Personality and Development of Crime in Nigeria

The research was undertaken to investigate the differences in the personality traits of prison inmates and non- inmates and development of crime. The study was carried out in Nigerian Prisons located in five states in southwestern Nigeria. The sample comprised of 200 subjects made up of 121 inmates and 79 non-inmates. The non-inmates were the students of U niversity of Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria, public servants and nurses in Ekiti State, Nigeria, aged 17 to 45 years. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. Eysenck Personality Questionnaire was used to collect information from the respondents. The result of the investigation showed that the inmates scored significantly high than the non-inmates in extroversion, neuroticism and psychoticism dimensions.