Bogaerts Stefan, Tressová Deni, Feijen Esmée, Janković Marija
Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Fivoor Science and Treatment Innovation (FARID), 3014 AE Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2025 Jan 9;15(1):56. doi: 10.3390/bs15010056.
Previous research has consistently linked childhood trauma to criminal behavior in adulthood, yet the mechanisms driving this association remain poorly understood. This study investigated whether identity mediates this relationship, focusing on three identity constructs: consolidated identity, disturbed identity, and lack of identity. Criminal behavior was operationalized as a dichotomous variable, distinguishing between 103 community participants (53.9%) and 88 forensic psychiatric patients (46.1%) in a sample of 191 male participants (age = 39.82, age = 14.14). Mediation analysis was conducted using PROCESS macro model 4, controlling for age and overall personality dysfunction. The results demonstrated that childhood trauma was associated with adult criminal behavior. Additionally, childhood trauma was positively associated with lack of identity but showed no significant effect on consolidated and disturbed identity. Likewise, lack of identity was the only identity variable associated with criminal behavior and emerged as the sole mediator between childhood trauma and criminal behavior. These findings underscore the important role of identity, particularly the lack of identity, in understanding pathways to criminal behavior. Interventions aimed at strengthening individuals' sense of self may help mitigate criminal tendencies in individuals with a history of childhood trauma, though longitudinal research is needed to further validate these findings.
以往的研究一直将童年创伤与成年后的犯罪行为联系起来，但驱动这种关联的机制仍知之甚少。本研究调查了身份认同是否介导了这种关系，重点关注三种身份认同结构：整合身份认同、紊乱身份认同和身份认同缺失。犯罪行为被作为一个二分变量进行操作化处理，在191名男性参与者（年龄 = 39.82，标准差 = 14.14）的样本中，区分出103名社区参与者（53.9%）和88名法医精神病患者（46.1%）。使用PROCESS宏模型4进行中介分析，并控制年龄和整体人格功能障碍。结果表明，童年创伤与成年犯罪行为有关。此外，童年创伤与身份认同缺失呈正相关，但对整合身份认同和紊乱身份认同没有显著影响。同样，身份认同缺失是与犯罪行为相关的唯一身份变量，并且是童年创伤与犯罪行为之间的唯一中介因素。这些发现强调了身份认同，特别是身份认同缺失，在理解犯罪行为途径中的重要作用。旨在增强个体自我意识的干预措施可能有助于减轻有童年创伤史个体的犯罪倾向，不过还需要纵向研究来进一步验证这些发现。
