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Psychoticism amongst delinquent and non-delinquent adolescents in Singapore
Author
Kom, Dennis Mun Yen
Supervisor
Soh, Kay Cheng
Abstract
H. Eysenck's three-dimensional personality construct, the PEN model, is a parsimonious system of describing personality. This personality system was the theoretical basis of an instrument, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), for measuring the three dimensions of personality. However, this instrument has never been quite as popular as other multiphasic personality instruments (e.g. the 16 PF) among psychologists. Nevertheless, this instrument has strong psychometric properties and its utility value is supported by voluminous research literature (Gregory, 1996). In particular, Psychoticism, one of the three dimensions of the PEN model, has been shown empirically to correlate with delinquent behaviors and criminality, and this relationship holds good across cultural contexts (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1976; Bunjanovac, 1996).
The present study is a two-stage study aiming to demonstrate Eysenck's P scale as a valid measurement of anti-social behaviors or delinquency amongst teenagers in Singapore. This was done using a revised junior version of the EPQ (the JEPQ-SR). In the second stage, the Psychoticism concept was used to describe and understand the psychological state of adolescents in the Singapore school system.
The validation study did not replicate total independence between P, E and N factors as postulated by Eysenck's personality theory. However, the lack of prefect orthogonality between P, E and N factors need not indicate that Eysenck's theory has failed in Singapore. It is possible that the orthogonal relationship between these factors would become more obvious when the test-items are refined to become more sensitive in the cultural context of Singapore. When P was measured for three groups of boys with different degrees of delinquency, the adolescents that showed delinquent tendencies (i.e. the pre-delinquent group and the delinquent group) scored higher on the P scale than the non-delinquent adolescents. This supports the postulation of factor P (i.e. P is positively correlated with delinquency). However, the pre-delinquent group produced a higher P mean than did the delinquent group, contrary to earlier postulation that P will increase with increase in degree of delinquency.
When the P scale was applied to groups of students from the different academic streams of the Singapore school system, it was found that there was no significant difference in P mean between the groups. It is possible that Psychoticism alone is not a sufficient explanation for the pre-delinquent behaviour exhibited by the Normal streams students. It is possible that the low motivation among such students, caused by labeling effect and negative school experiences, contributed towards their misbehaviours.
The present study is a two-stage study aiming to demonstrate Eysenck's P scale as a valid measurement of anti-social behaviors or delinquency amongst teenagers in Singapore. This was done using a revised junior version of the EPQ (the JEPQ-SR). In the second stage, the Psychoticism concept was used to describe and understand the psychological state of adolescents in the Singapore school system.
The validation study did not replicate total independence between P, E and N factors as postulated by Eysenck's personality theory. However, the lack of prefect orthogonality between P, E and N factors need not indicate that Eysenck's theory has failed in Singapore. It is possible that the orthogonal relationship between these factors would become more obvious when the test-items are refined to become more sensitive in the cultural context of Singapore. When P was measured for three groups of boys with different degrees of delinquency, the adolescents that showed delinquent tendencies (i.e. the pre-delinquent group and the delinquent group) scored higher on the P scale than the non-delinquent adolescents. This supports the postulation of factor P (i.e. P is positively correlated with delinquency). However, the pre-delinquent group produced a higher P mean than did the delinquent group, contrary to earlier postulation that P will increase with increase in degree of delinquency.
When the P scale was applied to groups of students from the different academic streams of the Singapore school system, it was found that there was no significant difference in P mean between the groups. It is possible that Psychoticism alone is not a sufficient explanation for the pre-delinquent behaviour exhibited by the Normal streams students. It is possible that the low motivation among such students, caused by labeling effect and negative school experiences, contributed towards their misbehaviours.
Date Issued
2002
Call Number
HQ799.S55 Kom
Date Submitted
2002