Abstract

CABRERA-ALVARADO, Salvador  and  FRIAS-ARMENTA, Martha. The effects of emotional intelligence, legitimacy and deterrence on antisocial behavior. Act.Colom.Psicol. [online]. 2022, vol.25, n.2, pp.25-40.  Epub Aug 03, 2022. ISSN 0123-9155.  https://doi.org/10.14718/acp.2022.25.2.2.

Previous research suggests that antisocial and criminal behaviors are more prevalent in individuals with low emotional intelligence, as well as in those who perceive a low probability of punishment and no legitimacy of authorities. The aim of this research was to analyze the effects of emotional intelligence, deterrence (specifically, the perception of the probability of receiving a sanction), and the legitimacy of authorities on antisocial behavior in inmates compared to a control group. The group of inmates was composed of 105 adults from a Social Reinsertion Center in a city in northwestern Mexico, with a mean age of 32.03 years (SD = 8.986); and the control group was composed of 105 adults with no criminal record, with a mean age of 32.08 years (SD = 10.094). Both samples were selected by convenience. Significant differences were detected in the scales of emotional intelligence (t = -4.14, p <.001), legitimacy (t = -3.09, p <.01), and probability of punishment (t = -4.66, p <.001). The control group presented higher emotional intelligence (d = -0.81), higher perception of legitimacy (d = -0.60), and higher perception of probability of punishment (d = -0.90) in contrast to the inmate sample. A Structural Equations Model (SEM) showed that emotional intelligence and perceived probability of punishment influenced antisocial behavior, which indicates that emotional competences may have an impact on the fear of being sanctioned when committing certain antisocial behaviors.

Keywords : deterrence; emotional intelligence; legitimacy; criminals; antisocial behavior.

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