Aggression Profiles of Incarcerated Malaysian Male Murderers (Profil Agresif Pembunuh Lelaki Malaysia yang telah Dipenjarakan)

Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin, Azizah Othman, Khaidzir Ismail, Geshina Ayu Mat Saat

Abstract


Criminological and psychological researches have highlighted aggressive behavior as the basic ingredient of violent crime, including murder. Increased concerns about the rate of murder in Malaysia have called for studies examining aggression profiles of the Malaysian murderers. The present study intends to explore the aggression profiles of Malaysian male prisoners convicted of murder, utilizing Buss and Perry’s Four Structure Aggression Model. A cross-sectional methodology was adapted as a research design of the present study. A guided self-administered questionnaire was distributed among 71 Malaysian male prisoners convicted of murder using purposive sampling method. The entire aggression profiles are assessed using Aggression Questionnaire-12 items (AQ-12). Descriptive item analyses were carried out to elicit the level of responses for each item in the AQ-12 while bivariate analyses were used to ascertain associations among aggression subscales. The aggression profiles indicated that the mean score of anger (8.10, SD = 2.93) was higher than other forms of aggression traits. The least mean score was noted for verbal aggression (6.24, SD = 2.45). Among the respondents, 54.9% of them scored above the mean score (8.10) for anger subscale. This was followed by 52.1% who scored above the mean score (7.77) for physical aggression subscale. The correlations among all the aggression subscales had indicated positive and significant associations which in turn, may enable it to be a platform to inspire other researches in this field. In conclusion, this ground-breaking study among male murderers has successfully explored aggression profiles using AQ-12.

Keywords: Violence; crime; criminal behavior; male murderers; murder

 

ABSTRAK

Kajian kriminologi dan psikologi telah mengutarakan tingkah laku agresif sebagai ramuan asas untuk jenayah kekerasan, termasuk pembunuhan. Peningkatan kadar pembunuhan di Malaysia yang membimbangkan telah menggesa keperluan kajian yang mengkaji profil agresif para pembunuh lelaki Malaysia. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk meneroka profil agresif banduan lelaki Malaysia yang disabitkan atas kesalahan membunuh, dengan menggunakan Struktur Model Agresif Buss dan Perry. Satu kaedah keratan rentas telah diguna pakai sebagai reka bentuk penyelidikan kajian ini. Soal selidik yang ditadbir sendiri secara panduan telah diedarkan kepada 71 banduan lelaki Malaysia yang disabitkan atas kesalahan membunuh dan para responden telah direkrut dengan menggunakan kaedah persampelan bertujuan. Profil agresif dinilai menggunakan alat ujian agresif (AQ-12). Analisis item deskriptif telah dijalankan bagi mendapatkan tahap respon untuk setiap item dalam AQ-12 manakala analisis bivariat telah digunakan untuk memastikan hubungan dalam kalangan skala kecil agresif. Profil agresif menunjukkan bahawa skor purata kemarahan (8.10, SD = 2.93) adalah lebih tinggi daripada bentuk agresif yang lain. Purata markah yang paling sedikit pula ditunjukkan oleh agresif lisan (6.24, SD = 2.45). Dalam kalangan responden, 54.9% daripadanya mendapat skor lebih daripada skor purata (8.10) untuk skala kemarahan. Ini diikuti dengan 52.1% responden yang mendapat skor lebih daripada skor purata (7.77) untuk skala agresif fizikal. Korelasi antara skala agresif telah menunjukkan hubungan yang positif dan signifikan di mana dapatan kajian ini boleh menjadi kajian asas untuk kajian-kajian yang akan datang dalam bidang ini. Kesimpulannya, kajian ini menjadi kajian pertama dalam kalangan pembunuh lelaki dalam menerokai profil agresif dengan menggunakan AQ-12.

Kata kunci: Keganasan; jenayah; tingkah laku jenayah; pembunuh lelaki; pembunuhan


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