Matt Delisi
Biographic Data
| ID | 254775 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Matt Delisi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Matt |
| FAMILY NAME | Delisi |
| SIGNATURE | DELISI M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Iowa State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5964-5848 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 118 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 501 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 117 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1981 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 12 |
The Adverse Childhood Experiences Paradigm and Forensic/Correctional Populations: A Scoping Review
As adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are increasingly referenced in criminology, several factors question the salience of ACEs to forensic and correctional populations in both the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. Here, our scoping review of 99 studies examines the ACEs paradigm and its application to forensic/correctional populations by (1) synthesizing research on ACEs among diverse forensic/correctional populations, particularly …
The Portuguese Version of the Self-Regulation Scale: Psychometrics, Measurement Invariance, and Associations with Antisocial Variables Among Youth
Self-regulation is the basic capacity to regulate one’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. The aim of the present study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Self-Regulation Scale (SRS) among male and female Portuguese youth participants ( N = 559 youth, M = 16.51 years, SD = 1.07, range = 14–20 years). The three-factor model composed of the Emotional, Cognitive, and Behavioral regulation subscales obtained adequate fit, although the f…
The importation model mediated: New evidence for security threat group in the prediction of prison misconduct
Murder asymmetry
Two Short Forms of the Criminogenic Cognitions Scale Among Community Youth
Criminogenic cognitions are considered very relevant variables for the development and manifestation of antisocial and delinquent behaviors in youth. However, short measures of criminogenic cognitions validated among youth samples are scarce. The aim of the present study was to develop two short one-dimensional versions of the Criminogenic Cognitions Scale (CCS) measure among male and female youth (N = 559 youth, M = 16.51 years, SD = 1.07, range…
The Antisocial Core: A Chimeric Measure of Low Self-Control and Psychopathic Traits
Low self-control and psychopathy are considered important constructs in forensic psychology and criminology and are conceptualized as sharing some fundamental facets. The present study aims to develop a chimeric measure that contains fundamental features of the antisocial core of the low self-control and psychopathy constructs. The current sample consisted of participants from Portugal (N = 242, M = 30.19 years, SD = 12.78). The new Low Self-Con…
Forensic Criminology: An Introductory Essay
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study
Classifying Female Sexual Homicide Offenders: A Latent Class Analysis of Murder Arrestees in the U.S
Research on sexual homicides has primarily focused on male offenders, and thus little is known about female offenders who perpetrated sexual homicides. This study aimed to develop the first statistical classification of female single‐victim (SV) sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) using the U.S. FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports database that spanned over a 47‐year period (1976–2022). A latent class analysis (LCA) was computed to detect subtypes …
False Confessions: An Integrative Review of the Phenomenon
Confessions are an important evidentiary part of the legal process, and false confessions have been notable contributors to wrongful convictions. However, academic research in the psychology and law field primarily relies on student or volunteer samples in staged exercises, methodological features that lack ecological validity for replicating police interrogation or the pressures distinctive to high stakes crime investigations. Here, we provide a…
Lost Highways: An Examination of the Question of Risk Involved in Sexual Homicides of Hitchhiking Victims
Despite cultural references to the dangers of hitchhiking, particularly for sexual homicide, no published research investigates these incidents from both an offender and crime scene perspective. Using the Sexual Homicide International Database (SHIelD), we explore lifestyle risk by comparing sexual homicide cases involving hitchhiking victims to those involving victims engaged in sex trade work. The results, based on the use of bivariate and mult…
Psychometric Examination of the Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder Self-Report (PSCD) Among an Adult Community Sample From Brazil
The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) is a promising novel scale that measures psychopathic traits and includes an additional conduct disorder factor that taps the antisocial dimension of psychopathy. The current study sought to broaden the application of PSCD by examining the factor structure, convergent and discriminant validity, and connections to delinquency in a young adult sample ( N = 450; M = 31.91 years, SD = 13.02 years) o…
Superhomicide offenders: Nosology, empirical features, and linkages to sexual and multiple murder typologies
The nosology for criminals who murder multiple victims is at once well‐established and controversial, perhaps because theorists have largely segregated such offenders from the broader criminal population. The current study introduces the superhomicide offender, an individual convicted of at least five murders, to locate multiple homicide offenders within the criminological and epidemiological science pertaining to the most pathological offenders,…
