Jin Michelle, Wang Zhongrui, Zhou Ying, Zhong Jie
Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Clinical and Health Psychology Department, School of Psychological and Cognitive Science, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Center for Psychological Health Education, Xihua University, Chengdu, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2023 Jul 17;14:1159678. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1159678. eCollection 2023.
Crimes of passion, characterized as unpremeditated impulsive aggression, have garnered increasing attention in recent years. Impulsivity, a major factor in crimes of passion, is also a common feature of various health conditions, including Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Childhood maltreatment is considered a significant precursor to BPD and is closely related to impulsivity. Although prior research has affirmed the relationship between impulsivity, childhood maltreatment, BPD, and criminal behavior, few studies have examined these variables' interconnections within the context of crimes of passion. This study seeks to explore the relationship between childhood maltreatment, BPD, and impulsivity in crimes of passion, assessing the former's impact on the latter.
Our research examined 133 crimes of passion offenders and 149 other offenders from the Shenzhen male prison in China. All 282 participants completed The Abbreviated Version of The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (ABIS), The UPPS Impulsivity Scale (Urgency, Premeditation, Perseverance, Sensation Seeking), The McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD), and The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ).
Our findings indicated that (1) crimes of passion offenders scored significantly higher in emotional neglect, physical neglect, and overall childhood maltreatment than did other offenders, and childhood maltreatment scores were notably higher in the high BPD trait group. (2) Crimes of passion offenders demonstrated significantly elevated impulsivity in attention and nonplanning scales compared to other offenders. Impulsivity scores across all scales were also significantly higher in the high BPD trait group. (3) Emotional neglect was found to significantly influence the urgency scale in crimes of passion offenders. An interaction effect was noted between physical abuse and high BPD traits, leading to increased impulsivity in crimes of passion offenders.
This study underscores the predictive roles of childhood maltreatment and BPD in determining impulsivity within the context of crimes of passion.
激情犯罪，其特征为无预谋的冲动攻击性，近年来受到了越来越多的关注。冲动性是激情犯罪的一个主要因素，也是包括边缘型人格障碍（BPD）在内的各种健康状况的一个常见特征。童年期受虐待被认为是BPD的一个重要先兆，并且与冲动性密切相关。尽管先前的研究已经证实了冲动性、童年期受虐待、BPD和犯罪行为之间的关系，但很少有研究在激情犯罪的背景下考察这些变量之间的相互联系。本研究旨在探讨童年期受虐待、BPD和激情犯罪中的冲动性之间的关系，评估前者对后者的影响。
我们的研究考察了来自中国深圳男子监狱的133名激情犯罪罪犯和149名其他罪犯。所有282名参与者都完成了巴拉特冲动性量表简版（ABIS）、UPPS冲动性量表（冲动性、预谋性、坚持性、寻求刺激）、边缘型人格障碍麦克林筛查工具（MSI-BPD）和童年创伤问卷（CTQ）。
我们的研究结果表明：（1）激情犯罪罪犯在情感忽视、身体忽视和童年期总体受虐待方面的得分显著高于其他罪犯，并且在高BPD特质组中童年期受虐待得分明显更高。（2）与其他罪犯相比，激情犯罪罪犯在注意力和非计划性量表上的冲动性显著升高。在高BPD特质组中，所有量表的冲动性得分也显著更高。（3）发现情感忽视对激情犯罪罪犯的冲动性量表有显著影响。注意到身体虐待和高BPD特质之间存在交互作用，导致激情犯罪罪犯的冲动性增加。
本研究强调了童年期受虐待和BPD在激情犯罪背景下决定冲动性方面的预测作用。
