Implicit attitudes and self‐concepts towards transgression and aggression: Differences between male community and offender adolescents, and associations with psychopathic traits. Issue 5 (25th March 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Suter, Maya; Pihet, Sandrine; de Ridder, Jill; Zimmermann, Grégoire; Stephan, Philippe
• Is Part Of: Journal of adolescence. Volume 37:Issue 5(2014)
• Page Start: 669
• Page End: 680
• Publication Date: 2014-03-25
• Subjects: Aggression -- Rule‐breaking -- IAT -- Implicit attitudes -- Implicit self‐concepts -- Psychopathic traits; Adolescent psychiatry -- Periodicals; Adolescent psychology -- Periodicals; Adolescence -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 305.23505
• DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.03.004
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0140-1971

Abstract

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.