may be concluded that the inclusion of analogous models would largely corroborate the results of this study.Certainly, testing personality traits by the use of different models and tests is a very important and serious matter, which should be taken into consideration in future studies.

A vs Б / "A" vs "B" В vs А / "C" vs "A"
*Only those traits that define the discriminant function were considered whose absolute value of Standardized Canonical Discriminant Coefficients (cc) was greater than 0.3.