The general factor of personality (GFP) and criminal behavior across the lifespan: Expanding predictive validity

Investigated the relationship between the General Factor of Personality (GFP) and criminal behavior using a large community sample (N = 4121). Due to the longitudinal nature of the data, hypotheses regarding the GFP and past crime versus current crime (i.e., crime reported during the 5 years of the study) could be examined. Further, criminal behavior was classified as aggressive or non-aggressive. While controlling for age, individuals reporting that they had never committed a crime had significantly higher GFP scores than those who had committed a crime; those committing an aggressive crime had significantly lower GFP scores than those committing non-aggressive crime only. With respect to current versus past crime, those reporting current crime had significantly lower GFP scores than those committing past crime. These results expand on the construct validity for the GFP using longitudinal data with a large community-based sample.