The role of personality and blame attribution in prisoners' experiences of anger

The emotion of anger has gained researchers' interest in recent years [Novaco (1994) In: J. Monahan & M. J. Steadman (Eds.), Violence and mental disorder: developments in risk assessment. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press; (1997) Legal and Criminological Psychology, 2, 77]. However, it is still unclear what influences the expression of anger. The current study investigated the relationship between anger, personality and blame attribution in Icelandic prisoners. Sixty-nine male offenders completed the Gudjonsson Blame Attribution Inventory, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Novaco Anger Scale. No differences were found in the anger levels of violent/non-violent offenders. Results indicated that recidivism, psychoticism and neuroticism were predictive of anger levels, but no relationship was found between blame attribution and anger. The findings of this study suggest that in terms of anger management programmes in prison, it might be advantageous to target repeat offenders and take into account personality factors that seem to influence anger.