OVER DECADES.

OVER DECADES, various psychological classification plans have staked a clear position for the neurotic, high anxiety criminal We have accumulated evidence across four studies that find the neurotic cluster of offenders to be of particular interest to correctional practitioners and policy makers. They have made poor adjustments to prison, had the highest long-term recidivism rates, performed poorly in a cognitive skills intervention and assist in differentiating child molester The findings also illustrate that personality is an important factor across a number of different samples, lending support for the reliability of the Jesnes Inventory.

Psychological, personality-based classification orders have been used since the 1960 to unfold differential treatment and supervision plans for transgressors (Van Voorhis, 2000). This approach assumed that, plane apart from their risk of re-offending, convicts were not all alike and that no single treatment modality worked with all stamps of offenders across the sated spectrum of correctional settings (Warren, 1971; Palmer, 1974) In support, the early proponent of differential treatment establish that offenders who were placed in treatment modalities matched to personality characteristics were more likely to perform better than those who were inappropriately placed (Jesnes 1971; Palmer, 1974; 2002; Warren, 1983)

More contemporary writings place personality among a larger form into groups of offender responsivity factors (Andrews, Bonta, and Hoge 1990) including learning denominations motivation levels, intellectual functioning, and other traits, which are likely to become barriers to the succes of a certain quantity of types of interventions. Notwithstanding the promising comes of studies conducted through the 1970 and 1980 responsivity remains under-researched and seldom considered in correctional practice. Indeed, responsivity is a haunt topic of discussion in correctional policy meetings, non-empirical writings, and staff training, yet it is seldom structured into passing from hand to hand correctional practice or research.

This article summarizes the comes of four recent studies that useed an offenderbased personality typology (using the Jesnes Inventory, 1996) to examine the importance of personality in prison adjustment, long-term malefactor recidivism, success in cognitive programming, and dynamics of child molestation. Across these samples of male transgressors we found a consistent pattern suggesting that high-anxiety felons those referred to as neurotic convicts on the personality classification a whole s are distinct from other transgressors in extremely important ways. The findings stimulate renewed consideration not only of transgressor personality but also of a distinct token of offender who receives limited attention in contemporary correctional treatment.

As noted in more detailed descriptions of the felon personality typologies (e.g., see Warren, 1971 Van Voorhis, 1994; Van Voorhis & Sperber, 1999) the neurotic personality representation is one of four criminal personality types common to the various personality classification theorys (Megargee & Bohn, 1979; Quay, 1983; Jesnes 1988 1996; Warren, 1983) The in the greatest degree common types and their descriptions are as follows:

I-level, as measured at the Jesness Inventory, identifies nine personality types* Among adults, these can be collapsed into the following four shadows (Van Voorhis, 1994) that are of primary interest to the existing study: a) antisocial, who are described as manipulative, hostile, and possessing antisocial values and peers; b) neurotic, or highly anxious, defensive, and insecure; c) at the disposal of described as dependent, followers, who do not evidence antisocial values/attitudes; and d) situational, who are prosocial, conforming, and, at times, na??ve. The pattern across various I-level studies finds that archetypes comprising the antisocial offenders (eg Aa, CFC MP) and the neurotic felons (e.g., Na, Nx) most many times differentiate offenders in terms of their succes in programs (eg Heide, 1983; Jesnes 1971; Palmer, 1974; 2002; Van Voorhis, Spruance, Ritchie, Listwan, Seabrook, & Pealer, 2002; Warren, 1983) their offense patterns (eg Harris, 1979; Heide, 19921999) and their prison adjustments (Van Voorhis, 1994)

In narrowing our focus to the neurotic felon it is important to remember that anxiety can exist the pair as a state of mind and as a personality trait. The sign of neuroticism discussed here does not relate to the general feeling of anxiety that chiefly experience in response to situational constraining forces (e.g., anxiety over a licensing exam or a lov one's illness). Here we are transactioned with anxiety as a trait, an enduring characteristic that more persistently influences individual perceptions and behavior. Studies decide that individuals higher in trait anxiety are consistently more lying flat to perceive greater danger in their relationships and to answer with greater elevations of situational or state anxiety (Speilberger, 1985) Individuals with high trait anxiety, oftentimes called negative affectivity, tended to have a to a high degree negative view of themselves, to worry more frequently and to dwell on frustrations and disappointments (Watson & Clark, 1984) Moreover, individuals high in neuroticism were shown to be more distressed upon average in comparison to subdued neuroticism subjects and to have lower entrances for responding to stressful facts (Bolger & Schillings, 1991). Although one individuals may experience these feelings as a state of mind during times of stres those high in negative affectivity manifest these feelings smooth in the absence of stres (Watson & Clark, 1984)