In love with a murderer. Why do women date convicted violent offenders?

Master's Thesis , 2016 , 56 Pages , Grade: B

Psychology - Forensic Psychology and Penal System

The high number of inmates in American prison facilities might explain why thousands of men and women have spouses or partners in jails. Surprisingly, previous literature suggests that there exist women that consciously seek romantic relationships with convicted violent offenders. What type of women are interested in seeking romantic relationship with convicted violent offenders, specifically those who have committed a violent crime resulting in the death of another person? This study investigates, by using an online questionnaire which consists of three questionnaires, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (Bernstein & Fink,1998), the 50 items Personality Questionnaire (Goldberg,1992) and 5 Specific Questions (Burkhardt, 2015), whether particular personality traits predict the desire to choose a dominant partner. Specifically the 5 personal characteristics extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and intellect as predictors of the preference for seeking romantic relationship with convicted violent offenders were examined. This study sought to shed more light on the association between women’s past experiences and personality and their interest in seeking romantic relationships with convicted violent offenders. There was a statistically significant weak, positive relationship between women’s experiences of physical neglect and sexual abuse and their interest in dating convicted violent criminals. The study also revealed a statistically nonsignificant relationship between emotional abuse and physical abuse in dating convicted violent offenders. The findings are somewhat consistent with the findings of previous research. However, the previous studies purposively included only women who had reported having contacted incarcerated men and entered into romantic relationships while the current study used women from the general population. It is not explicitly clear why women seek romantic relationships with convicted violent offenders, but the literature seems to point to dominance, control, and self-protection. An examination of the relationship between personality traits and interest in dating convicted violent criminals showed weak, negative or positive correlations between conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, emotional stability, and intellect/imagination and women’s interest in dating convicted violent criminals.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Chapter 1 - Introduction
• 1.1 Research Problem
• 1.2 Study Question and Objectives
• 1.3 Study Hypotheses
• 1.4 Nature of the Study
• Chapter 2 - Literature Review
• 2.1 Literature Summary
• 2.2 Definition of personality and character
• 2.2.1 What is personality?
• 2.2.2 Innate or Environment?
• 2.2.3 The Big Five Theory
• 2.2.4 What is a Character?
• 2.3 Definition of sexual abuse, abuse and neglect
• 2.3.1 Abuse
• 2.3.2 Neglect
• 2.3.3 Effects of abuse and neglect
• 2.4 Personality disorder and choice of partner
• Chapter 3 – Methods
• 3.1 Research Design
• 3.2 Participants
• 3.3 Sample size calculation
• 3.4 Procedure
• 3.5 Data Collection/Materials/Measurements
• 3.6 Statistical Analysis
• 3.7 Ethical Considerations

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This dissertation aims to investigate the relationship between personality traits, past experiences of women, and their interest in dating convicted violent offenders. It specifically examines the association between personality traits, such as extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and intellect, and the preference for seeking romantic relationships with convicted violent offenders. The study also explores the potential link between past experiences of abuse, including physical neglect and sexual abuse, and women's interest in dating convicted violent offenders.

• The relationship between personality traits and interest in dating convicted violent offenders.
• The influence of past experiences of abuse on women's interest in dating convicted violent offenders.
• The role of dominance, control, and self-protection in women's attraction to convicted violent offenders.
• The comparison of findings to previous research on mate selection considerations for women.
• The exploration of the characteristics of women who seek romantic relationships with convicted violent offenders.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The dissertation begins with an introduction that outlines the research problem, study questions and objectives, study hypotheses, and the nature of the study. Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive literature review, defining personality and character, including the Big Five Theory, and exploring the definitions of sexual abuse, abuse, and neglect, including their effects. It also examines the relationship between personality disorder and choice of partner. Chapter 3 outlines the methodology used in the study, including the research design, participants, sample size calculation, procedure, data collection methods, statistical analysis, and ethical considerations.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The key terms and focus topics of the dissertation include personality traits of women, childhood trauma, past experiences of women, sexual abuse, dating convicted violent offenders, choice of partner, romantic relationships, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the 50 items Personality Questionnaire, and prison.

• College: The University of Liverpool
• Grade: B
• Author: Sarah Burkhardt (Author)
• Publication Year: 2016
• Pages: 56
• Catalog Number: V337551
• ISBN (eBook): 9783668272934
• ISBN (Book): 9783668272941
• Language: English
• Tags: personality traits of women – childhood traumata – past experience of women – sexual abuse - dating convicted violent offenders – choice of partner – romantic relationship - Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (Bernstein & Fink, 1998) - the 50 items Personality Questionnaire (Goldberg, 1992) – prison