| Objective:To investigate the personality characteristics of adolescent offenders and the factors associated with their crime. To provide some ideas and information for adolescent offenders'preventing and interfering.Methods:From March to August 2009, adolescent offenders and middle school students with the same age as the target population, using random cluster sampling method, taking adolescent offenders from a controlling institute of the juvenile prisoners and a woman prison, in Hunan Province, as the studying subjects, taking three general secondary schools'students form urban and suburban of Changsha, Hunan, as a control group. Giving out the Zuckerman-Kuhlman personality questionnaire (ZKPQ) and Self-making investigation questionnaire for general information to the subjects.330 questionnaires had been given out to the adolescent offenders and 313 were called back. The effective questionnaires was 275, the efficiency was 87.6%; 480 questionnaires had been given out to the contrasting group and 446 were called back, the effective questionnaires was 413, the efficiency was 92.6%.Results:General information analysis:62.2% of adolescent offenders come from rural areas, among them, the education level of elementary school or junior middle school were accounted for 94.9%. 17.8% were school students before jail,95.6% of offenders serving sentences for the first time. Personality comparison results showed that: (1) Adolescent-offenders'Impulsive-sensation seeking (F=5.60, P=0.018), Aggression-hostility (F=8.20, P=0.004), Neuroticism-anxiety (F=5.37, P=0.021) factor scores were significantly higher than secondary school students, but in Activity (F=4.08, P=0.044) factor score was significantly lower than students; (2) Male adolescent offenders got significantly higher scores then female in Aggression-hostility (t=2.19, P=0.030), Activity (1=2.14, P=0.033); (3) Social factor scores of adolescent offenders under the age of 18 were significantly higher than the 18 years of age and above (t=-2.65, P=0.009);(4) From the city's adolescent offenders, the Activity (F=2.97, P=0.048) factor scores were significantly higher than those from country seat, from rural areas with no significant difference; from the city's adolescent offenders in Social (F=3.25, P=0.037) factor scores were significantly higher than those from the town and rural areas; (5) Adolescent offenders with high school education level in Neuroticism-anxiety (F=3.27, P=0.043) factor scores were significantly lower than primary school and middle education level; junior high school education level'adolescent offenders in the Activity (F=3.23, P=0.044) factor scores were significantly lower than primary school education level, with no difference between high school education level; Junior high school education level'adolescent offenders in the Social (F=4.33, P=0.014) factor scores were significantly lower than primary school, high school education level. Crime-related factors were found: Adolescent offenders in the Aggression-hostility factor score was negatively correlated with the length of sentence,; The rate of adolescent offenders with uncompleted family structure (x2=56.02, P=0.000), truancy(x2=348.84, P=0.000), smoking(x2=226.76, P=0.000), drinking (x2=27.65, P=0.000) and the idea that people use each other(x2=78.98, P=0.000) was higher than the school group. The rate of adolescent offenders with close relationship between father (x2=30.79, P=0.000) and mather (x2=28.43,P=0.000) was lower than middle school students.Conclusions:(1) Adolescent offenders have high Impulsivity-sensation seeking and high Neuroticism-anxiety, highly Aggressive-hostility, and low Activity personality characteristics; (2) Severity of the crime is associated with Aggressive-hostility personality characteristics; (3) Family environment and teaching methods have a certain relationship with the adolescent offenders...
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