Exploring the psychological, physiological, and hormonal differences between victims, offenders, victim-offenders, and abstainers

• In Event: Consequences of Victimization: Biosocial and Developmental Perspectives

Abstract

There is a robust literature documenting the overlap between criminal offending and victimization. More recently, TenEyck and Barnes (2018) found evidence suggesting that there may be social and individual differences between individuals who are both victims and offenders, only offenders, only victims, and total abstainers. The identification of these groups and exploration of average differences between them is still in its infancy, and more work is needed to explore potential psychological and biological risk factors that might help explain membership in one class versus the others. The current study builds on existing research by evaluating potential differences in psychological (e.g., psychopathic traits, self-control), physiological (e.g., resting heart rate, skin conductance), and hormonal (e.g., testosterone, cortisol) variables between these four groups.

Authors

• Nicholas Kavish, Sam Houston State University

• Danielle Boisvert, Sam Houston State University

• Jessica Wells, Boise State University

• Eric Cooke, Sam Houston State University

• Richard Lewis, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

• Matthias Woeckener, Sam Houston State University

• Todd Armstrong, University of Nebraska at Omaha