Group climate, personality, and self-reported aggression in incarcerated male youth

Aggression in youth prison is considered a major problem, probably interfering with treatment and rehabilitative goals, and creating an unsafe work environment for group workers. The present study examined how inmates’ personality (dispositional characteristics) and living group climate (situational characteristics) contribute to aggression in a sample of 59 incarcerated delinquent boys. The results showed that open group climate was positively associated with agreeableness and openness and buffered against aggression through its positive effect on neuroticism. A repressive group climate was negatively associated with low neuroticism and proved to be unrelated to aggression. The discussion focuses on the importance of a positive living group climate for efficacious treatment and rehabilitation of incarcerated delinquent boys.