A Pilot Intervention for Antisocial Personality Traits in Male Prisoners: The Conditional Effect of Rule-Breaking

Given that a significant proportion of the growing number of individuals in prisons may have antisocial personality traits (ASPT), it is important to test and report on the results of pilot psycho-educational intervention programmes developed for this purpose.

The primary aim of this study is to examine the effect of the psychoeducation programme on ASPT among prisoners. The secondary aim is to investigate whether there is any interaction between ASPT after intervention.

Twenty-six participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n = 13) and the control group (n = 13). The ASPT Scale was administered as a pre-test and post-test at 8-week intervals. Findings were examined using independent samples t-tests and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) via SPSS 27. PROCESS macro was used to examine whether reductions in the aggression subscale were moderated by rule-breaking.

Group-based psychoeducational intervention did not lead to effective results in overall ASPT scores in the experimental group. However, intervention led to significant decreases in aggression scores both within groups (p < 0.01) and between groups (p < 0.05). Furthermore, it was found that a decrease in aggression scores was moderated by rule-breaking scores of the prisoners (β = 0.60, p < 0.05, [0.88; 1.12]).

Group-based psychoeducational interventions are associated with a reduction in aggressive behavior among prisoners. In experimental interventions aimed at reducing aggressive behavior, it is important to prioritize individuals with low levels of rule-breaking tendencies.