The Influence of Culture-Specific Personality Traits on the Development of Delinquency in At-Risk Youth.

The association between culture-specific personality variables and family factors, and juvenile delinquency, was assessed in a sample of 402 adolescents of Chinese ethnicity between 12 and 17 years of age (Mage = 15.13, SD = 1.41; 135 girls), a subgroup of whom were considered at risk for juvenile delinquency owing to addictive behavior tendencies. Culture-specific personality variables were assessed using the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory-Adolescent version Interpersonal Relatedness factor. The General Function subscale of the Chinese version of the Family Assessment Device was utilized to assess the influence of perceived levels of family functioning. Both culture-specific personality variables and non-culture-specific familial factors were significantly and negatively associated with self-reported juvenile delinquency (p < .001). However, in a sample of at-risk adolescents, only a culture-specific variable measuring orientation toward the family was able to predict self-reported juvenile delinquency (p < .001). Implications of the current results are discussed.

Interpersonal stress, not depression or hopelessness, predicts suicidality in university students in Macao.

OBJECTIVES: Joiner's Interpersonal Theory of Suicide, which states that an individual will desire death when they perceive themselves to be a burden to others, and experience social isolation, has received much support, but has not been directly assessed in non-Eurocentric individuals. METHODS: Joiner's Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (measuring both perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness) and measures of depression, hopelessness, gender, relationship status and region of residence were evaluated as risk factors for suicidality after controlling for response biases. Participants were 273 undergraduate university students of Chinese ethnicity between the ages of 17 and 23 years in Macao. RESULTS: The predictors in sum distinguished between the presence and absence of suicidality (χ(2) = 62.759, p < .01). Perceived burdensomeness (p < .01) and relationship status (p < .01) made significant contributions to the presence of suicidality. Low internal consistency prevented thwarted belongingness from being assessed as a risk factor. CONCLUSIONS: Interpersonal variables may account for the seemingly disparate risk factors for suicide.