PEN, Big Five, juvenile delinquency and criminal recidivism

The aim of this study was to examine which of the two personality models, PEN or Big Five, differentiates best between Dutch juvenile offenders (n = 96) and college students (n = 204), between Dutch self-reported recidivists (n = 43) and non-recidivists (n = 14), and between officially recorded recidivists (n = 37) and non-recidivists (n = 24). Students (mean age = 17.23 years) and offenders (mean age = 18.63 years) filled out the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised and the Short Big Five Questionnaire. Occurrence and severity of recidivism were measured by a self-report questionnaire and by official police records. Students were higher than offenders on PEN’s Extraversion and the Big Five dimensions Agreeableness and Openness. PEN’s Extraversion appeared to be higher in officially recorded recidivists compared to non-recidivists. PEN’s Psychoticism, Big Five’s Neuroticism and Agreeableness differentiated self-reported recidivists from non-recidivists. Only PEN’s Psychoticism predicted severity of self-reported recidivism. Proposals for future research in recidivism are formulated.