Screening for Light Personalities in Portugal: A Cross-Cultural Validation of the Light Triad Scale With an At-risk-of-delinquency Sample
The Light Triad of personality refers to three prosocial personality traits—Faith in Humanity, Humanism, and Kantianism—that promote the worth and dignity of other people, focus on ethical behavior and empathy, and confidence that other people are naturally good. The aim of the present study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Light Triad Scale (LTS)—Portuguese version. Our convenience sample consisted of 242 male and female particip…
What if Marquis de Sade Was a Woman? New Evidence of Sex Differences in Behavioral Manifestation of Sadism
This study aims to explore the behavioral manifestation of sadism in females involved in sexual crimes. The sample includes 24 female sex offenders for which sadism was assessed with the SeSaS. To conduct a gender-based comparison analysis, we conducted a random selection of 100 sadistic male offenders. Bivariate comparisons and multidimensional scaling analysis were used to determine whether behavioral manifestation and dimensions of sadism are …
An Examination of Economic Strain, Negative Emotions, and Low Self-Control: A Test With Institutionalized Juveniles
Strain and low self-control theory are two prominent theories of crime. However, there has been little research comparing the two perspectives to examine their relationship to self-reported delinquency among institutionalized juveniles. We begin to address this gap in the literature by assessing the impacts of economic strain, negative emotions, and low self-control on the commission of property and violent crime using a near census of institutio…
An updated evidence synthesis on the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model: Umbrella review and commentary
To conduct an umbrella review of Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) principles by synthesizing and appraising the consistency and quality of the underlying evidence base of RNR. Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched three bibliographic databases, the Cochrane Library, and grey literature from 2002 to 2022 for systematic reviews and meta-analysis on RNR principles. We isummarized effect sizes, including as odds ratios and Area Under the Curve (AUC) s…
Propensity to Morally Disengage Scale: Psychometric Properties and Measurement Invariance Among a Portuguese Sample
The propensity to morally disengage can be an essential driver of unethical, antisocial, and criminal behavior. The present study examines the psychometric properties of the Propensity to Morally Disengage Scale (PMDS) among a convenience sample of 242 male and female participants (M = 30.19 years, SD = 12.78, range = 16–77) from Portugal. The expected one-factor structure obtained an adequate fit using confirmatory factor analysis. Internal cons…
Measuring the Dark Core of Personality in Portugal: A Psychometric Examination of D
The dark core of personality is a recently developed construct that encompasses the malevolent, antagonistic, and aversive side of human nature. The aim of the present study is to examine the psychometric properties of the dark core of personality D measure, namely D70, and its two shorter versions, D35 and D16, in Portugal. Two samples of Portuguese participants were used in the current study (N = 570, M = 35.42 years, SD = 11.41, range = 18–69;…
Ted Bundy and The Unsolved Murder Epidemic: The Dark Figure of Crime
This book uncovers the dark figure of crime by revisiting the life and crimes of Ted Bundy to discuss the US unsolved murder problem.
Examination of the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory—Short Form Among Portuguese Young Adults: Psychometrics and Measurement Invariance
The Weinberger Adjustment Inventory—Short Form (WAI-SF) is a multidimensional measure of behavioral adjustment frequently used with forensic, clinical, and community populations. However, no previous studies have examined the WAI-SF from a more modern psychometric perspective including second-order models, measurement invariance and a better estimation of reliability. The current sample is composed of female and male young adults ( N = 610, M = 2…
Serious, Violent, and Chronic Prison Misconduct: Are the Predictors the Same for Women and Men
Inmate misconduct is a focal concern among those who live and work in prisons, and is committed primarily by a few offenders with discernable backgrounds. The current study examines the most prolific rule violators (the top 1 and 10%) among a large sample of inmates housed across Ohio correctional facilities. We focus on the characteristics that predict membership into these categories and whether differences in their rates of occurrence exist be…
Hostile, Quick-Tempered, and Exposed to Dangerous Environments: Exploring the Link Between Temperament and the Street Code Adherence
Although Elijah Anderson’s code of the street thesis has received a great deal of scholarly attention, fewer studies have examined the characteristics associated with its adoption. Existing evidence is supportive of Anderson’s initial observations, however, less is known about the association between personality and emotional characteristics and adopting street code norms. The current study assesses the role of DeLisi and Vaughn’s difficult tempe…
Examination of Grasmick et al.’s Low Self-Control Scale and of a Short Version With Cross-Gender Measurement Invariance
Grasmick et al.’s Low Self-Control Scale (LSCS) is considered the gold-standard of self-control measures due to the frequency of its use in criminology. The aim of the present study is to examine the psychometric properties of the LSCS from a more modern psychometric perspective and develop a shorter version. Our sample consisted of young adults ( N = 610, M = 21.33 years, SD = 3.09) from Portugal. The six-factor intercorrelated model of the LSCS…
