Personality correlates of aggressive and non-aggressive antisocial behavior

Research indicates that specific personality traits predict antisocial behavior, but has yet to determine whether these associations differ with the well-documented heterogeneity within antisocial behavior. We thus evaluated which personality traits (as measured via the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire – Brief Form) uniquely predicted aggressive (AGG) and non-aggressive rule-breaking behavior (RB) in two undergraduate samples. None of the personality scales independently predicted both AGG and RB. Instead, low control was associated with RB and high stress reaction was associated with AGG. Such findings highlight meaningful psychological differences within the overarching construct of antisocial behavior, such that affective dysregulation/negative affectivity represents a core deficit in AGG whereas diminished behavioral control is specific to RB.