Screening for dark personalities in Portugal: Intra- and interpersonal correlates, reliability and invariance of the Short Dark Tetrad Portuguese version
The Dark Tetrad refers to a cluster of four socially aversive and undesirable personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism. The main aim of the present study was to validate the recently developed Short Dark Tetrad (SD4) scale among a sample of young adults (N = 429, M = 22.11 years, SD = 3.35, range = 18–42) from Portugal, composed of men (n = 192, M = 22.14 years, SD = 3.34, range = 18–35) and women (n = 237, M = 22…
Do Self-Reported Psychopathic Traits Moderate the Relations Between Delinquent History Predictors and Recidivism Outcomes in Juvenile Delinquents
The present study investigates whether self-reported psychopathic traits moderate the relationships between delinquent career features (i.e., age of first detention in a juvenile detention center, crime frequency, crime diversity, crime charges, and Conduct Disorder) and 1-year general delinquency and violent delinquency recidivism outcomes. The sample was composed of male youth ( N = 214, M = 16.4 years, SD = 1.3 years) originating from the juve…
Foundation for a temperament-based theory of antisocial behavior and criminal justice system involvement
The Severe 5: A Latent Class Analysis of the Externalizing Behavior Spectrum in the United States
Genetic influences on the stability of low self-control: Results from a longitudinal sample of twins
Importation, deprivation, and varieties of serving time: An integrated-lifestyle-exposure model of prison offending
The correctional melting pot: Race, ethnicity, citizenship, and prison violence
Were Wolfgang's chronic offenders psychopaths? On the convergent validity between psychopathy and career criminality
Desistance from delinquency: The marriage effect revisited and extended
Early starters: Which type of criminal onset matters most for delinquent careers
Toward a criminal justice epidemiology: Behavioral and physical health of probationers and parolees in the United States
Zeroing in on early arrest onset: Results from a population of extreme career criminals
The role of symptoms of psychopathy in persistent violence over the criminal career into full adulthood
The etiology of criminal onset: The enduring salience of nature and nurture
Characteristics of abstainers from substance use and antisocial behavior in the United States
Gene—Environment Interplay and Delinquent Involvement: Evidence of Direct, Indirect, and Interactive Effects
Behavioral genetic research has revealed that biogenic factors play a role in the development of antisocial behaviors. Much of this research has also explicated the way in which the environment and genes may combine to create different phenotypes. The authors draw heavily from this literature and use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine genetic and environmental effects on adolescent delinquent involvement. Th…
The Relationship Between Self‐control and Language: Evidence of a Shared Etiological Pathway
Converging lines of research suggest that self‐control and language may be inextricably linked. No empirical research has ever examined this proposition, however. We address this gap in the literature by analyzing a sample of twin pairs from a nationally representative data set of children. The results revealed three broad findings. First, diminished language skills were predictive of low self‐control both cross‐sectionally and longitudinally. Se…
Introduction and validation of Psychopathic Personality Traits Scale (PPTS) in a large prison sample
Self-control theory: The Tyrannosaurus rex of criminology is poised to devour criminal justice
Criminal epidemiology and the immigrant paradox: Intergenerational discontinuity in violence and antisocial behavior among immigrants
Antisocial cognition and crime continuity: Cognitive mediation of the past crime-future crime relationship
Differential association in group and solo offending
Ingredients for Criminality Require Genes, Temperament, and Psychopathic Personality
Exploring theoretical linkages between self-control theory and criminal justice system processing
Do career criminals exist in rural America
The role of psychopathic traits and developmental risk factors on offending trajectories from early adolescence to adulthood: A prospective study of incarcerated youth
Marked for Death: An Empirical Criminal Careers Analysis of Death Sentences in a Sample of Convicted Male Homicide Offenders
Arab Nationalism: A Critical Enquiry
Race, conventional crime, and criminal justice
The Affordable Hypothesis
Not Just a Boy's Club: An Empirical Assessment of Female Career Criminals
The extant literature suggests that habitual criminality among women is rare and that female career criminals are ostensibly nonexistent. Using the criminal records of 500 male and female adult recidivists, this study applies the concept of career criminality to women and describes how this application has specific gendered elements. Like their male peers, women are chronic, versatile offenders engaged in violent, property, and public-order offen…
The Columbine High School Massacre and criminal justice system response: An exploratory case study
Framed in the situational criminological perspective, this case study examines the effect of the Columbine High School Massacre on a pretrial services unit. The massacre decreased intakes into the jail, increased the proportion of persons detained for violent crimes, and made bond commissioners less willing to facilitate the release of persons arrested for violent crimes. Pretrial release rates for domestic and other violence-related cases were n…
Differential association in group and solo offending
Self-control behind bars: A validation study of the Grasmick et al. scale
Much empirical support of self-control theory is based on the 24-item scale conceptualized by Grasmick and his colleagues. This study examined the dimensionality of the scale. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analyses, and a structural equation model (SEM) produced results that are discordant with much prior research. The Grasmick et al. scale was not unidimensional, more complex theoretical iterations failed to meet most goodness…
Gang members, career criminals and prison violence: Further specification of the importation model of inmate behavior
The importation model posits that inmate behavior is primarily an extension of the assorted antisocial behaviors that criminal offenders develop in the community. Persons involved in gangs are viewed as especially at‐risk for prison misconduct. Using the official infraction records of 831 male inmates sampled from the southwestern USA, this study explored the prison violence records of inmates involved in street gangs, prison gangs and both types…
Career Criminals in Society
'Career Criminals in Society' examines the small group of repeat offenders who are most damaging to society. This book encourages readers to think critically about the causes of criminal behaviour & the potential of the criminal justice system to reduce crime
Do career criminals exist in rural America
Importation, deprivation, and varieties of serving time: An integrated-lifestyle-exposure model of prison offending
The correctional melting pot: Race, ethnicity, citizenship, and prison violence
Exploring theoretical linkages between self-control theory and criminal justice system processing
Zeroing in on early arrest onset: Results from a population of extreme career criminals
The Cambridge Handbook of Violent Behavior and Aggression
From a team of leading experts comes a comprehensive, multidisciplinary examination of the most current research including the complex issue of violence and violent behavior. The handbook examines a range of theoretical, policy, and research issues and provides a comprehensive overview of aggressive and violent behavior. The breadth of coverage is impressive, ranging from research on biological factors related to violence and behavior-genetics to…
Prison Rioters: Exploring Infraction Characteristics, Risk Factors, Social Correlates, and Criminal Careers
Investigation of individual inmates' characteristics are almost entirely absent from research of prison riots. The current study sought to fill this void using official infraction records and prison dossiers of 831 male inmates selected from the southwestern USA. Logistic regression models indicated that inmates who were cited for criminal infractions, such as theft, possession of weapons or drugs, threatening staff, and social risk factors were …
Lombroso's Legacy: The Miseducation of Criminologists
This study examines the extent to which criminal justice and criminology Ph.D. students are exposed to contemporary biological and genetic findings associated with aggression and violence. Drawing on multiple sources of information, we find little evidence showing that Ph.D. students are exposed to any biological research on crime and offending. We examine the consequences for this “trained incompetence” and offer suggestions for remedying this d…
Psychopathic personality features and risks for criminal justice system involvement among emancipating foster youth
Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use and Involvement in Violent Behavior in a Nationally Representative Sample of Young Adult Males in the United States
We examined the effects of anabolic-androgenic steroid use on serious violent behavior. Multivariate models based on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 6823) were used to examine the association between lifetime and past-year self-reported anabolic-androgenic steroid use and involvement in violent acts. Compared with individuals who did not use steroids, young adult males who used anabolic-androgenic steroids repo…
The etiology of criminal onset: The enduring salience of nature and nurture
Genetic influences on the stability of low self-control: Results from a longitudinal sample of twins
Were Wolfgang's chronic offenders psychopaths? On the convergent validity between psychopathy and career criminality
The Relationship Between Self‐control and Language: Evidence of a Shared Etiological Pathway
Converging lines of research suggest that self‐control and language may be inextricably linked. No empirical research has ever examined this proposition, however. We address this gap in the literature by analyzing a sample of twin pairs from a nationally representative data set of children. The results revealed three broad findings. First, diminished language skills were predictive of low self‐control both cross‐sectionally and longitudinally. Se…
Desistance from delinquency: The marriage effect revisited and extended
Psychopathy is the Unified Theory of Crime
Psychopathy is an important clinical construct that has been studied for more than 200 years and has exploded in recent years as a guiding explanatory concept for a range of antisocial behaviors across a range of populations and subgroups. In this review essay, I advance that psychopathy is the purest and the best explanation of antisocial behavior. Indeed, psychopathy is the unified theory of crime because it mirrors the elemental nature and emb…
Psychology (109 works) · Crime Patterns and Interventions (78 works) · Social Psychology (65 works) · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending (63 works) · Criminology (59 works) · Medicine (57 works) · Poison control (51 works) · Developmental psychology (49 works) · Clinical Psychology (47 works) · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis (45 works)